Trinidad and Tobago Drug Trafficking Trivia

Submitted by admin on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 13:42

Sitting around under curfew last night, I decided to do some digging. At what point was it that drug trafficking first was officially recognized as a problem in Trinidad and Tobago and a solution proposed? I remember it as being a topic of discussion throughout the 1980s, actually. I suspect it stemmed from much earlier, perhaps the 1960s, but that was before my time - the 'older heads' would know more on that.

But what I did find was kind of interesting. I found this Wikileaked Congressional Research Service Report (RL 30020) [pdf file] that mentioned Trinidad and Tobago on page 10:

In 1989 Trinidad and Tobago reignited the campaign to create a permanent international criminal court when it requested that establishment of such a court be placed on the agenda of the U.N. General Assembly.²⁰

Oh, the footnote? Glad you asked.

²⁰At the time, Trinidad and Tobago was looking for help with the country’s international drug
trafficking problem.

So, back in 1989 Trinidad and Tobago was looking for help regarding the international drug problem that, today, is the reason given for the State of Emergency. That was 22 years ago - it preceded the 1990 Coup, which in and of itself seems a peculiar coincidence. Who was behind that campaign to reignite the international criminal court? The Honorable Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson, then Prime Minister and later to become the 3rd President of Trinidad and Tobago.

Interesting history, Trinidad and Tobago and Drug Trafficking.

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Scott Drug Report?

Permalink Submitted by Ian Ramjohn on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 15:08.

Do you remember the Scott Drug Report in which several government ministers were named? That was an issue in the 1986 elections, in part because the government had sat on it, refused to release it, for a prolonged period of time. And rumours about Burroughs and the Flying Squad predate even that. Of course, I remember Mayaro in 1986...late at night, 9-10 o'clock, this fishing boat in coming in and it ends up getting turned sideways by the waves. And there was only one man, alone in the boat, and he wasn't able to right it, so my cousin went out and helped him bring the boat in. It seemed odd, that he was coming in that late at night, alone in the boat. The next day, when my father said something to a friend, a Mayaro native, the guy said that [boat name] brings in coke, that the fish is only cover.

Of course, Elephant Walk, a former policeman, owned the hotel next door, and another one further down the beach. And there were always attractive, young white women in bikinis swimming at the other hotel. Colombian prostitutes, according to someone. True or not, the fact of that matter was that in 1986 (just to use a convenient marker that I can associate specific memories with) it was common knowledge that wealthy drug lords were operating openly.

Yup.

Permalink Submitted by admin on Tue, 08/30/2011 - 22:40.

I recall that as well - and to your other comment - yup. I just couldn't find a solid source on them with respect to what I was looking for...

La Tinta

Permalink Submitted by Ian Ramjohn on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 15:10.

And then there's the La Tinta incident, in which a soldier or policeman died and the shipment of cocaine they had intercepted (via a tip from an informant, iirc) disappeared. Again, I can't put a date on it, but I seem to remember it being an issue in the 1986 elections.

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Trinidad and Tobago Drug Trafficking Trivia

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Yup.

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Trinidad and Tobago Drug Trafficking Trivia

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Scott Drug Report?

Yup.

La Tinta

That I remember.

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http://www.jerseytopshop.com

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