Grave concern: Cabinet to meet over Sturge threat

Minister of Defence Wayne Sturge at a recent stand-your-ground consultation in Sangre Grande. - Faith Ayoung/File photo

There is “grave concern” among cabinet members after news of the threats against Defence Minister Wayne Sturge.

This was revealed by Justice Minister Devesh Maharaj while speaking with the media after touring the Besson Street Police Station on August 18.

At the weekend, a Sunday Newsday exclusive story disclosed several additional security measures have been put in place to protect Sturge and his family after police and military intelligence discovered a plot to kill him.

Senior officers in three separate intelligence agencies told Newsday there was a “real and present danger to the minister and his relatives.”

Sturge is the third minister in recent weeks to have received threats.

On August 11, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath and Rural and Local Government Minister Khadijah Ameen were also threatened over the reforms they were seeking to implement in the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (Cepep) and the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP).

Both have been vocal about alleging corruption in the entities and have paused the programmes and fired the contractors while an audit is being done.

Persad-Bissessar said URP programme manager Feroze Khan was also the subject of threats.

Maharaj, though, skirted around identifying which ministers, or how many, have been threatened apart from Sturge.

“We are very concerned. All of us are very concerned.”

Maharaj added he was unable to say much about it as the matter was under investigation

“He's our colleague, and a minister. But there's only so much we can say at this point in time,” he said before adding it is being taken “very seriously.”

Asked about fears by ministers over their safety and that of their families, Maharaj added the Cabinet is set to meet on the matter soon.

“There is very grave concern. We are very concerned about the situation and certainly a colleague of ours, and it seems that the intelligence reports, from what we read in the papers, show that it was a very real threat.”

PM concerned about all citizens’ safety

Newsday contacted Persad-Bissessar for a comment via Whatsapp given Maharaj’s revelation of the mood within the cabinet.

Asked if she had spoken with her ministers about their concerns, and if she was worried about their safety, she responded, “I am always concerned about the safety of all citizens of our country.”

The government, justifying its decision to cancel the annual Independence Day parade at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, scheduled for August 31, cited the intelligence that pointed to an assassination plot targeting senior officials which sparked the ongoing state of emergency (SoE).

On August 15, a statement from the Ministry of Homeland Security noted the cancellation of the celebrations was made on the advice of national security agencies.

When the SoE was declared on July 18, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro said it was necessary to prevent an organised criminal syndicate operating within the prisons from executing a plan to assassinate key justice and law enforcement officials.

Guevarro has since said while the immediate threat has been disrupted, several other co-conspirators are not yet in custody.

Ameen: I will not be intimidated

Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, who was with Maharaj during the tour, suggested Sturge’s security has since been adjusted accordingly to deal with the threat.

“The security arrangement, I wouldn’t want to discuss that too much. However, we are doing everything that we can to ensure the safety of Mr Sturge and his family.”

He was unable to say if the threats to Sturge were reported to the police, but suggested that did not undermine the credibility of the threat.

“Mr Sturge would have consulted with the relevant agencies and once a threat comes forward, or information about the threat comes forward, what normally happens is that you will also brief your family accordingly. So I know that was done.”

Newsday tried to contact Sturge but calls to his cellphone went unanswered.

Meanwhile, Ameen told Newsday she does not intend to let the criminal elements stop her from doing her job.

She said she will not be intimated by any threats, whether real or perceived.

“We have a job to do. Of course, we will all take our precautions, as everybody in TT takes precautions where the criminal element is concerned, because we are all exposed, all citizens are exposed to it.

“But, as I say, I have no fear. I am going to do my job.”

Pressed on how the threats have affected her family, Ameen remained tight-lipped and reiterated her stance.

“I have never been a person to be intimidated. I have always been fearless in my representation and, I will continue to do so.”