Security has been beefed up at the Piarco and Crown Point international airports in response to travel alerts issued by the United States following the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Sunday.
Sources at Piarco airport confirmed that yesterday. Deputy general manager of security at the Airports Authority of T&T, Joseph Edwards, confirmed last night that security at the airports had been tightened. He said: "We have put our personnel on high alert. It will continue until we are satisfied the threat no longer exists. We have to be guided by what is happening in the international arena." Meanwhile, Office of Disaster Preparedness Management (ODPM) chief executive officer, Dr Stephen Ramroop, also called for beefed up security at critical national facilities due to threats of retaliation from Islamic groups after the United States army killed Al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Ramroop made the appeal in an interview yesterday after the opening of the Expansion of the Earthquake Readiness Capacity Building Initiative stakeholder consultation at the Chancellor Hotel and Conference Centre, St Ann's. The US Department of State issued a worldwide alert to its citizens travelling or residing abroad about the enhanced potential for anti-American violence as a result of the counter-terrorism attack in Pakistan. US President Barack Obama announced Bin Laden was killed by US special forces on a compound in Pakistan. Bin Laden was accused of being the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
A travel alert issued on Sunday by the Department of State said:
"Given the uncertainty and volatility of the current situation, US citizens in areas where recent events could cause Anti-American violence are strongly urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations." Also, the Foreign Secretary of the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) in Britain asked for all embassies and high commissions overseas to review their security.
The FCO advised all British nationals overseas to be vigilant and monitor the media. Online news reports said law enforcement agencies around the United States stepped up security measures following Bin Laden's death. Reports said in Los Angeles police were stepping up intelligence-monitoring, while in New York additional police officers were sent to subways, airports, bridges and the World Trade Centre site. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it would add more police at the facilities it ran, which included the airports, the George Washington Bridge and ground zero. Washington's Metro Transit system also increased its security.
In Philadelphia, police were on heightened alert, checking mosques and synagogues and stepping up patrols at transportation hubs and historic sites. The travel alert statement added: "US Government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. "These facilities may temporarily close or periodically suspend public services to assess their security posture. "In those instances, US Embassies and Consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to US citizens." The 2001 terrorist attacks on The Pentagon and the World Trade Centre killed approximately 3,000.