Trini Dispatch on The Tradewinds Brief

Trini Dispatch: 56 Bodies in a Shallow Grave, the Fair Trading Commission Still Does Not Exist, and the Piarco Domestic Lounge Closes on the 24th

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0400

Port of Spain morning. The papers this Sunday are carrying a story that I have been turning over in my head since Saturday afternoon, and I still do not have the vocabulary for it. Let me try.

Cumuto Cemetery. Fifty-six bodies. Shallow grave.

On Saturday, at the Cumuto Cemetery, two workers from a popular funeral home were discovered attempting to illegally dispose of 56 human remains in a shallow grave. The T&T Police Service is investigating. The funeral home has not, at time of writing, been publicly named across all outlets, but the story is in the Guardian and Newsday.

Trini Dispatch: De Fair Trading Commission Still Not Working, New Mortgages From TTMB, and an MP Opens a Gym While Nurses Continue to Leave

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0400

Saturday morning, Port of Spain. Trini Dispatch here, trying to sort the week into something that looks like a pattern. It mostly does not form one. I shall present the items as they come.

The Fair Trading Commission, Still Absent

Dr. Ronald Ramkissoon, former chairman of the Fair Trading Commission and an economist of considerable standing, has issued a public warning that calls are now intensifying for the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Tourism to urgently restore the Commission to operational status.

Trini Dispatch: The Procurement Regulator Got Up, the HDC Got Halted, Thirteen More Detentions, and the Finance Bill Brings a Gift

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Good morning from Port of Spain. Trini Dispatch here, reporting from a country where, as of this week, we are forty-five days into a State of Emergency and the strangest part is that most people have forgotten.

Let’s see what’s in the tray.

The HDC Contracts: $3.4 Billion, Paused

The Office of the Procurement Regulator has halted the award of $3.4 billion in Housing Development Corporation contracts to eleven companies. The halt came hours after a Government minister appeared on television to explain that the process was thorough, appropriate, and beyond reproach.