Trinidad and Tobago has extended the state of emergency for another three months Crime news

The Caribbean nation has spent 10 of the past 14 months under a state of emergency curtailing key civil liberties.

As part of a campaign to crack down on crime, the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago has moved to extend its state of emergency, which gives security forces broader powers and restricts key civil liberties.

The country’s House of Representatives voted on Saturday to extend the emergency measures for another three months.

The three-month extension was passed by a margin of 26-12. The state of emergency was initially imposed for a period of 15 days, but can be extended further if the government chooses.

Opposition members say the government has failed to bring violent crime under control despite the state of emergency.

Trinidad and Tobago has now been in a state of emergency for about 10 of the last 14 months.

A state of emergency was first declared in December 2024 after an outbreak of mob violence.

It allowed the government to arrest people on “suspicion of criminal activities” and suspended protections against government searches of public and private premises.

The country has recorded more than 60 murders this year. Prime Minister Kamala Persad-Bissessar recently told the legislature that 373 people have been detained under the state of emergency.

The vote extends a trend across Latin America for governments to rely on emergency orders to address crimes in their countries.

Countries including El Salvador and Honduras have issued such emergency declarations to freeze civil liberties and empower security forces to combat crime, despite a record of mixed success.

Both El Salvador and Honduras have also extended their states of emergency, such measures designed to be temporary.

Last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the Honduran government to end the state of emergency, noting that it had been extended approximately 17 times.

Activists and human rights experts have pointed out that emergency declarations can sometimes lead to severe rights violations.

At an event this week on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council, a group of international jurists presented findings that the government of Salvadoran President Nayeb Bukele may have committed crimes against humanity in the context of government immunity.

Activist groups say El Salvador’s government is using sweeping powers to threaten and imprison dissidents and rights activists. The country is scheduled to mark the fourth anniversary of its 2022 state of emergency on March 27.