US Vice President cites T&T as example in crime commentary

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United States Vice President JD Vance has used Trinidad and Tobago as an example of a high crime rate affecting a country, while defending President Donald Trump’s security crackdown in Washington, DC.

Vance was booed by protesters yesterday, as he greeted National Guard troops at Union Station alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. He said crime statistics were “massively underreported” and described the city as overrun by “drug addicts,” “vagrants,” and the “chronically homeless.”

However, protesters chanted “shame” and “we want the military out of our streets.”

“You hear these guys outside, they appear to hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities, and they do the fact that DC a week ago had a higher murder rate than Trinidad and Tobago, which the United States State Department has said you shouldn’t visit because it’s unsafe. We ought to be able to enjoy great American cities. That’s what we’re trying to do in the Trump administration,” Vance said.

According to the latest US travel advisory, T&T remains at Level 3, which urges travellers to reconsider travel due to serious risks from crime, as well as heightened threats of terrorism and kidnapping. Updated on May 7, 2025, to reflect the end of the State of Emergency on April 13, it has not been revised to include the newly declared SoE. The advisory warns that violent crime is common, including murder, robbery, assault, sexual assault, home invasion, kidnapping, and gang activity, and identifies several areas in Port-of-Spain where US government employees are prohibited from entering.

Local media reported homicides in Washington DC decreased in 2025. Through August 11, police reported 99 homicides, compared to 112 in the same period of 2024, representing a decline.

For the year thus far, T&T has recorded 236 murders. At the same time in 2024, the country had recorded 400 murders, also a decline.

Guardian Media sent the video of Vance’s remarks to Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Sean Sobers and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar but neither commented.

Persad-Bissessar has maintained close ties with the US government since taking office. At a post-Cabinet media conference on June 5, she said, “I say further, no amount of rhetoric from the Maduro government will drive any wedge between this UNC-led government and the US government. We stand solidly with the American government on the issues concerning Venezuela. That will not change.”