Trouble in Paradise - what others are saying about TT

The prestigious international publication, Foreign Policy (FP), has just published an article that suggests that Trinidad annd Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning should look at protecting his own state rather than trying to deploy the country's navy to patrol the Antilles for drug smugglers.

The article, Trouble in Paradise, published in the March 12 edition of the magazine, is required reading for everyone because it outlines what the international community is hearing about Trinidad and Tobago.

FP says the Manning government helps stoke the drug trade and the gangs and suggests that Manning needs international supervision to tackle the problem at home and in the region.

"A coalition of governments - including the United States and Britain, whose navies patrol the region - should step in to help patrol the lane between Trinidad and Venezuela," FP states.

"Training should also be supplied to Trinidad's Coast Guard so it can vigorously pursue smugglers. With its new navy, the largest in the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad may be able to fill a real void in detecting cocaine smuggling.

"But it has to secure its own borders first and purge its security forces of corrupt members. Until Trinidad gets serious about this, the United States should disinvite the country from regional security dialogues."

It adds, "With its wealth and strategic location, Trinidad and Tobago is a natural partner. Yet these countries would be wise to make sure that they do not let the fox guard the henhouse."

Commenting on the state of the country, FP noted that the murder rate has risen nearly 400 per cent in the past decade with Port of Spain rivaling Johannesburg and Baghdad in the rate of killings.

"Proliferating gangs, mostly composed of impoverished young men, are behind many of the killings, centered in the dense suburbs of Port of Spain. But shootings are not confined to the slums...

"According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Trinidad and Tobago has become a major transshipment point for illegal substances heading north from South America. Traffickers send cocaine and small arms from Venezuela, just 7 miles off the coast of Trinidad, via fast boat.

"The drugs are then shipped out on container ships, planes, and private yachts. Between June and November, hurricane season in the northern Caribbean but not as far south as Trinidad, the trade increases, with drug runners packing the cocaine into boats, sometimes with extra-wide decoy hulls, and sending it on to the United States and other consumer countries.

"Cocaine mostly passes through Trinidad and Tobago, but marijuana and small arms often stick around. Clandestine fast boats carrying large quantities of marijuana come from nearby islands such as St. Vincent and Grenada.

"Lately, assault rifles decommissioned by Venezuela's military have been turning up in Trinidad. Between 2001 and 2008, the number of guns seized by authorities quadrupled.

"Manning has tackled these problems head-on - claiming he will build "Fortress Trinidad and Tobago," buying helicopters and summoning his security forces.

But, unfortunately, the Port of Spain government helps stoke the drug trade and the gangs.

"The country's annual per capita GDP has risen from about $11,000 to $18,800 in the past decade due to strong exports of natural gas and steel. Still, unemployment remains high, and to create jobs, the government spends about $400 million per year on make-work projects.

"The bulk of this money is ultimately funneled to gang leaders, who administer "grants" and distribute "salaries." Indeed, corruption - always a problem in the country - is reaching new heights.

"According to several security analysts, a damning unofficial study carried out by the government in 2009 suggested that almost 90 percent of police officers were regularly involved in illegal activities.

"Those pursuits ranged from running and selling drugs, to colluding with gangs by renting out weapons to criminals, to performing extralegal killings.

"Plus, despite Manning's saber rattling, Trinidad and Tobago's security teams have not been terribly effective. Trinidad's security forces have never intercepted a cocaine-carrying fast boat or made a significant bust...

"Senior intelligence officials cite the lack of arrests as proof that claims that major cartels operate in their country are mistaken. They claim the allegations are the invention of local muckracking reporters.

"A few years ago, Trinidad purchased a sophisticated new 360-degree radar system. According to one senior official, the government has yet to turn it on. Another analyst disputes this, saying the problem is that too few staff members understand how to use the radar technology.

"Thus, whether or not Manning is effective in protecting Trinidad and Tobago from drugs and guns from overseas, it is clear he needs just as badly to tackle problems at home.

Read the full article in FOREIGN POLICY