Happy Independence Trinbagonians

Hosein said the decision follows guidance from security officials while law enforcement continues to act against groups described as seeking to destabilise the State.

“Given the efforts of the ongoing SoE and the TTPS (Trinidad and Tobago Police Service) and the armed forces to fully disrupt cells that were involved in a plot to destabilise the State, the Government has accep­ted the advice of its security experts that the Independence Day Parade for 2025 and the associated official functions will be cancelled.

“The Government’s national security advice is that the gathering of the President, and all Government and Opposition members, members of the Judiciary, together with a large contingent of the marine, land and air assets of the Defence force and the TTPS, in one location would be unwise at this time,” he said.

Trinidad and Tobago declared a state of emergency on July18, nearly three months after it had ended a 105-day SoE to deal with criminal activities.

Police Commissioner, Allister Guevarro, described the events leading up to the declaration of the SoE as one of “grave concern” telling a news conference that the police had received intelligence reports “whereby organized criminal gangs with persons inside of the prisons and persons operating on the outside of the prisons have formed themselves into what I would want to term an organized crime syndicate”.

The authorities moved high-risk prisoners to military bases as part of the crackdown on jailed gang leaders accused of using smuggled cellphones to plot a series of assassinations, robberies and kidnappings with help from criminal associates on the outside.