By Johnny Commansingh
Despite the extension of the State of Emergency (SOE) in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) from Tuesday, March 03 2026, murders, home invasions, robberies, auto theft and other criminal elements continue to plague the twin-island state. It is apparent that the government is attempting to curb the horrible crime situation. In my opinion, the parliament of T&T should have moved a motion and voted in favour of a ‘Save our Souls” (SOS) bill. That bill would have definitely been of more profit to the country than even a ‘ZOSO’ (Zone of Special Operations). To whom shall we turn to help us save our souls?
According to Ian Alleyne’s Crime Watch, it is clear that T&T is going nowhere real fast. Posted last night on his program, 87 people were already murdered in T&T; what a travesty! So with all the hype, snide remarks, desk thumping and heated exchanges on both sides of the aisle, the murder detection rate has risen by only 5%. It now stands at 20%, not anything to really boast about. Too many murders remain unsolved. On January 26-27, 2026, the Senate voted against the ‘Zones of Special Operations’ 2026 (ZOSO) bill. So as it stands, everything is just so-so; neither very good nor very bad; mediocre, middling.
Shakespeare once said: “Mend your words a little, lest you may mar your fortunes.” Why should I mend my words if I have no fortunes to worry about? I am not one to muzzle the truth. I am not one to utter my words in ‘boli’ (calabash) or ‘put mih mouth in water to talk.’ Sugar coating is not my style. This is not about bashing any government, not at all! This is about the people of T&T; the ‘little’ people of T&T who are daily struggling for economic freedom, to just survive! And I am of the view that the august members of parliament on both sides feign to comprehend the truth about the real struggles of the masses who voted them into office. Do the parliamentarians really know that no one is safe and nowhere is safe in this country? Many individuals are living like ‘gouti with rabid dogs constantly chasing them.
After all the money, the billions and billions of dollars that accrued from the exploration and exploitation of petroleum resources, suddenly, there is no money; the treasury seems to be “…dry as the hills of Gilboa.” Trinidad and Tobago could have been the “Dubai of the Caribbean,” but some people had other plans. Some of these people milked the ‘cow’ until it went dry. They believed in instant gratification, and now, according to calypsonian David Rudder, we are truly “Trini to the bone.”
Today in T&T, there is a huge waiting game for every kind of public service. For example, some senior people have been waiting for over two years to get their senior grants (TTD3500/month). Let’s not talk about the waiting game at health facilities. I should not complain too much about the new government. They took office eleven months ago, but it boggles my mind why do the 13 members on the other side keep pressing the government to fix this and to fix that, especially the potholed roads, when they were there for 9.5 years! On the other hand, it doesn’t take eleven months to repair a pothole. It seems that the people in ‘authority,’ ride in vehicles that probably pass where there is an absence of potholes. In passing, an interesting photograph came to me a few days ago. It was Jose Mujica, the president of Uruguay, known as the poorest president in the world, stepping out of his little Volkswagen Beetle; no need for any explanation here.
The politicians of T&T will not accept any kind of ‘Roll On. Roll Off’ little Nissan Wingroad or March, no, no, no. They prefer more pomp and circumstance accompanied with million dollar automobiles. And while politicians drive by with ‘blue lights’ flashing, the masses fight and struggle to catch a sometimes-leaking Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) bus just to get to work. When I look through my window, I see them early in the morning. Sometimes the bus is late, but Trinis have come to accept the late buses because they have also come to accept “anytime is Trinidad time.” George Orwell’s book Animal Farm has much to say about status. The statement, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” is a comment on the hypocrisy of governments that proclaim the absolute equality of their citizens but give power and privileges to a small elite.
Could the proliferation of all this murder, chaos and mayhem be the result of the poor distribution of resources? Although the distribution of resources could generate violence in its wake, I must repeat that no one is born a winner, no one is born a loser, but all are born to be choosers. How we see the problem is the problem. If we focus on the solution to the problem, we will, with certainty, find the opportunity. Sir Edmund Hillary made it to the summit of Mount Everest, but he had to go one ‘step’ further. He had to surmount the Hillary Step.
Will the people of T&T make that step in a positive direction? If not, what will happen is that the perpetrators of crime will continue to pester the residents of this country with more violence, extortion and rape! Will we as a nation keep extending the SOE? Will we continue to have the alleged presence of ZOSOs on the landscape? Are we going to remain as prisoners in our homes surrounded by steel fabrications, lock and key, electronic gates, sophisticated alarm systems, use of air horns, panic buttons, and the increase of gated communities? Will our families be able to play peacefully in the public parks and recreation grounds? Going to the beach now requires real planning, perhaps with armed security. Even the security guards at the Manzanilla Beach facility were held up and robbed.
The Daily Express, in its article ‘Bandits come from the beach,’ reported on February 8, 2025: “Gun-toting bandits on the prowl at a beach in Manzanilla tied up and robbed two security guards on a roadworks job site on Thursday night. The armed criminals walked along the beach to the job site near the road where they ambushed and held the guards captive…The guards were sitting beneath a tent erected to house security officers when, around 6.40 p.m., two masked men walked up from along the shoreline of the beach. One of the men pointed a firearm at the security officers and announced a hold-up. The robbers forced their victims to walk to the beach and kicked one in his abdomen. The armed bandits tied up the guards and robbed them of cellphones and cash, and the site of six rolls of geotech mesh…The robbers then walked to the roadway and escaped.”
Notwithstanding the fact that T&T is a beautiful place, something sinister is happening to this country. Something is awry. Is it that parents have rejected their responsibility regarding parenting? Are children becoming more and more disobedient? Is there something in the water that we are drinking? Are the additives in some of our foods changing the composition of our DNA? Is social media entangling some of us to become insular, insensitive, unkind, merciless, and dishonest? Is it that the church doesn’t have a real place in society? Are the honoured traditions that come from the home and school losing their influence in our lives? Are we becoming a dog-eat-dog society?
Let me add, with all the troubles and struggles we have in T&T, it is as though nature wanted us to carry some heavier burdens. No other country in the Caribbean region has to deal with the situation with which we are now saddled. None! What started as a trickle became a raging torrent of illegal immigrants from Venezuela (Venez). This should have been nipped in the bud, but it is clear that the former government of T&T did not have the testicular fortitude to stem that tide. We have been invaded! In light of these developments, I am wondering when any government would be able to arrest this invasion of Venezuela. Maybe there is an underlying political reason why we are still allowing these people to defy our borders. They are here stomping all over T&T. In fact, some have already said that T&T belongs to them.
Apart from a multitude of crimes committed by some of these illegal migrants, a few days ago, a 73-year-old former schoolmate and neighbour of mine was kidnapped by several Venezuelans and a couple Trinis. Thank heavens that officers of the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) were able to apprehend the boat carrying the victim to Venezuela.
The interception of the vessel occurred approximately one nautical mile north-northwest of Corozal. Please do not misunderstand me, I am aware that among those who illegally come to T&T come with good intentions. However, I am 100% certain that there were no background checks on these people. Some came with the intention to join forces with miscreants from T&T to commit crime. This is only the tip of the iceberg about the complex nature and mind-boggling situation with crime in this country. As Saint Bernard, the 12th-century Abbot of Clairvaux in France once said: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
In closing, please note that there are two elephants in the room: the government and the opposition. Almost every Friday, I see them on television yapping and squabbling about who has a crime plan, whose plan is better, and why we must accept whatever the plan.
When will we stop planning?
Nevertheless, to crush the monster of crime in T&T there are a few steps we have to take: (i) Suspend rogue police officers without pay, (ii) Reduce opportunities for corruption in public office (This one is difficult to achieve in T&T), (iii) Install and implement total working CCTV surveillance, (iv) Initiate community watch groups with constant police patrols by night and by day, (v) Increase police highway patrols and improve TTCG surveillance along our coastline. (vi) Containerised cargo must be thoroughly checked…too much slip and let slide. (This last one is also difficult to accomplish, but efforts must be made to totally suppress the arrival of guns and ammunition into T&T).
There is much more to add to this list, but if there could be an amicable bi-partisan resolve to fight crime, at least we have to begin somewhere. Extending a SOE or focusing on ZOSOs is all well and good, but we all know: “When elephants fight, it’s the grass that gets trampled.”
