Category: CANA News

Homeland Security Minister, Roger Alexander, said Tuesday that the government is moving to remove rogue prison officers from the system adding that some of these officers have been assisting criminal elements now in custody.

Alexander said that steps are being taken to rid the prison service of these rogue officers with the involvement of the Police Commissioner, Allister Guevarro, and the Attorney General, John Jeremie.

Homeland Security Minister, Roger Alexander

‘Intelligence driven strategic systems would be put in place in order to deal with that whole situation because, I will tell you this much there is a very large, according to the intelligence unit in Trinidad and Tobago, a very large portion of prison officers who.have already been identified.

‘Persons who support this type of behaviour coming from the nation’s prisons and to a greater extent the gang and crime syndicate that has overwhelmed our prison for a number of years, we have spoken to the Police Commissioner and his intelligence team and also the Attorney General, other legal arms of government as to what is the next move we can make to get rid off and eradicate those persons.they are offering no type of assistance to their colleagues, to the institution or even to the prisoners,’ Alexander said.

On Monday, acting The acting Commissioner of Prisons, Hayden Forde, Monday said that drone drop offs were contributing significantly to contraband reaching the prison walls, and is also blaming some prison officials for being part of the criminal activities.

Forde, speaking on a television programme here, said the use of the devises had become a major challenge even as the authourities attempt to intercept them and that something needs to be done urgently.

‘The greatest challenge that we face on a daily basis would be drone flights. Drone flights take place every single day.and because there is that open air we are unable to properly treat with those drone drops.

‘So, the criminal realise that that’s a weak spot and they are actually using that to their advantage. Despite that we have officers who are intercepting some of those drops (and) they have been able to curtail some of th contraband they are trying to get into our prison system, but the vast majority, obviously based on the flight patterns.we have not been able to intercept.

The Acting Prison Commissioner said that between April and October this year, there have been more than 600 drone drops with the most popular spot being at the Maximum Security Prison, at Arouca, east of here.

The Homeland Security Minister, a former senior police officer, said this issue will be addressed in a matter of weeks.

‘At this time, we have engaged persons from outside of Trinidad and Tobago. They will be here in a couple days with the type of technology that we should be proud of with respect to what is happening at the nation’s prisons as it relates to the drones.

‘He has already sent to me a number of items that I must choose from with respect to the drones,’ Alexander said, adding that he would be involving the persons responsible for treating with that situation.

‘So that should be dealt with before the end of November.if not sooner because that to mee is of paramount importance. This war against crime and criminality, especially coming from the nation’s prisons’.

In a powerful address to the region’s tourism leaders, Cricket West Indies (CWI) CEO Chris Dehring issued a stark challenge, calling on airlines and hotels that profit from the sport to finally ‘pull their weight’ and provide crucial financial support.

CWI CEO Chris Dehring (c) addressing the State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC) in Barbados.

Speaking at the State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC), Dehring laid out the uncomfortable truth that while West Indies cricket has pumped over $200 million into the Caribbean tourism economy over the last 15 years, it has received almost nothing in return from the sector.

‘We’ve spent US$82.5 million on airlift over the last fifteen years, but received zero dollars in sponsorship from airlines,’ Dehring stated, highlighting a relationship he described as ‘one-sided.’ ‘It is not fair to the development of our sport.’

The financial figures presented were staggering: US$82.5 million spent on airlift for teams and officials. US$120 million spent on hotel accommodations across the region.

Despite this massive injection of cash, Dehring revealed that sponsorship from the tourism sector has been virtually non-existent, with one notable exception: Sandals Resorts International.

He praised Sandals for setting ‘the benchmark for meaningful support,’ while pointing out that the rest of the regional hotel sector has failed to follow their lead.

‘The truth is, the rest of the regional hotel sector has never matched their example,’ Dehring said.

The CWI CEO framed this not as a plea, but as a necessary conversation for the survival of the game. He argued that tourism reaps tremendous benefits from cricket, driving visitor arrivals, filling hotel rooms, and strengthening the Caribbean brand-while CWI is left to shoulder the entire financial burden.

‘This is not about shifting responsibility. It is about acknowledging that CWI as an organisation cannot do it alone,’ Dehring stressed. ‘Shared investment is critical at this juncture for future-proofing our beloved game.’

In a major push to strengthen the pipeline of Caribbean cricket talent, Cricket West Indies (CWI) has kicked off a second round of essential coaching courses across the Leeward Islands and St. Vincent.

The initiative is a critical part of CWI’s strategy to build a deep and qualified pool of coaches, preparing for the restart of primary school and community grassroots programmes.

Course Instructors Brendon Ramlal (left) and Keshava Ramphal (second right) with participants at Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua.

The training will equip local coaches with the skills needed to nurture the next generation of stars.

The sessions began on Thursday, October 2nd, 2025, at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua and Barbuda.

The programme will now move through the region, with stops scheduled for Montserrat (Oct. 5), the British and US Virgin Islands (Oct. 7), St. Maarten and Anguilla (Oct. 10), and a final session in St. Vincent on October 30th.

CWI’s Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, emphasised the long-term importance of the investment in coaching.

‘Investing in coaching education at this early stage is essential to building a solid foundation for the growth and future sustainability of the sport in the region,’ Bascombe stated. ‘By equipping coaches with the right tools and knowledge, we are creating a more inclusive and sustainable cricket pathway.’

Bascombe highlighted that flagship development programmes like the Republic Bank Limited (RBL) Five for Fun Cricket and the Girls Under-16/19 Territorial Cricket Hubs will directly benefit from this newly trained cohort of coaches.

The courses are being led by two highly qualified coaches from Trinidad and Tobago, Brendon Ramlal and Keshava Ramphal. Both Level 3 certified and with extensive backgrounds in education, they bring over a decade of experience in age-group cricket development.

In a key move for player safety, CWI mandated that all participating coaches complete the online UNICEF Child Protection Course and a virtual Cricket Safeguarding Workshop before beginning their training. This ensures every coach is prepared to provide a safe and supportive environment for young players.

This latest series of courses builds on a successful first round that engaged over 150 participants in territories including Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago, signalling CWI’s sustained commitment to rebuilding the sport from the ground up.

The Belize government says it is seeking legal advice to determine who should be held responsible for the death of a 25-year-old welder last weekend after a ‘training bomb’ he thought was a decoration, exploded.

Jose Valencia,25, had been hired to weld two hooks onto the side of what he was told were decorative training bombs. Valencia had been hired by former parliamentary representative for the San Jose Nuevo Palmar Village, northwest of here, Dave Burgos, to weld the hooks.

However, the bomb was not just for decoration and proved to be extremely deadly when it was set off while Valencia was carrying out his work.

Home Affairs Minister, Kareem Musa, said the police are combing through Belize’s laws to determine what, if any, charges can be levied. He is also questioning whether the British military will take any responsibility for leaving behind these deadly devices in Belize.

‘That is something that we will have to get legal guidance on in terms of responsibility, how it is that Mr. Burgos even came into possession of these things. Because like I mentioned and as it turns out, extremely dangerous to have in your possession, something like that. So we will have to look at the legal options,’ Musa said.

The government had earlier issued a statement indicating that an unexploded and exploded ordnance (UXO) found last week in San Jose Nuevo Palmar Village was a ‘training bomb’ and that the general area was once used as a training ground, ‘and therefore, similar findings may occur’.

It said that the UXO was identified as a MK1, General Purpose Medium Capacity/ Aircraft Bomb and that it was ‘confirmed to be a training bomb.

‘These MK1 General Purpose Medium Capacity Bombs are typically armed with TNT; however, this particular training bomb contained only a ‘spotting charge.’ This charge serves as an exploder, producing a small explosion to mark the point of impact during training exercises,’ the Ministry of National Defence and Border Security said.

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Stacy Smith, said that the police department in connection with the Belize Defense Force (BDF) ‘who is the primary experts as it relates to identifying and categorizing what exactly the device is are in dialogue and we are reviewing the Dangerous Goods Act to the determine what, if any, charges can be brought in light of what the expert opinion as to what exactly that material is.

‘Further to that, a file is being compiled.and that will be forwarded to the office of the DPP for the directives there from,’ she added.

Media reports said that Burgos had three bombs in his possession and following the explosion, members of the BDF were able to safely defused the other two.

Burgos said he thought they were harmless training props meant for decoration.

The ministry said that the explosion caused by the UXO created a crater measuring approximately three feet wide and two inches deep.

‘The Ministry wishes to advise the public that this general area was once used as a training ground, and therefore, similar findings may occur.’

The ministry said that the BDF Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, which serves as the national expert authority in such matters, emphasises that ‘if any person encounters a suspected UXO, do not touch, move, or tamper with it, immediately report the finding to the Belize Defence Force so that the ordnance can be safely disarmed and removed’.

The World Bank Tuesday said that Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) continues its efforts to reignite growth and create more and better jobs, but progress remains constrained.

The Washington based financial institution said that the regional growth rate is expected to edge up slightly, from 2.2 percent in 2024 to 2.3 per cent this year, even as many individual economies face downward revisions in their projections

It said that these adjustments reflect, in part, an external environment that offers limited support, shaped by a cooling global economy, falling commodity prices, and greater uncertainty.

According to the World Bank, monetary authorities in the region continue to manage inflation competently, but the ‘last mile’ is proving longer and rockier than expected.

It said interest rates in advanced economies have slowed their decline, constraining interest rate reductions across the region, and delaying the needed relief for households, banks, and governments’ fiscal accounts. Investment, both public and private, remains depressed, and any momentum for ‘nearshoring’- the practice of bringing offshore operations to close or friendly countries-is stalled, both because of the rise in global uncertainty and because of a lack of preparedness in the region’s enabling environment to attract and host it.

In the wake of an extraordinary year for Jamaican athletics, the nation is turning its spotlight to the masterminds behind the success: the coaches.

The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Jamaica.

Marking National Coaches Day 2025, the Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, led the tributes, recognising the ‘immense contribution’ of coaches from every corner of the island.

‘Our coaches are the architects of our athletic dominance,’ Minister Grange stated in an official release.

‘Their discipline, dedication, and expertise not only produce world-class athletes but also instil invaluable life skills in our young people.’

The annual celebration, officially proclaimed by Governor-General Sir Patrick Linton Allen in 2022, comes at a high point following what the Minister described as a ‘remarkably successful 2025 Athletics season’ for both junior and senior teams.

The Jamaica Track and Field Coaches Association (JATAFCA) received special praise for its pivotal role in initiating the push for a national day to honour coaches.

The partnership between the Ministry and JATAFCA will culminate in a major awards ceremony on November 22, 2025.

The event, under the theme ‘Sustainability of Athletics Through the Development of Coaches,’ will celebrate the long and distinguished service of track and field coaches across five categories of excellence.

Echoing the Governor-General’s call, Minister Grange urged all citizens to participate in the day’s activities and to support coaches year-round.

‘The success of Jamaican sport, from the primary to the elite level, is a direct reflection of the calibre and commitment of its coaching professionals,’ the Minister affirmed, saluting all coaches, past and present.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines government says it has collected EC$70 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) in tax revenue during the first eight months of the year, compared to the same period of 2024.

But it acknowledged that spending outstripped receipts slightly, leaving a current account deficit of EC$718,000, down from EC$19.3 million last year.

Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves told Parliament that the current revenue of the Ralph Gonsalves’ government’s fiscal performance during the first eight months of the year amounted to EC$583 million, compared to EC$517 million up to that same period last year.

‘So we’re almost EC$70 million up – 60-odd million, and at 2023 at this period, we were at EC$481 million. So current revenue is up over EC$100 million over 2023,’ he said, adding that total revenue and grants was EC$624 million compared to EC$559 million year to point in 2024, and EC$514 million in 2023.

‘So that’s up $110 million over the two-year-ago period,’ he said.

The EC$70 million in taxes collected through August 31 is an 11 per cent increase over the EC$62 million of the year-ago period. Corporate taxes stood at EC$40 million, a 22 per cent increase over the 2024 period, when it was EC$33 million.

‘That always suggests that businesses are doing a little more business, making a little more money, and that’s good for everybody,’ Gonsalves said, adding that taxes on goods and services generated EC$182 million as opposed to EC$175 million in 2024 and EC$167 million in 2023.

Taxes on international trade was at EC$159 million, compared to EC$132 million in 2024 and EC$115 million in 2023. The sale of goods and services generated EC$75.4 million as opposed to EC$61 million last year and EC$51 million in 2023.

Capital revenue and grants was flat year-on-year at EC$41 million this year, compared to EC$32 million in 2023.

Gonsalves said total expenditure was EC$841 million on August 31, as compared to EC$728, year-on-year and EC$601 million in 2023, adding ‘you will notice that although the current revenue is increasing dramatically, so, too, is the expenditure’.

The finance minister said current expenditure stood at EC$584 million at the end of August, while it was 536 million in 2024 and EC$484 million in 2023.

‘You’re seeing the trend that if you go back two years, everything is up in the neighbourhood of $100 million, going back from the 2023 period to now.’

Gonsalves said one of the ‘big-ticket items’ is the compensation of employees, which was EC$262 million, up from EC$244 million in 2024 and $232 million in 2023.

He said the salary increase that came into effect this year contributed to the higher spending.

On the capital side, capital expenditure was EC$257 million.

He noted that in 2024, the government set a record of EC$568 million in capital spending, even as the number was EC$191 million on August 31, 2024.

‘So we are far outstripping last year’s record pace,’ Gonsalves said, adding that capital spending was up 34 per cent.

‘The current balance is $700,000 in deficit as opposed to last year, when we were $19 million in deficit. And the primary balance is a deficit of 130 as opposed to a deficit of 97 last year,’ he said.

The finance minister said the current expenditure of EC$584 million was almost the same as the current revenue, hence the deficit was less than EC$1 million. As of August, 31, the government recorded revenue totalling 1.05 billion, including current revenue and capital receipts.

‘This represents 57 per cent of the amount budgeted to be collected for the year on the expenditure side,’ Gonsalves said, noting that current expenditure, amortisation, sinking fund contributions and capital expenditure added up to approximately one billion EC dollars or 54 per cent of the budget.

‘The total budget would be broken down as follows: current revenue, of EC$583 million; capital receipts of EC$471 million, of which grants are 36 million, external loans are 292 million, local loans of 107 million, disposal of land of 1 million, and other receipts of 35 million .’

He said expenditure was EC$584 million, made up of financing of EC$158 million, amortisation of EC$146 million, sinking fund contributions of EC$11 million and capital expenditure of EC$257 million.

Gonsalves said that with two-thirds of the year having passed, current revenue has performed well, increasing significantly by 12.8 per cent and so far accounting for just over 64 per cent of the budget.

‘We’ve had good performance from taxes on income and profits, which increased by 13 per cent because all subcomponents performed better than last year, especially corporate taxes, which outperformed their respective year-to-date budget targets.’

Similarly, taxes on international trade went up by 21 per cent and the sub-components of import duty, vehicle surtax and VAT also outperformed the previous year and the year-to-date budgets.

Revenue from sales of goods and services went up by 24.5 per cent, driven by increased collections on driver’s licenses, which also outperformed their target to date. Recurrent expenditure saw an 8.9per cent increase in spending, approximately 64% of the budget to date.

‘This is driven by increased expenditure on the compensation of employees, which went up by 7.1 per cent due to the 2.5 per cent salary increase for public servants, along with increases in increments and allowances and also some new hirings.’

Gonsalves said the one per cent increase in the National Insurance Services contribution rate also contributed to part of this 7.1 per cent increase in compensation.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar has quietly carried out a minor re-shuffle of her cabinet less than six months after winning the April 28 general elections in Trinidad and Tobago.

While she did not remove any minister from her cabinet and has so far not made any public statement regarding the changes, the changes took effect from October 3, and were published in the official Gazette a day later.

As a result of the changes, the 73-year-old Persad Bissessar takes on several new responsibilities particularly in the areas of housing grants and self-help programmes. She has taken direct control of the Home Improvement Grants Policy, the Housing and Village Improvement Programme (HVIP), and the Government Aided Self-Help Housing Programme (GASHHP).

Persad Bissessar has also assumed direct responsibility for the portfolio of Constitutional Reform.

Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has launched a scathing critique of the West Indies’ dramatic decline in Test cricket, branding their current pace attack as looking ‘more like net bowlers’ after a meek surrender to India in the first Test.

Sunil Gavaskar said only pacer Jayden Seales looked the part during the just-concluded Test against India.

The match, which India won by an innings and 140 runs, was so one-sided that it was overshadowed by other news, a stark contrast to the era when a victory over the West Indies would have sent shockwaves across the globe. The

Caribbean side’s performance, both with bat and ball, painted a picture of a team far removed from its storied past.

Gavaskar, in his column for Sportstar, expressed his disbelief at the toothless West Indies bowling, reserving criticism for all but one bowler.

‘In Ahmedabad, apart from Jayden Seales, the other two were simply trundlers,’ Gavaskar wrote.

‘No disrespect intended to them, but to see the first bouncer being bowled after half a dozen overs had been bowled made one ask, ‘Is this really the West Indies pace attack?”

He acknowledged the effort required for a bouncer but emphasised its importance as a ‘surprise weapon’ to intimidate batters, a tactic famously synonymous with the West Indies teams of yesteryear.

The gulf between the two teams was even more evident with the bat. While Indian batsmen, including centurions KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, and Ravindra Jadeja, piled on the runs, the West Indies’ resistance was minimal.

Gavaskar noted that only Alick Athanaze and Justin Greaves showed any appetite for a fight, with their top scores of 38 and 32, respectively, underscoring the team’s batting frailties.

The former India captain drew a painful comparison with the legendary batsmen of Caribbean cricket’s golden age.

‘For a team that once boasted of the likes of Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge, and Brian Lara, there is simply nobody in this current team who looks like getting a million country miles close to them,’ Gavaskar lamented.

The current state of affairs represents a dramatic reversal of fortunes. During Gavaskar’s own playing career (1971-1987), India won only five of the 31 Tests against the West Indies.

Incredibly, the West Indies have not managed a single Test victory against India since 2002, with India dominating the last 25 encounters with 15 wins.

Police says they have seized more than US$12 million in cocaine during several operations over the last weekend.

They said that on Saturday night, two men were arrested on Cat Island after they were found with US$7.8 million worth of cocaine in a joint operation involving US drug enforcement officers, DEA, and local officers.

Head of the Drug Enforcement Unit Superintendent Wendy Pearson said ‘while onboard a US helicopter on the southern tip of Cat Island, (we) observed two males in low-lying bushes along with a number or crocus sacks.

‘As a result of that, the officers landed where they proceeded into the low-lying bushes where they detained two males. They then checked those crocus sacks [and] discovered that each of those sacks contained a number of kilo packages of suspected cocaine.’

She said the men, ages 42 and 37, were arrested and taken to New Providence, where the drugs seized weighed 359 kilogrammes.

On Sunday, police, Customs officers and US officials, searched a container at a shipping port in Grand Bahama and found US$4.5 million worth of cocaine. No arrests were made in that matter. The drugs weighed 181 kilograms

US officials say cocaine seizures in the region have increased since 2021, noting that between 2017 and 2020, police seized 2,461.37 pounds of cocaine and between 2021 and 2024, the authorities seized 13,479.36 pounds of cocaine.