Trinidad and Tobago declares state of emergency due to expected rise in gang violence Reuters

(Reuters) – Trinidad and Tobago declared a state of emergency on Monday as the government prepared to retaliate after an attempted assassination of a gang leader, officials said.

The two-island Caribbean nation off the coast of Venezuela will use the state of emergency to launch a crackdown on gangs, authorities said.

Defense forces will become de facto police officers and both will be allowed to carry out warrantless searches, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Stuart Young told a news conference.

Bail will be suspended, and criminal suspects can be detained for 48 hours without being charged. That could be extended by another seven days with court approval, Young said.

On Saturday, gunmen shot a known gang leader as he was leaving a police station, killing a member of his crew, according to Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. The gang leader was not named in the report.

On Sunday night, five men were killed in what is believed to be an act of retaliation, Newsday reported.

Trinidad and Tobago has seen a record number of murders this year.