Top cop confirms prisoners made threats against 2 attorneys

News Jada Loutoo 13 Minutes Ago

Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro. - File photo

POLICE COMMISSIONER Allister Guevarro confirmed that inmates have made recent threats against two attorneys. He said the situation is being closely monitored.

“I can confirm that intelligence reports have verified threats made by incarcerated individuals against two criminal ‘defence’ attorneys. These matters are being actively addressed, and the required duty of care notifications have already been issued to the relevant parties,” Guevarro told Newsday on July 30.

The attorneys confirmed they were contacted by police but declined to provide further comment. One said, “I’ll quote Jose Mourinho, the best coach in the world: ‘I prefer not to speak at this time, if I speak, I’ll get in trouble.’ We shall just let our work speak for us.”

The other said, "No one has threatened me. I do not know where the Commissioner is getting his intelligence? Can he tell us?"

The threats come during heightened tensions linked to the ongoing state of emergency, which was declared July 18 and extended by three months on July 28 by Parliament. The government cited credible intelligence that gang members had created a hit list targeting officials within the criminal justice system, including judges and prosecutors.

Police linked the plot to a network of gangs operating inside and outside of the prison system.

National security officials have since introduced strict measures, transferring several high-risk detainees to military bases in Chaguaramas recently designated a prison. The government argues these actions are necessary to prevent organised attacks and further compromise of state institutions. Defence attorneys, however, have raised concerns about limited access to legal counsel, conditions of detention, and alleged violations of constitutional rights.

On December 31, 2024, attorney Randall Hector, who had once been retained by the state to prosecute a gang leader on gun charges, was shot dead outside a church on Stanmore Avenue, Port of Spain.

Police have said Hector’s murder was a hit called from in prison.