PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Sept 16, CMC – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Wednesday said that her government will re-introduce the Zones of Special Operations (ZOSOs) on Friday, less than 24 hours after the end of the state of emergency (SoE) on Thursday.
In a statement to Parliament, Persad-Bissessar said that the proposed legislation will establish a permanent legal framework for targeted operations against violent crime, gangs, illegal weapons and the criminal networks that finance them, while providing safeguards for law-abiding citizens, judicial oversight and parliamentary accountability.
The main opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) has already indicated that it would not support the controversial crime-fighting measure that failed in the Senate earlier this year.
The previous bill had faced criticism over human rights concerns and safeguards surrounding the proposed powers. Under the bill, the Prime Minister would have been able to designate communities as Zones of Special Operations, with joint police and Defence Force operations permitted within those areas.
In her statement, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said under Special Operations Bill 2026, police officers conducting special operations and Defence Force members providing military assistance must be trained in human rights, lawful use of force, engagement with residents, and conflict de-escalation.
“Within closed areas, officers must use body-worn cameras, registered weapons, and formally record complaints. Detainees must receive medical care and visitation rights, while enhanced powers of search, arrest, and detention will remain subject to judicial oversight,” Persad-Bissesar said in a 20 minute statement to legislators, adding “I repeat, search, arrest, and detention must remain subject to judicial oversight”
She said that the Special Operations Bill 2026 will also require joint protocols governing cooperation between the police service and the Defence Force, as well as separate standard operating procedures for each service.
“Monthly reports must be submitted to the Prime Minister and the Minister responsible for the police service and defence. The Prime Minister must also lay an annual report before Parliament.”
She said that the new bill has been revised from the one that was originally debated and “therefore, combines strong operational powers with clear protections for citizens and parliamentary accountability and oversight”.
Persad-Bissessar even though the SoE ends on Thursday the responsibility of her administration is to protect the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
“We will not allow the expiration of emergency powers to create an opportunity for gangs, gun runners and drug traffickers to regain ground,” she said, adding that the purpose of the ZOSO bill “will be to establish policing districts and provide a legal framework for targeted operations against violent crime, gang activity and illegal weapons.
“Every citizen has a right to live peacefully, operate a business without extortion, and to be able to send their children to school without fear. No family should be driven from their home, and no geographic location should be surrendered to gangs and criminals.
“The state of emergency, as I said, ends tomorrow, and so through this bill, the Special Operations Bill 2026, we want to continue to fight to protect the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” Persad-Bissessar said.
She said that the Commissioner of Police will be given the power to appoint a head of Special Operations for each district and that the Chief of Defence Staff will appoint a head of Military Assistance wherever Defence Force support is required.
“Where violent crime, gang activity or illegal weapons pose serious threats and unruly policing is insufficient, a defined area may be temporarily closed. Within that area, the authorities may establish cordons, impose curfews, regulate entry and departure, and exercise enhanced powers of search, seizure, arrest and detention, subject to judicial oversight.
“Let me make it very clear. These measures will target criminals. They are not meant to punish law-abiding citizens. When gangs impose illegal curfews, extort businesses, recruit children and drive families from their homes.
“Those gangs attempt to replace the authority of the state with the authority of the criminal gun. This bill will give the Protective Services the lawful power to break that control, restore public safety and return these areas to the people who live there.”
Persad-Bissessar said that the six-month SoE had been successful with an estimated 5,802 persons arrested and 3,550 of them charged.
She said of those charged 2,154 faced serious crime charges, including for firearm and ammunition offences, for robbery, for general larceny, for breaking offences, for possession of narcotics, for trafficking, for fraud, for sexual offences, for wounding or shooting, for home invasion, for murder and for kidnapping.
Persad-Bissessar said she also had a message for those persons whom she claimed are involved in illegal drugs trade, noting that the security forces have seized approximately one billion dollars in illegal drugs since the her government came to power in April last year.
“ Understand that no poor person or no small operator can finance shipments of this magnitude. No ordinary person, no small man, no small operator can finance shipments of this magnitude up to about one billion.
“No, they cannot. They cannot. Behind the gunmen are wealthier traffickers, financiers, and facilitators with access to foreign currency, transportation, commercial infrastructure, and international connections,” she added.
She said at the same time, “we are working with local, regional, and international law enforcement agencies to pursue those who finance and facilitate the drug running, the human trafficking, and, of course, all the narcotic trafficking.
“There will be no two-tiered justice system. Criminals operating from Westmoorings and St. Clair or Federation Park will be treated in the same manner as those operating from Laventille, operating from Arima, or f…from anywhere else in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Money must no longer buy immunity. Status must not prevent investigation. Political connections must not provide protection. y government plans to dismantle the two-tiered justice system that flourished under the previous regime,” Persad-Bissessar told legislators.
CMC/hj/ir/2026