Drug hidden in Trinidad juices tins. Source: Da Vibes. |
Source: Vice New via YouTube
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Around midnight on May 3, Dana Seetahal, a prominent attorney and former senator
in Trinidad and Tobago, had just left a casino in the capital of Port of Spain
when her vehicle was stopped by another car blocking the road. A van pulled up
alongside and let loose a burst of gunfire, killing her in a well orchestrated
hit.
Her murder was one of approximately 170 that have occurred in the
Caribbean nation so far this year, putting it on course for one of the highest
murder rates in the world. The country saw only 93 murders in 1999. Last year,
there were 407.
VICE News visited the slums of Port of Spain and spoke
with police, activists, community leaders, and gangsters to understand the
country's decade-plus spike in killings. Many of the murders are attributed to
ruthless and politically connected street gangs who control territories that are
sometimes no larger than a city block. The gangs fight over lucrative government
contracts meant to provide social services and combat unemployment.
But
gang violence is merely a symptom of a bigger problem. Trinidad has become an
important stop for drugs headed to West Africa and the United States. Many
observers point to "the big fish" — the nameless political and business elites
who are behind drug trafficking and the culture of endemic corruption and murder
that come with it. They are accused of turning a country rich in oil and gas
deposits into their own personal narco-state, fostering impunity through a web
of bribes and murders. Unlike the profits from the energy industry, however,
this phenomenon trickles all the way down to the street level. [Video 1]
Video 1. Corruption, cocaine and murder in Trinidad.
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