PM says special operations to UNC and TPP represented areas

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says special operations under the Government’s proposed crime-fighting legislation will be restricted to constituencies and local government districts represented by the UNC, along with two Tobago People’s Party constituencies following consultation with Tobago Chief Secretary Farley Augustine. Persad-Bissessar made the announcement on Monday amid continued criticism of the Special Operations Bill, 2026 from the Opposition PNM and other stakeholders. Multiple local media outlets have reported the statement. The Prime Minister said she would authorise special operations in the 26 UNC-held parliamentary constituencies and 70 UNC-held local government electoral districts. She said the two TPP-held constituencies in Tobago would also be included following consultation with Augustine. Persad-Bissessar said the decision followed opposition to the legislation from PNM MPs and supporters. She accused the Opposition of portraying the proposed operations as an attempt to target residents of PNM-held communities, an allegation she rejected. The Prime Minister said she was not prepared to force communities to accept the operations if their representatives opposed the legislation. She argued that communities participating in the programme would instead receive intensified law-enforcement operations aimed at violent gangs, illegal firearms and drug trafficking. The announcement comes as the Special Operations Bill remains the subject of significant national debate. The legislation proposes seven policing districts across Trinidad and Tobago and provides a framework for special police operations, including circumstances where officers may receive assistance from the Defence Force. Persad-Bissessar’s announcement is expected to add another dimension to that debate, particularly over whether special crime-fighting measures should differ depending on the political representation of individual communities.