Good morning. Pour a strong coffee. The week left a lot to untangle.
THE CARICOM WAR IS NOW AN INTERNATIONAL STORY
What began as a regional dispute over Venezuela policy and the reappointment of CARICOM’s Secretary-General has now crossed into the international press. The Associated Press is covering it. The core: PM Persad-Bissessar has spent months demanding that Secretary-General Carla Barnett not receive another term, citing Trinidad’s position that CARICOM sided with what she calls a “Maduro narco-government” through the zone-of-peace framework, and that Trinidad pays roughly 22 per cent of the bloc’s budget and has nothing to show for alignment it never agreed with. Regional leaders have pushed back. The emergency Friday meeting produced no resolution. Persad-Bissessar is not softening. This is either a principled stand or a regional fracture — possibly both, simultaneously.
GHANY MURDER: WOMAN RETURNS TO CRIME SCENE
The woman arrested in connection with the killing of San Fernando businessman Steve Ghany Junior was taken back to the Ghany residence by police on Friday after giving a recorded statement. Investigators continue to treat this as a domestic incident. Steve Ghany Junior was killed on April 8. The investigation is active. More details are expected this week.
McDONALD BAILEY ACQUITTED, THEN SHOT DEAD
McDonald Bailey spent more than two decades in prison on a murder charge before being acquitted earlier this year. He was shot and killed on Saturday morning. The country had just finished reading about his acquittal. He had just gotten his life back. Now the courts will have to process another murder connected to his name. This story does not end well no matter how you read it.
JET SKI SUSPECT IN TOBAGO STILL IN CUSTODY
The 32-year-old man from Canaan Feeder Road held in connection with the jet ski death of seven-year-old Angelica Saydee Jogie remained in police custody as of this weekend. The child’s death has shaken Tobago. The investigation continues.
TWO MORE POLICE OFFICERS HIT WITH PREVENTIVE DETENTION ORDERS
Two more police officers have been named in the batch of 34 preventive detention orders published Thursday, bringing the total named in the current round of anti-corruption policing actions to a number that should make anyone who deals with law enforcement in this country uncomfortable. The PDO system exists for a reason. It is currently working overtime.
RIO CLARO BUSINESSMAN WINS $500K AFTER WRONGFUL ARREST AND ASSAULT ON REMAND
The High Court awarded over $500,000 in damages to a Rio Claro businessman who was wrongfully arrested and later sexually assaulted while on remand. That sentence should not have to exist. It does. The award is welcome. The circumstances that made it necessary are not.
RED FORCE VS LEEWARD ISLANDS: MATCH ONE UNDERWAY
The T&T Red Force begin their bilateral West Indies Championship series against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes today in Antigua. It’s been twenty years since the Red Force sat atop the four-day table. The squad has nine internationals. The hunger is reportedly genuine. We will be watching.
Trini Dispatch is satirical news commentary covering Trinidad and Tobago. For real news, try the Trinidad Guardian or Trinidad Express.