T&T HEADING TO HAITI’S ANARCHY

THE shootings at the homes of three prison officers are the latest step in Trinidad and Tobago’s descent into Haitian-style anarchy.

The shootings follow Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s shocking assertion of police stations being closed for fear of criminals.

Local prisons officers were previously killed, allegedly after hits were placed on their lives by inmates.

Haiti, in which there are more than 5,000 murders a year, has had prisons overtaken by gangsters and jailbirds freed to commit ghastly crimes across the country.

Criminals have also seized police stations and snatched officers’ weapons in that violence-ridden land.

Gangsters also routinely block Haitian public roads and capture delivery trucks.

In Trinidad and Tobago, thugs have, from time to time, imposed temporary blockades of roads in hot spots.

Some areas are a no-go for public vehicles.

The recent shooting of a public contractor at Arima is just one of several similar crimes carried out by extortionists who demand money.

Extortions are widespread in T&T.

In Haiti, extortionists demand money from drivers, with operators of business vehicles being forced to pay higher sums.  

People who receive remittances from abroad are now falling prey to criminals.

These are among the indications that T&T is following the path of its fellow Caricom country concerning an uncontrolled state of disorder and the declining effectiveness of law enforcement agencies.

Just as with Haiti, the authorities are not making any attempt to stop the flow of high-powered guns and ammunition that United States manufacturers illegally ship.

The administrations in both countries have ignored warnings from US agencies about the thriving illicit gun trade.

In T&T, the weapons arrive through wide-open borders that the Rowley Government has failed to plug.

The United Nations estimates that there are about 500,000 illegal guns in Haiti, which are smuggled from southern US States through sea and air.

Both countries have implemented ineffective states of emergency.

The SoE in T&T has not stopped the blood-letting, while the detection rate remains in single digits.

Haiti has been under a SoE since last March, but the killings continue, and there are other serious crimes, including assaults, carjackings, and robberies.

The presence of an international peace-keeping force has made little difference to law and order.

The developed world has issued strict travel advisories to their nationals about travelling to T&T and Haiti.

Travellers are cautioned about the dangerous crime scenario and the ever-present threat of violence.

The Haitian crisis has led to about 5.4 million people suffering from acute hunger and malnourishment, according to the UN.

There is no chronic starvation in T&T but more and more people are slipping into poverty and the gulf between rich and poor is widening.

The evidence indicates that lawlessness and chaos are worsening in T&T and, like Haiti, the authorities are clueless in returning safety and security to the land.

In Haiti, gangs have a stranglehold on Port-au-Prince and other areas, there are killings at will, public institutions and facilities are collapsing, and starvation is widespread.

T&T appears on a short road to that calamitous destination.