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The “well-coordinated hit with pinpoint accuracy” that felled Randall Hector was entirely predictable. The roots of this current situation started with the 2011 State of Emergency.
Then, the Attorney General told us: “When the state of emergency was declared by His Excellency, it was in response to intelligence received from the security agencies, which we cannot share with the population but which I can assure you we averted a crisis.”
He added that the measure stopped “a further $100m of cocaine coming into the country on a weekly basis”. (The emphasis is mine.)
The low rate of convictions stemming from this declaration undermined the authority of the state. The court awards from the successful lawsuits probably further funded the gangs’ criminal activities.
Did this situation fuel the power struggles among the gang leaders? Did the state cap the gang leaders’ involvement in state-funded projects? The hyperbole did nothing. The seeds of disorder were planted and watered.
Then came Dana Seetahal’s murder. The country was shocked.
The Prime Minister said: “This outrageous act of brutality cannot be concluded by mere expressions of regret and sympathy. I have enjoined with the Minister of National Security to ensure that every resource of the law enforcement machinery of the state is utilised in [the] relentless pursuit of apprehending those involved in this most dastardly and heinous act.
“Yet, further, I have spoken with the Honourable Chief Justice Mr Ivor Archie, and we have agreed to meet in order to devote urgent attention to necessary reforms in the criminal justice system and security issues connected therewith.”
On 24 June 2014, William Brownfield, who is responsible for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in the US Department of State, said the assassination of former special prosecutor Dana Seetahal was a well planned and orchestrated hit by an international criminal organisation with a presence in Trinidad and Tobago.
He added: “There is only one kind of entity that does contract murders of this sort of degree of sensitivity, and that is organised crime.”
Yet, there were persistent whispers around town that suggested political involvement. On 24 December 2024, one of the accused in this crime filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act, which “requested the names of any members of Parliament (past or present) who were suspects or investigated in Seetahal’s death”.
We witnessed an incredible thread of events with the killing of a man named Dillon ‘Bandy’ Skeete.
There was no warrant out for Skeete, nor was he wanted for questioning over the murder of a soldier, his cousin, Kayode Thomas. Yet, there was a military presence at the Guardian Media’s offices when Skeete went for an interview.
Photo: TTPS
A bomb threat was phoned in. A senior soldier then telephoned an editor, saying he had heard a man who soldiers were looking for was in the building. Skeete escaped the two-hour-long dragnet.
Two months later, he and two friends were shot dead by unknown persons. Besson Street police station was then shot up in what appeared to be revenge.
The Express described the scene:
“East Port of Spain was transformed into a scene reminiscent of a modern war movie, with the ringing of periodic gunfire between the sound of helicopters and orders being barked by heavily armed soldiers and policemen.”
(via TTPS)
National Security Operations Centre officials and several senior police officers turned up, but nobody was held.
The officials denied that soldiers had killed Skeete. But a woman eyewitness said: “They does always come and kill people in here and get away with it. What they does do about it. This is not the first time. That was execution.”
Was this the moment the state lost control of the crime situation? Murky waters and no accountability. No fruitful response to criminals attacking a police station. Broken faith in key communities.
(via Stabroeknews)
The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Community Security Programme’s 2015 Final Report refers to “reports of high levels of distrust in institutions, often mentioning corruption at high levels of government and the systematic disruption of projects due to intra-governmental competition”.
58.7% of CSP’s respondents believed judges were corrupt, 69.8% thought the justice system was corrupt, 61.6% believed powerful criminals went free, and 70.2% believed politically connected criminals went free.
In this regard, Israel Khan’s recent comments about the Chief Justice’s possible motivations are unhelpful.
Photo: TTPS
“Thus, Honourable Chief Justice, the ball is in your court to defend your judges against an obnoxious Prime Minister, or are you still beholden to him for not triggering Section 137 in order to find out whether you had misbehaved in public office?” (Express, 29 December 2024).
Despite its successes in curbing crime, the Community Security programme was closed.
Data from the CSP’s Achievement Report (2008-2013) indicated the following:
- Murders in CSP communities dropped by 56% between 2008 and 2013. There was a national reduction of 26% for this same period.
- Wounding and Shooting in CSP communities dropped by 40% between 2008 and 2013. There was a national reduction of 12% for this same period.
- Sexual Offences in CSP communities dropped by 38% between 2008 and 2013. There was a national decrease of 14% for the same period.
- Robberies in CSP communities decreased by 11% between 2008 and 2013. There was a national decrease of 28% for this same period.
The Report notes that 12.5% of the school population is in gangs. The survey states there is sufficient evidence to suggest that violent behaviour is not prevalent or endemic among the region’s youth population.
Most youths who come into contact with the police and the justice system are not involved in violent crimes but have run away from home or are associated with behaviour indicating a desperate need for care and protection following abuse, neglect, or abandonment.
Dylan Kerrigan’s assessment of its cessation points the finger at us all. He said that we prefer gunslinger tactics. The programme laid bare the morality of how we—government and elites—feel towards people with low incomes in at-risk communities. He accused us of data illiteracy and making decisions that are evidence-adverse.
Photo: Allan V Crane/ CA-images/ Wired868
The UNDP report observed the media often reserved headlines for violent crime and tragedy. How the media portrayed vulnerable communities was frequently contaminated by prejudice.
The Strategic Services Agency (SSA) 2021 Report pointed to the splintering of gangs and the multiple streams of income enjoyed. The Report highlighted police corruption: “Illicit firearms seized by the police from violent criminals are making their way back into the hands of gang members.”
Venezuelan criminal gangs are participating in serious crime in Trinidad and Tobago, both in competition and collaboration with local gangs, said a UN report publicised on 2 September, entitled Caribbean Gangs: Drugs, Firearms and Gangs Networks in Jamaica, St Lucia, Guyana and TT. Among the crimes listed is extortion.
So here we are!
Another State of Emergency. The private sector is bleating as though they have had no responsibility. A Foundation recently thumped its chest for giving out literal hampers to successful SEA students. Why not invest in transformative ideas and individuals?
One of the enduring memories of my work in Laventille was my inability to meet a father whose daughter was attending Bishop Anstey’s High School. He left at the crack of dawn and returned late at night. He was fortunate—the stigma of his residence did not stop him from being employed. But he could barely make ends meet.
T&T’s unionised workforce fell from a high of 40 per cent in the 1980s to roughly 18 per cent in 2021.
Our workers are without meaningful representation as the crunch of living expenses bites. How will they support their children? Without stable incomes, there will be no stable homes. Without stable homes, we prime the crime factory’s processes.
So, we come to the latest news: the murder of Randall Hector.
Was a thorough threat analysis done? The life of a prosecutor was lost: others are intimidated. This situation reminds us of the murder of a Paraguayan prosecutor while on honeymoon in Colombia.
A devout Christian man will be at church for Old Year’s night services. That is what such folk do. The mind behind the bullets that felled poor Randall Hector knew that, but our intelligence did not. A high-stakes chess game is being played.
Crying and accolades are reasonable and necessary, but worse will happen if we continuously fail to act. We cannot build a nation divided and distrustful of each other.
Corruption should not be permissible because our friends are involved. Strong communities are needed: that is something we all can contribute to.
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