The seizure of a large cache of high-powered rifles and armor-piercing ammunition this week has caused consternation in Trinidad with Prime Minister Keith Rowley telling lawmakers that the situation poses a significant threat to the twin-island republic with Tobago.
Police found the 35 weapons, 100 magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition hidden deep in the forest of a village in South Trinidad following an intense intelligence led operation. The cache included armor piercing rounds, some AR 15s popular in the US with mass shooters, Uzis and M16 used by the American military among other guns. Federal agencies in the US like the DEA and the ATF are helping local authorities to trace the origins of the weapons as these are believed to have been shipped from the US.
Asking fellow lawmakers to look at newspaper photos of the weapons spread out on several tables by police, Rowley said the cache could threaten the stability of the country as he asked the public to cooperate with police and help beat back criminals.
“The point is tables full of heavy weapons. Not handguns for personal protection. Those 50 caliber weapons are a threat, not to people or to gangs, you know. They are a threat to the state of Trinidad and Tobago. You have to ask yourself whose sons and daughters, nephews and boyfriends who are these people who are bringing these things into this country. And for what purpose?”
With nearly 500 murders recorded this year to go along with a record 606 last year, crime and security have become a bugbear for the governing People’s National Movement (PNM) as it prepares for general elections in 2025.
Police Chief Erla Harewood-Christopher says she expects that the seizure could represent a break for local officers and even a reduction in violent, gang related crimes.
“We anticipate it will significantly impact the commission of violent crimes involving the use of illegal weapons. We serve notice on people who seem prepared to disrupt law and order in this country, that we are closing in on them. The question is not ‘if’ but ‘when’ they will be detained,” she warned.
Meanwhile, the government has agreed to sit down with the main opposition United National Congress (UNC) in teh coming days on the crime situation as it is the main issue on the minds of locals along with inflation. The PNM has already named its high level team to meet the UNC as it awaits the UNC putting together its slate for the talks.
