Trinidad and Tobago: The World's Newest Narcostate - By Dorn Townsend | Foreign Policy

So I was shown this article yesterday. You should give it a read. But before you do ask yourself a few things.

After the last carnival season, the Ministers of both National Security and Culture (the two MOST prominent during Carnival) as well as the Ministry of Tourism, all proclaimed this Carnival a success. Yay. But something to ask, how many drugs were consumed (non legal and legal) during this fete season? And how many continue to suffer from a crime tsunami before this government realises that . . . "Hey we have a problem! All our voters are dead!" There are no statistics to show how affected tourism is by our crime situation and yet this government continues to crow that every Carnival is a success and tourism is alive and healthy. Ashworth Jack in Tobago complained bitterly in the Tobago House of Assembly that he needs NO statistics to show him what the people on the ground in Tobago know since 2001, tourism is failing, or has indeed failed, in the island.

I know that all these "specials" we're seeing the hotels doing through TDC are attempts to fill rooms so that the Ministry can say, "See? Full occupancy" even going as far as running a campaign ONLY for locals to start staying in the hotels! Hotels without guests are like cocktails without alcohol, it looks pretty, but it just isn't the same!

So ask yourself this: Is the government in T&T really concerned about crime? Or are they just happy that they can get all the kickbacks from the money that they spend on the "crime initiatives?" You think about that the next time one of the so call "Honourable" Ministers talks about a crime plan. . .

This is a damning report by foreigners who have NO axe to grind! In fact this is the second such report to speak about the crime situation, the other was written by a Scandinavian research group into the prevalence of illegal weapons and the crime rate in T&T. I have forgotten where this can be found, but when I do I will post it.

Everyone's talking about this report. . . have a read.

Trinidad and Tobago: The World's Newest Narcostate - By Dorn Townsend | Foreign Policy