PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley Thursday said he remains optimistic that efforts to stem the escalating crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly murders, will bear fruit, dismissing calls for the removal of the National Security Minister, Fitzgerald Hinds.
“On the issue of violent crime, It gives us no pass to say that this is being experienced throughout the region and the wider world, but we are having to focus on our situation,” Rowley told a post-cabinet news conference.
Trinidad and Tobago has recorded more than 400 murders so far this year. Last year, the country recorded 600 killings, and Rowley told reporters that the crime situation was among matters discussed at the three-day Cabinet retreat that ended on Wednesday.
“We have highlighted this (crime) ourselves, and we were analyzing to see what effect our recent actions have had, and I can tell you in the reporting made by the various ministers, in this case, the Minister of National Security, we have seen some considerable progress in the work we set out to do with the United States,” Rowley said.
He reminded reporters that when Trinidad and Tobago hosted the regional symposium on crime earlier this year, involving other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders and other stakeholders, “much of what went on at that symposium had to do with the United States as the supply market for the firearms that are very plentiful in our country.
“I can tell you that the relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States on this matter has never been better,” he said, noting the significant progress being made since Washington appointed a new ambassador to Port of Spain.
“While the chargé d’affaires had done yeoman service in helping us to connect with Washington and elsewhere, the coming of a new ambassador and allowing us almost direct contact with the agencies in the United States, we are, in fact making some progress, and I am confident that while I will not make any predictions, I am confident that the work we are doing now with the assistance of external parties that we would eventually get the better of the criminal elements which have been seeking to expand their reach in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Rowley told reporters that in recent times and at the urging of CARICOM, “the United States has listened concerning us saying you have a bigger role to play as the supplier, especially one that had encouraged the commercialization of handguns to others who will but it.”
He said a law has been passed in the United States, making it much more challenging to engage in illegal gun trade, noting that it brings all the Federal government agencies in dealing with the situation.
“So we are very pleased that it is now in operation, and we expect to see the fruits of that in the not too distant future,” he said, adding that Trinidad and Tobago has been receiving training, “and as you know, we have been sharing information now much more than ever.
Rowley said the authorities are also taking steps to suppress some of the growth areas that sustain some of the crime confronting the country, including putting in place measures to prevent persons in prison from being able to influence criminal activities.
“We know that many of the killings that have been taking place originate in instructions and participation from people who are already incarcerated. We are taking steps to ensure that our prisons play a lesser role.
“It is not everything that’s going on I can tell you from this podium, but suffice it to say that we are investing the resources, and we are focusing on that particular problem,” he said, adding that law enforcement authorities are also cracking down on drones being used to connect prisoners with persons on the outside.
During the more than two-hour news conference, Rowley dismissed suggestions that the Cabinet retreat had also dealt with a reshuffle of the government and, more particularly, the removal of Hinds from his post as National Security Minister.
“I gave no signal to anyone that there would be a reshuffle, Rowley said, noting that “reshuffling for reshuffling sake does not for improvement make.”
Rowley said that there were several murders in recent days that no one could have envisaged, including a woman being killed with a compass during an altercation with a relative.
He warned that Trinidad and Tobago was becoming a very violent crime and urged citizens to take the necessary steps to reverse such trends.
He said that the retreat also dealt with the socio-economic situation before the country and that Finance Minister Colm Imbert had made a presentation to the meeting.
Rowley said Imbert will present the 2023-24 national budget in October, the exact date to be announced by the finance minister.
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