Port of Spain, Trinidad – The closer it gets to Carnival weekend, the more spirited the city’s parties get.
Yes, there’s officially a national state of emergency, and yes, it covers the entire run of the country’s most important tourist attraction – including the frenzied height of the Carnival season this weekend.
But the partygoers at a fete inside an uptown sports stadium hardly pay any attention to the security enforcement agents skulking in the periphery in black balaclavas masking their faces. They chat and laugh with one another as security officers carefully search each entrant with a handheld metal detector.
“We live in a world right now when you look at the news, it can be depressing,” said Nigel Celestine who works with one of the country’s oldest Carnival bands. “Just to see people celebrating themselves, celebrating their culture, celebrating happiness … that goes a long way.”
There are plenty of reasons to bolster the sense that things are under control in the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. This time of year brings in a lot of tourists and money to the nation’s islands. It’s a sacred annual event for many, including those in the large Caribbean communities based in Baltimore, Washington and across the East Coast.
Many view the Caribbean as a “third border” for the U.S., making it a neighbor to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and thus a more permeable wall against crime, drugs and weapons.
But this year’s state of emergency doesn’t feature the scenes one would expect. There have not been any thick formations of military enforcing order with riot shields and armored vehicles in the capital’s downtown. And with no curfew in place for the citizens, for many, it seems like business as usual in Port of Spain.
Many island residents think the state of emergency is more political than anything else. A few months ago – with 2025 elections on the horizon – the government responded to rising reports of retaliatory gang violence by boosting the country’s security posture. That means there are expanded police powers and presence until at least April, and maybe beyond.
And for some, the threat is very real. They think there’s much more the government needs to be doing to tackle the gang problem that has plagued the country and led to last year’s violence.
“Crime is something that there’s no quick fix to,” said Russel Mason, a former officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
“We need to get to the root causes of crime, and unless we do that,” said Mason, “I think it will just go back to the same thing after Carnival or after the state of emergency has ended.”
Mason spent decades with the country’s police service. A consultant and inbound doctoral student in criminal justice, Mason thinks the show of force is good. But he also thinks the violent gang activity that bubbles up from the more impoverished urban areas requires an all-hands-on-deck approach to solve.
Trinidad and Tobago’s murder rate is comparable to Baltimore’s in 2023. When the twin nation’s homicides reached a record high last year, it was roughly 45.6 murders per 100,000.
But in Trinidad, as in Baltimore, some observers believe the emphasis on crime can be political. Trinidad and Tobago will have general elections this year. For the country’s governing party, the People’s National Movement, showing it can successfully manage the country could help them keep a majority.
“I’m being cynical here,” said Jarrel De Matas, Trinidad Express columnist and assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, “but I feel like anything uncharacteristically implemented during an election year could be interpreted as a gimmick.”
“They can lean on the relativity of statistics,” said De Matas, “and continue to suggest that they’ve controlled crime.” Reducing crime, he said, is one of the biggest issues on the minds of Trinbagonians.
Capital News Service reached out to the PNM about the state of emergency and did not get a response.
Gangs and gang violence have been a more serious problem for the twin-island nation since the early 2000s. Homicide numbers have remained in the triple digits since then.
Still, many Trinbagonians say that there is a very real issue of violence and safety concerns especially in hotspots. But Carnival is a time when you tend to feel safe. It’s a time when people put their cares aside and focus on the more joyful aspects of life.
Ta’zyah O’Connor is a local singer who shares that belief.
While the 22-year-old sings multiple genres, he shot to national recognition in 2023 by winning the nation’s decades-old Calypso competition. Calypso is a music that originated in Trinidad that blended West African musical traditions with aspects of the island’s life, similar to how jazz developed in New Orleans.
Today O’Connor is preparing to compete again in the National Calypso Monarch Finals taking place this coming Sunday – Dimanche Gras – at the Queen’s Park Savannah, ground zero for large Carnival activities.
The singer said he considers himself a Carnival baby. He fell in love with the celebrations, calypso music and the freedom of the pre-Lent season from a very young age. Carnival, to him, is when people feel the safest.
“Carnival has always been a time to free yourself,” said O’Connor. “Maybe the ancestors and spirits make it that way, but during this season … it’s not about fighting or crime, it’s just about enjoying the season.”
Celestine with Harts Carnival, one of the country’s oldest Carnival bands, is facilitating costume distribution from the third floor of the Queen’s Park Oval sports stadium as noises from the party inside the stadium boom and thump.
He said the extra security in the oval helps the people who are picking up costumes and carrying cash feel free to enjoy the moment.
Carnival bands create costumes and facilitate the Carnival experience for people who want to participate in the masquerade or “play mas.” Harts Carnival is expecting roughly 2,500 people to join their band to enjoy the party in the coming days, according to Celestine.
Celestine said his band takes safety very seriously to allow people to have the best time possible partying for Carnival. He said locals and foreigners love the Trinbagonian spirit of freedom that is part of this time of year.
“It’s not just about partying, It’s about the history behind it. It’s embedded in our blood. There are people who live for Carnival,” said Celestine. “It’s the only period where people come together to just let loose and have a good time … of every race, every color, every creed.”
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