Trinidad and Tobago has joined the United States in designating 25 criminal organisations as foreign terrorist organisations, according to the U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain, as the two countries deepen cooperation against drug trafficking and organised crime.
In a statement posted on social media on September 28, the U.S. Embassy said Trinidad and Tobago was the first Shield of the Americas country to join the United States in making the designations. The embassy described the move as a step toward strengthening regional cooperation against what it called narco-terrorism.
- Advertisement -
The announcement follows a September 22 Shield of the Americas meeting on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, attended by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. A joint statement issued at the time identified 24 criminal gangs and organisations for designation, including MS-13, Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, Viv Ansanm, Gran Grif, Los Choneros, ELN and other groups operating across the Americas.
The U.S. Embassy said the designations advance a shared effort by Washington and Port of Spain to combat organised criminal networks and protect communities. Juan Pablo Segura, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, commended Trinidad and Tobago for becoming the first Shield of the Americas member to join the United States in the designations.
Trinidad and Tobago joined the Shield of the Americas at its inaugural summit in Doral, Florida, on March 7, 2026. Persad-Bissessar was among regional leaders invited to the meeting hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump. The initiative focuses on strengthening cooperation against drug trafficking and transnational criminal organisations.
The September designations form part of the government’s broader security strategy following the expiration of the country’s State of Emergency on September 17. Persad-Bissessar has said Trinidad and Tobago intends to pursue stronger cooperation against illegal firearms, narcotics and transnational criminal networks, including during the country’s upcoming 2027–2028 term on the UN Security Council.
The latest move is separate from Trinidad and Tobago’s earlier domestic terrorist designations. In April, the government designated three international organisations as terrorist entities under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act, with the Attorney General subsequently publishing the names of individuals affected by the measures and directing that the information be circulated to financial institutions.
The difference between the 24 organisations publicly identified in the September 22 joint statement and the 25 cited by the U.S. Embassy on September 28 has not been explained in the reports reviewed. The embassy’s latest statement therefore provides the most recent figure, while the earlier joint statement remains the publicly available source listing the 24 organisations.
