By FRANCIS JOSEPH
“There will be no sanctuary for you.”
Those were the words of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC in the House of Representatives on Wednesday as she announced that the Special Operations Bill 2026 is returning to the Parliament.
And the debate for that Special Operations Bill will take place on Friday.
Saying that the current State of Emergency expires at midnight on Thursday, Persad-Bissessar said, “we would not allow the expiration of emergency powers to create an opportunity for gangs, gun runners, and drug traffickers to gain ground.”
She said following consultations with the National Security Council, Government will bring the Special Operations Bill 2026 before Parliament.
The proposed legislation will establish a permanent legal framework for targeted operations against violent crime, gangs, illegal weapons and the criminal networks that finance them, while providing safeguards for law-abiding citizens, judicial oversight and parliamentary accountability.
Persad-Bissessar also outlined the results of the six-month State of Emergency and reaffirmed her Government’s commitment to pursuing criminals and their financiers, regardless of wealth, status or political connections.
In an 18-minute presentation, she warned, “The State of Emergency may end, but there will be no sanctuary for you. These measures are meant to target criminals, not law-abiding citizens. When gangs impose illegal curfews, extort businesses, recruit children and drive families from their homes, those gangs tend to replace the authority of the State with the authority of the criminal gun.
“This Bill will give the Protective Services the lawful power to break that control, restore public safety, and return these areas to the people who live there.”
She said special operations must not target only the gunmen terrorizing residents, but they must also target the drugs, the weapons and the money supporting them.
On the issue of the amount of drugs seized, the Prime Minister said no ordinary person or small man, no small operator can finance this operation of such a magnitude.
“Behind the gunmen are wealthy drug traffickers, financiers, and facilitators with access to foreign currency, transportation, commercial infrastructure, and international connections. “
