A recent UN report titled Caribbean Gangs: Drugs, Firearms, and Gangs (sic) Networks in Jamaica, St Lucia, Guyana and T&T, which was released on September 2, stated that Venezuelan criminal gangs are involved in severe crime in Trinidad and Tobago, both as rivals and in cooperation with local gangs.
According to the research, extortion, human trafficking, and the smuggling of illegal substances and firearms are among the crimes committed by criminals in Venezuela.
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It said that the drug traffic in T&T was “thriving” and that the country was “a major transit point for cocaine and cannabis.”
According to the report, this nation was highly valued by organized crime networks because it is only 11 kilometers away from Venezuela and is not in the hurricane belt, making it an ideal place for year-round trafficking.
“What is more, strong cultural ties in southern Trinidad with Venezuela have ensured that the coastal region, including Icacos, Cedros, and Moruga, are sites of extensive trafficking of drugs, guns, and migrants.”
“The country has long been affected by drug transshipment and trafficking and high rates of violent crime.”
According to the research, there are difficulties faced by the T&T Coast Guard in screening maritime traffic, and their limited cooperation with their Venezuelan equivalent, the Guardia Nacional, also negatively affects their interdiction rates. “The primary supply route for drugs to T&T is Venezuela and to a lesser extent Guyana and Suriname, with drugs traveling by commercial freight, private go-fast boats and fishing vessels.”
According to the data, seizures have decreased even though there is a sense among the public that drug trafficking has surged recently.
“While cannabis seizures increased from 2,890 kilograms in 2019 to 3,487 kilograms by 2021, they plummeted to 584 kilograms in 2022. Cocaine seizures also initially remained stable, from 320 kg in 2019 to 221 kilograms in 2021, and then declined to just 20 kilograms by 2022.”
According to the study, T&T has previously documented major seizures noted, “It is likely that these (current) figures significantly underestimate the extent of drug transshipment and trafficking in T&T.”
However, the report also noted two significant seizures that occurred last year, which “suggest the drug economy is thriving.”
In May of the previous year, 168 kilograms of cocaine that were on their way to the US were found in Chaguaramas by the police with assistance from the USDE. A boat carrying three tons of cocaine is reported to have capsized in August 2023, causing about 46 kilograms of cocaine to wash up on the coast in places like Manzanilla and Mayaro.
“The police also detected cocaine packed into car parts destined from T&T for Antigua.”
Most weapons used by criminal organizations and gangs are imported from the US, despite allegations that some weapons are making their way into Trinidad and Tobago from Venezuela.
“Some handguns and assault rifles were suspected of being exchanged in ‘guns for drugs’ and ‘guns for food’ trade with Venezuelans, though the extent of the trafficking is unclear.”
US-sourced firearms arrive in Trinidad and Tobago either directly or through nations like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
“Assault rifles are also increasingly common, due to high local demand, low cost, and the ease of moving products through customs and excise.”
In the report, it was mentioned that there have been “very limited prosecutions, of high-level dealers, brokers, and shippers,” who help market illicit firearms.
It mentioned that according to police estimates, there are 8,154 illicit guns in Trinidad and approximately 600 of them are captured annually. 4 376 firearms were taken into custody between 2017 and 2021.
A few drug kingpins, including the late Nankissoon “Dole Chadee” Boodram, were allegedly in charge of T&T’s drug trade in the 1980s and 1990s.
“There were reports at the time of high-level collusion between drug traffickers and senior police officials.
“Reports have also emerged of possible involvement of Jamaican criminal groups operating out of T&T since the 1990s.”
The increased presence of Venezuelan gangs in T&T, some of which are allegedly smuggling weaponry, was a cause for alarm.
The survey, which focused on Venezuelan gangs, stated that T&T has the largest concentration of Venezuelan migrants worldwide per person. Since 2015, the number of Venezuelans admitted to T&T has surpassed 16,523 who are officially registered there.
“While studies suggest that migrants are no more likely to commit crime than locals, the capture of a high-level gang member in 2019 set off alarm bells.”
“Authorities arrested Darwin ‘El Culón’ García Gibori, the leader of the Evander gang, along with seven other Venezuelans and a Trinidadian fisherman, in Port (sic) Fortin, in southern Trinidad. The gang is involved in both extortion of boats carrying Venezuelan migrants as well as ferrying drugs and arms.”
Following his guilty plea to gun-related crimes, García Gibori was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison by a Point Fortin magistrate. Citing police and immigration sources, the paper claimed that Evander, the Deltano Liberation Front, had members implanted in T&T gangs.
“There are also concerns that some former gang members provide services to various gangs, including Muslim in Port-of Spain, as well as gangs in Port Fortin and Chaguanas.”
“Gangs may be involved in drugs and weapons, but also prostitution.”
“Evidence of tensions between local gangs and Venezuelan groups is also appearing, as Trinidadian middlemen, who had previously facilitated drug and firearms trafficking, are being sidelined.”
According to the research, there were 186 local gangs in T&T with 1,700 members last year, as opposed to 211 gangs with 2,450 members in 2019. Most street gangs, including the Muslim and Rasta City (Seven) gangs, are associated with an umbrella group, a high-level gang that establishes rules for behavior both on the streets and in prison. Smaller gangs were taking on larger groups in the East-West Corridor.
“A relatively small number of larger gangs are heavily involved in the drugs and firearms trade and have also diversified into criminal activities such as human trafficking from Venezuela, contract killings (in TT and abroad including neighboring countries and as far away as Angola), kidnapping, extortion, illegal quarrying, ATM fraud, and racketeering.”
According to the paper, the emergence of gang culture and an increase in violence were caused by “intergenerational impoverishment that causes social vulnerability.” According to the survey, half of gang members are between the ages of 19 and 25, and the other half are older. Gang violence has increased as gang members’ ages have decreased.
“Public contracts are widely recognized to feed organized crime.
“Arrests and prosecutions of higher-level gang members are rare, with low-level rank and file often convicted instead.”
According to the research, gang leaders’ credibility and legitimacy must be enhanced by the police asking for their assistance in identifying suspects.
The community’s resistance to cooperation is exacerbated by high levels of police corruption.
“Finally, the closed and proximate nature of communities also affect police willingness to prosecute gangs, not least because gangsters know where police and their families live.”
The introduction to the report spoke of “business elites” and “organizations” linking the drug trade between different countries.
“While most gangs are parochial, a small number of transnational criminal organizations are key facilitators of the drug trade throughout the Caribbean.
“Generally, such organizations facilitate the transshipment of narcotics and firearms throughout the Caribbean and will be more likely to be connected to criminal organizations in North America, South America, and Western Europe.”
According to the research, a few wealthy businesspeople in the Caribbean aid gang and human trafficking operations.
“While criminally involved actors may be recognized within these communities as ‘open secrets,’ publicly available information regarding these entities and their activities is likewise extremely limited.”
