Caption: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar with Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander
In Brief
- Targeted Operations: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced that special security operations will only be authorised in constituencies controlled by the UNC and TPP.
- Political Pushback: The PM claimed the opposition PNM has rejected the Special Operations Bill, stating she will not force assistance on communities that do not want it.
- Legislative Progress: The Special Operations Bill 2026 passed the Lower House on Saturday and will be debated in the Senate on Wednesday following the end of the State of Emergency.
- International Engagements: Persad-Bissessar is currently attending the UN General Assembly in New York and will return for the National Awards on Republic Day.
By Prior Beharry
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says she will only allow special operations in constituencies and local government districts controlled by the United National Congress (UNC) and the Tobago People’s Party (TPP).
In a social media post on Monday, she said since the opposition MPs and their supporters do not want special operations, “they can continue to allow their hardcore constituencies to be destroyed from within. I’m not bothered.”
She said, “The predictable, comical, manufactured drama coming from the PNM and their supporters is that the ‘stinking racist jammette Coolie Prime Minister,’ is going to send the police and army to terrorise their supporters in hardcore PNM constituencies. It’s the usual tired race-and-hate grifting that we’ve all grown accustomed to.”
“However, they misunderstand me. I am not begging to help any community become safer if it doesn’t want to be helped. The PNM are free to tell their constituencies and supporters not to accept help from the ‘stinking racist jammette Coolie Prime Minister,’ while the local drug mafia and violent criminal gangs continue to destroy their lives,” she continued.
“The PNM MPs, councillors and supporters are clearly against the Special Operations Bill. The PNM-represented constituencies clearly prefer to be controlled by violent criminal gangs and the local drug mafia instead of being protected by law enforcement.”
“Therefore, I will only authorise special operations in the 26 UNC-held constituencies, 70 UNC-held local government electoral districts and in the two TPP-held constituencies after consultation with Chief Secretary Farley Augustine.”
“For three decades, law-abiding citizens have been terrorised by violent criminal gangs. Law-abiding citizens have been forced to lock themselves behind burglar-proofing, security cameras, tall gates and guard dogs because of the threat of violent home invasions. Mothers and daughters have been raped in their own beds, fathers and sons beaten, and our elderly tortured by these violent criminals.”
“The violent criminal gangs and drug lords residing or operating inside government-controlled constituencies and local government electoral districts will therefore be subject to hard policing as outlined in the Special Operations Bill.”
“The PNM are free to continue to allow their constituencies to be overrun by violent criminal gangs. They are free to allow the local drug mafia financiers to flood their constituencies with deadly drugs that poison their children and destroy their futures. It is their democratic choice to allow themselves to be destroyed from within.”
“I wish all law-abiding citizens a wonderful evening,” she added. “Love you all.”
The Special Operations Bill 2026 was passed in the Lower House on Saturday morning and goes to the Senate on Wednesday. The Bill seeks to deal with the crime situation in the country following the end of the State of Emergency on Wednesday.
Persad-Bissessar is currently at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where she is expected to meet with Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodriguez before she returns for the National Awards on Republic Day on Thursday.
