By Sue-Ann Wayow

TRINIDAD and Tobago is again officially under a State of Emergency.

The declaration was made by President Christine Kangaloo today (Friday July 18, 2025).

The signed proclamation states, “I am satisfied that a public emergency has risen as a result of the occurrence of action that has been taken or is immediately threatened by any person of such a nature and on so extensive a scale as to be likely to endanger the public safety and a State of Emergency exists in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.”

While the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) issued an early morning media release on Friday morning stating it recommended to the Prime Minister and Attorney General that a SoE be declared, it is not official until proclaimed by the President.

Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro is expected to address the media on Friday morning.

The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) recommended the SoE after recent intelligence has confirmed the emergence of a coordinated and highly dangerous criminal network operating from within Trinidad and Tobago’s correctional facilities threatening the lives of key personnel.

Last December, former prime minister Dr Keith Rowley declared an SoE without a curfew which was extended for three months in January. The reason he gave then was that the  SoE was called to deal with intelligence from the police about reprisal killings by gangs on a large scale, using illegal high-powered firearms.