US VICE PRESIDENT JD Vance criticised Trinidad and Tobago’s crime rate on August 20 while speaking to the National Guard stationed at Washington DC’s Union Station.
While speaking to the guards, protests over the federal takeover of the city as well as the Israel-Hamas war erupted in the background.
Vance said, “You hear these guys outside? They appear to hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities and they do the fact that DC, a week ago, had a higher murder rate than TT, which the US State Department has said you shouldn’t visit because it’s unsafe.”
When Newsday reached out to Caricom and Foreign Affairs Minister Sean Sobers on August 20, he said he had not yet seen the video, but would watch it.
Newsday also reached out to the Prime Minister, Defence Minister, Homeland Security and Attorney General, as well as the Opposition Leader, former prime minister Stuart Young and former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi for comment, but received no response up to press time.
Former foreign and Caricom affairs minister Dr Amery Browne, in a WhatsApp response to Newsday, said, “Whether in or out of government, I do not appreciate TT being referenced negatively by participants in the politics of any other country. Domestic political discourse is normally conducted without undue reference to other sovereign countries in that manner.
“TT is an independent, sovereign, and proud nation that is blessed in many ways, and yes we have our fair share of challenges as do others.”
On May 7, 2025, the US State Department issued a level three travel advisory for TT, urging US citizens to reconsider travel due to “serious risks from crime. There are also heightened risks of terrorism and kidnapping.”
It said violent crime is common in TT, including murder, robbery, assault, sexual assault, home invasion and kidnapping. It said gang activity, such as narcotics trafficking, is common, and a significant portion of violent crime is gang-related.
The advisory said due to the risks from crime, US government employees working in TT are prohibited at all times from travelling to Laventille, the southern end of Charlotte Street between Oxford Street and Park Street (past the general hospital), Piccadilly Street, Besson Street, Beetham, Sea Lots, Cocorite, and the interior of Queen’s Park Savannah. It said at night they were prohibited from travelling to downtown Port of Spain, Fort George overlook, and all beaches.
It said there is risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in TT, including targeting of tourist locations, transportation centres (airports), markets and shopping malls, local government buildings, hotels and clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events and schools.
Vance’s criticism of TT comes on the heels of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro saying he would deploy a 4.5 million strong militia throughout the South American country after the US doubled the bounty for his arrest to US$50 million and deployed over 4,000 additional troops to the Caribbean.
TT is seven miles away from Venezuela.
On August 12, Defence Minister Wayne Sturge said the UNC had implemented 12 out of its 60 anti-crime points in its first 100 days in office. On August 4, UNC PRO Dr Kirk Meighoo said that murders were “down dramatically” in 2025. Citing police service statistics, he said there had been 231 murders to date, compared to 358 for the same time period in 2024.
A National Public Radio (NPR) article on August 19, written by Juliana Kim, said Washington DC’s “homicide rate in 2024 was roughly around 25 per 100,000 residents, nearly twice the rate in 2012, when it was 13.9 per 100,000 residents, according to an NPR analysis of FBI data. FBI data also showed that the homicide rate in D.C. has been steadily climbing since 2012, when the city hit a historic 50-year low.”
It said the White House recently said that crime in DC is likely significantly understated. Part of its argument was that a DC police commander for the 3rd District was placed on leave in May over accusations that he manipulated crime data in his district.
According to the article, Thomas Abt, the founding director of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction at the University of Maryland, agreed that the allegation was troubling, but he noted that trends in DC remain true: Homicide numbers have been declining in 2024 and 2025 so far, and the same can be said for violent crimes across all categories, including sexual abuse, assault with a dangerous weapon and robbery.
Newsday
