Minister of Defence Wayne Sturge says he does not anticipate the Zone of Special Operations (ZOSOs) to remain in effect in different communities across T&T for more than five years if the bill becomes law.
As of yesterday afternoon, the Reform (Zones of Special Operation) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Bill, 2026, was still being debated in the Senate.
The Bill was passed in the Lower House early on Saturday morning with a division of 27 for and 11 against.
Sturge made the comment during an interview on TTT’s Trinidad and Tobago Today morning programme, after being asked how long the heightened operations would remain in effect once introduced.
Noting that the ZOSOs were not intended to be a permanent security arrangement, as it seeks to treat directly with violent criminal elements, Sturge said, “If the ZOSO is working as it supposed to, there might not be need for the operation to be carried out for more than two or three years, I doubt more than five years because we have to target certain pockets in certain places and once we in essence get rid of the gang leaders and they’re locked away for a long time and once we can stop the inflow of guns and ammunition, then you will see the violent crime takes a serious nosedive and there won’t be need for such intense operations, normal policing would do.”
Sturge also responded to critics of the strategy, noting that in practice, “informal” ZOSOs have been introduced at different communities across Trinidad with measurable results.
Referring to the introduction of heightened police operations with regiment support in Laventille, Diego Martin, Tunapuna and Enterprise, Chaguanas, over the years, Sturge said these activities have yielded results in suppressing different categories of violent crime.
He said introducing specific legislation catering to the provisions of a designated zone would enhance the ability of the authorities to effectively fight crime.
“What we are trying to do now is have the ZOSO but under the cover of law, so you can’t have citizens to obey the law but you’re carrying out operations without the cover of law... you lose your legitimacy and you lose your ability to govern.”
During the State of Emergency (SoE), which was declared in July 18, 2025, several purported gang leaders and gang members were detained under preventative detention orders (PDOs). Some of those detained were housed at military bases as part of increased security precautions against the influx of contraband.
Sturge added that once the SoE is lifted at the end of the month, depending on what evidence was available to the police, some suspects won’t be released.
“Not all of these gang leaders will return to the free world... just a handful,” he said.
“Some of them we expect will be charged, some will not be, but we don’t foresee those who remain in prison walls being able to do as they have done over the last ten years, because the Attorney General has taken the novel step of declaring Teteron (Barracks) and Staubles (Bay) and these bases as prisons.
“So although the SoE ends, these people won’t be going back to the Maximum Security Prison and Golden Grove Prison, where they can communicate as freely as they did before. So, once we are able to limit, or as far as possible eliminate their ability to communicate with the outside, then I believe we’ll see a continued reduction.”
For this reason, Sturge said while the lifting of states of emergency was usually followed by a resurgence in violence, he did not anticipate any uptick in violence with the introduction of ZOSOs.
In addition to anti-crime operations, Sturge said community-level social engagement will also be introduced as part of the ZOSOs. He said such a multi-pronged approach to crime-fighting is geared towards tackling criminality at different levels, but acknowledged that despite Government’s efforts, some murders could not be solved strictly with police action.
Referring to inter-gender violence, Sturge said such incidents could only be addressed through sustained re-education and socialisation.
“A man who wants to kill his wife because she cheated on him, no government can prevent that in the short-term. That is the type of thing you treat with on a behavioural level, you have to educate and inculcate values which persons would know women are not objects to be possessed. So, you can’t control people and understand a horn is not a horn if you take it on.”
