Trinidad and Tobago has declared a state of emergency as gang violence in the Caribbean nation continues to escalate.
President Christine Carla Kangaloo issued the declaration on the advice of Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who had been under growing pressure to take action over worsening crime figures.
The twin-island republic has one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a record murder tally of more than 620 this year so far in a population of 1.5 million people.
Organised crime is responsible for the majority of the murders, many of them linked to the international drug trade.
According to the US state department, the country’s close proximity to Venezuela, porous borders and direct transportation routes to Europe and North America make it “a prime location for narcotics trans-shipment”.
In the latest violent incident, five men were shot dead in a shop in the poverty-stricken Laventille area on Sunday. Police believe the killings were in reprisal for the murder of a prominent gang member the previous day.
Details of the state of emergency have yet to be disclosed, but are expected to be announced at a news conference later on Monday.
The move comes as Trinidad and Tobago gears up for a general election, which must be held by August 2025.
Rowley’s governing People’s National Movement party, in power since September 2015, faces a strong challenge from the opposition United National Congress, led by former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
