Government has been criticised over traffic regulations imposed for Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2026 matches, after some fans had their vehicles wrecked around the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, on Wednesday night.Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles yesterday questioned the traffic arrangements, saying that Government would have known about the CPL from the year before.Beckles was speaking at a news conference at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Port of Spain.While critical of the traffic arrangements that led to cricket fans being wrecked, Beckles said no one was encouraging breaking of the law.“If you (Government) going to do this, let the public know,” Beckles said.The Opposition Leader went on to accuse the Government of “dictatorial tendencies”.She said the United National Congress (UNC) administration had taken the attitude that “we are in charge and just follow our laws”.Beckles noted the significance of the event to the country, and recalled that the Government had this year banned the hosting of Carnival fetes at facilities such as the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba.She called on Government to better facilitate patrons at events such as CPL, saying that arrangements could have been put in place to try to avoid Wednesday night’s wrecking incidents.What happensafter SoE?The Opposition Leader also again questioned Government’s crime plan yesterday, and called for clarification as to what will follow the September expiration of the ongoing state of emergency (SoE).Beckles pointed out that since the UNC assumed office, Trinidad and Tobago has spent 373 days under an SoE.She said “three-quarters” of the Government’s time in office had included an SoE, and the public had nothing from Government on what will happen when the current SoE ends.Beckles asked if the country would be living under a perpetual state of emergency.The Arima MP said as of yesterday, 176 days had been spent under an SoE.Beckles noted incidents in the past week, in which bomb threats were made against several courts around the country.She said this was a “very serious matter”, yet the Government has not made a statement or sought to allay the fears of the public.Beckles asked what was being done to ensure this did not happen again.She said that up to July 2026, 572 preventive detention orders (PDOs) had been issued, while 138 PDOs had been issued under the first SoE.Beckles said there have been 153 arrests, with 28 people charged.She accused the Government of “drama”, saying that officials have told the public of “gang” links and have given names, while putting people behind bars.The Opposition Leader questioned how many people would actually be charged by the end of the SoE, while calling on Government to state whether it had a crime plan.
Penny knocks traffic regulations at CPL match
Government has been criticised over traffic regulations imposed for Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2026 matches, after some fans had their vehicles wrecked around the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain,







