Trinidad and Tobago on The Tradewinds Brief

Auntie Cheryl: Saddam Hosein Open a GYM!! TTMB Have New Mortgage for We!! And Nurses Saying Dey Going to WALK!!

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:00:00 -0400

Allyuh!!! It me, Auntie Cheryl, and I wake up dis Saturday mornin’ with SO MUCH to tell yuh. De phone been ringin’ since 6AM, me sister in Diego Martin send me TEN voice notes, and me niece in Arima tell me to check de Guardian. Sit sit sit. Make tea. Let me unload.

SADDAM HOSEIN OPEN A GYM!!! 💪💪💪

Ohhhh darling this one had me LAUGHING.

Saddam Hosein — de MP for Barataria/San Juan — he cut de ribbon on a NEW GYM in Aranguez. Dey call it Raw Fitness. And dey TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS of him ON DE CHEST PRESS MACHINE.

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.

Auntie Cheryl: Pension Tax Gone! De Procurement Watchman Doing He Wuk! And Lord Forgive Me, But De SoE Working Too!

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0400

Oh Godddd it’s me Auntie Cheryl from Chaguanas coming to tell allyuh THE NEWS because I cannot hold it in another minute, my phone have 14 missed calls and 200 WhatsApp messages and people in de family is cryin’ happy cryin’ sad and cryin’ confused ALL AT DE SAME TIME and I will explain EVERYTHING.

Put on de kettle. Sit down. Let Auntie tell yuh.

DE PENSION TAX GONE!!!! 🙌🙌🙌

Darling. DARLING. Let me tell yuh what happen today.

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.

Caribbean Brief: Jamaica's Hurricane Budget, T&T Radar Gone, Guyana Plays Football & The US Removes Military Gear from Tobago

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 07:00:00 -0400

Jamaica tables its Hurricane Melissa budget, the US quietly removes military radar from Tobago, Guyana faces Belize in football, and Antigua is hosting the Commonwealth summit in November. Monday Caribbean.

Caribbean Brief: T&T Gets a US Persons-of-Interest List, Barbados Port Wins an Award & The Dominican Republic Declares Tourism War on Mexico

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 07:00:00 -0400

The US handed T&T a list of drug and gun suspects, Barbados digitised its port and won an award for it, the DR is apparently at war with Mexico over tourists, and the OAS is having an existential moment. Caribbean Sunday.