NEWS
Shot ocelot clings to life after surgery
An ocelot is fighting for survival after being shot and left with severe spinal injuries, in what officials are describing as a serious breach of the country’s environmental protection laws. The animal, now named Papaoutai, underwent emergency surgery after X-rays revealed ballistic trauma to his spine. While his condition remains critical, veterinarian Dr Kriyaan Singh, who has been caring for him since he was retrieved from a forested area, says there is cautious optimism. Papaoutai is being kept at the La Romaine Veterinary Clinic in South Trinidad. Read more here
US court jails Trini
A Trinidad and Tobago national pleaded guilty and was sentenced to over four years in a federal prison in the United States for his role in a multi-year firearms smuggling operation. According to a statement from the United States Embassy, Port of Spain, Shem Wayne Alexander, 36, of Port of Spain, was sentenced by US District Judge John L Badalamenti to four years and nine months in prison for conspiracy to smuggle firearms from the United States to Trinidad and Tobago. The court also ordered Alexander to forfeit firearms seized during the offence. Read more here
POLITICS
Prime Minister delivers scathing address at Caricom Summit opening
In a hard-hitting address to fellow Caricom leaders, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar delivered a forceful defence of her unwavering support for United States President Donald Trump, while sharply rebuking members of the regional bloc for what she described as political interference across the region and their failure to confront Venezuela in defence of Guyana. Delivering an address at the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom in St Kitts and Nevis yesterday evening, the Prime Minister started her speech by pledging Trinidad and Tobago’s support for Caricom. However, that tone of camaraderie soon gave way to criticism, and what began as allyship shifted into open admonishment. Read more here
BUSINESS
Bryden subsidiary in Barbados now Moët Hennessy distributor
The Brydens Group has announced it is in the final stages of construction of a new regional warehouse in T&T, a facility designed to anchor its distribution strategy across the southern Caribbean. David Franco, regional business development director, premium beverages at The Brydens Group, in a news release yesterday, said this move is expected to drive operational efficiencies from source to consumer and add value for its strong partnerships with “world-class brands.” This infrastructure development coincides with the announcement that the group’s subsidiary, Stansfeld Scott Barbados, has been appointed the official importer and exclusive distributor for a range of brands within the Moët Hennessy portfolio in Barbados. This appointment, effective January 2026, followed the group’s long-standing 20-year management of the same portfolio in T&T through AS Bryden and Sons Holdings Ltd, the release said. Read more here
New Federation aims to link T&T and India business leaders
The Trinidad and Tobago India Business Federation (TT-IBF) has been established to connect business leaders from Trinidad and Tobago and India who are seeking to trade and collaborate with one another. So said TT-IBF president Dr Vaalmikki Arjoon during its launch on Sunday at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation in Mt Hope. Among the attendees were Minister of Trade and Industry Satyakama Maharaj, Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo, Indian High Commissioner Dr Pradeep Rajpurohit, and executive chairman of Coosal’s Group of Companies Dr Sieunarine Coosal. Read more here
REGIONAL
US$100M to support new STEM initiative
EXXONMOBIL has announced its commitment of US$100 million to a new science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiative in Guyana. Describing it as a “transformational” investment in the country’s human capital and long term development, President Dr. Ali on Monday said the funding will support a central pillar of the government’s strategy to equip the next generation of Guyanese with the skills needed for 2050 and beyond. “We have to ensure that the next generation of Guyanese, and this generation, are equipped with the necessary skills, training, and knowledge to take Guyana forward, to advance Guyana, and to ensure that we have the human capacity and capability to do this,” the President told ExxonMobil’s board members and senior executives during an engagement at State House. President Ali stressed that education and training were identified from the outset as critical to Guyana’s development pathway. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Threat of further violence looms after Mexican cartel rampage
Driving into Mexico's western city of Guadalajara, the evidence of Sunday's terrifying cartel rampage is still visible. The charred debris of burnt cars sits on roadsides and there are scorched patches of asphalt on the highways after the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) - one of the most powerful and feared cartels in the country - set scores of vehicles alight in response to the killing of their boss, Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera. This and the sight of ransacked or burning convenience stores projected exactly the message the CJNG wanted: that with or without their chief, they remain powerful, with the ability to unleash havoc and chaos on the streets - sowing fear and intimidation on a mass scale. Read more here
25th February 2026