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Trinidad and Tobago has declared a state of emergency as gang violence in the Caribbean nation continues to rise.
President Christine Carla Kangaloo issued the statement on the advice of Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who had been under increasing pressure to take action in the face of worsening crime figures.
The two-island republic has one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a record number of more than 620 murders so far this year in a population of 1.5 million people.
Organized crime is responsible for the majority of murders, many of them linked to international drug trafficking.
According to the US State Department, the country’s proximity to Venezuela, its porous borders, and its direct transportation routes to Europe and North America make it “a prime location for the transshipment of narcotics.”
In the latest violent incident, five men were shot dead on Sunday in a shop in the poor area of Laventille. Police believe the killings were in retaliation for the murder of a prominent gang member the day before.
Details of the state of emergency have not yet been revealed.
The move comes as Trinidad and Tobago prepares for a general election, due to be held in August 2025.
Rowley’s ruling People’s National Movement party, in power since September 2015, faces a strong challenge from the opposition United National Congress, led by former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
