Blog

Written By Charlie Spice

Port of Spain, Trinidad —
The long-standing covert economy between Venezuelan drug traffickers and Trinidadian criminal networks has been a structural part of Trinidad & Tobago’s underground financial system for decades. With recent geopolitical tensions, enhanced maritime patrols, and U.S.–led regional surveillance disrupting the traditional drug routes from Venezuela into Trinidad, the country is now grappling with unintended economic shocks that extend far beyond the criminal world.

While the disruption aligns with national security goals, the ripple effects across the informal economy, local communities, and Caribbean trafficking networks have become impossible to ignore.

A Multibillion-Dollar Shadow Economy Suddenly Cut Off

For years, the short 11-kilometre stretch across the Gulf of Paria served as a lucrative corridor for narcotics, weapons, and human smuggling.
Although illegal, the trade supported:

• Thousands of people operating in logistics, storage, boat transport, bribery chains, and street distribution.
  
  
• Entire communities whose economies depended on cash from smuggling.
  
  
• Regional gangs in Barbados, Guyana, St. Vincent, Grenada, St. Lucia, and Curaçao linked to Trinidadian intermediaries.
  
  

With the flow disrupted, this underground economy collapsed almost overnight.

Economists estimate that Trinidad’s illicit drug economy generated TT$3–6 billion annually. Its sudden contraction has produced measurable socio-economic tensions, particularly in East Port of Spain, Cedros, Moruga, Carenage, Diego Martin, and coastal communities traditionally tied to trafficking.

Spike in Violent Crime: A Desperate Scramble for Replacement Income

One of the clearest indicators of the economic shock is the dramatic rise in violent crime.

When drug revenues slow, gangs lose:

• Access to wholesale cocaine
  
  
• Cash for payrolls
  
  
• Funds to buy weapons
  
  
• Resources for protection, bribery, and territory control
  
  

This financial squeeze triggers internal conflict and turf wars.

Police analysts report:

• Increased kidnappings for ransom
  
  
• Increased contract killings
  
  
• Increased extortion operations
  
  
• Larger numbers of young people recruited into gangs due to lack of income
  
  
• More sophisticated robberies replacing drug profits
  
  

The data suggests that what appears to be “crime for crime’s sake” is actually a violent economic adjustment triggered by the collapse of drug-trade liquidity.

Impact on the Legal Economy

While the drug trade is illegal, the money it injected into Trinidad’s legitimate sectors was substantial.

Sectors indirectly hurt by the disruption:

• Real estate (cash purchases dropped)
  
  
• Luxury car sales (a major laundering vehicle)
  
  
• Nightclubs and bars
  
  
• Private construction
  
  
• Import businesses used for washing cash
  
  
• Boat repair and fishing supply shops
  
  

The sudden loss of high-volume cash has created noticeable contractions, particularly in Port of Spain and Chaguanas.

Trinidad’s economy, already struggling with inflation, unemployment, and energy-sector volatility, is now absorbing another shock—one policymakers rarely acknowledge publicly.

Economic Impact on the Wider Caribbean

Trinidad has long served as a trans-shipment hub for narcotics moving from Venezuela and Colombia to:

• Barbados
  
  
• Grenada
  
  
• St. Vincent
  
  
• St. Lucia
  
  
• Jamaica
  
  
• The Dominican Republic
  
  
• The Bahamas
  
  
• The U.S.
  
  
• The U.K. and Europe
  
  

With Trinidadian networks weakened:

Caribbean gangs have experienced:

• Loss of supply consistency
  
  
• Higher wholesale prices
  
  
• Increased violence over scarce shipments
  
  
• Redirection to riskier routes through Suriname, Guyana, and Curaçao
  
  

Small island states report increases in smuggling by air and a rise in gang-related shootings linked to disrupted supply chains.

The Caribbean drug economy is interconnected; disruption in Trinidad affects the entire region’s criminal balance of power.

Humanitarian and Social Consequences

1. Increased Venezuelan vulnerability

As trafficking slows, transport operators shift to human smuggling, raising exploitation risks for Venezuelan migrants.

2. Higher unemployment in coastal communities

Boatmen, dock workers, and “lookouts” who relied on illicit earnings now face poverty.

3. Reduced cash flow in already poor neighbourhoods

Local businesses observe fewer cash purchases and higher loan defaults.

4. Government agencies are overwhelmed

Social services and police divisions face increased pressure as communities destabilize.

Why the Drug Economy Was Allowed to Flourish

Experts say Trinidad’s political class tolerated the trade for decades due to:

• The difficulty of policing the short sea border
  
  
• High levels of corruption within customs, the coast guard, and law enforcement
  
  
• Political campaigns indirectly financed by criminal networks
  
  
• Economic dependence on the liquidity provided by the underground market
  
  
• A scarcity of alternative opportunities in marginalised urban and coastal communities
  
  

As a result, the island remained a critical node in the hemispheric cocaine supply chain.

Can Trinidad Survive Without the Drug Economy?

The disruption—though necessary for national and regional security—has exposed how deeply illicit trade is woven into Trinidad’s economic fabric.

Experts argue that recovery requires:

• Massive investment in job creation for high-risk communities
  
  
• Anti-corruption reform in coast guard, police, and customs
  
  
• Maritime technology upgrades
  
  
• Regional intelligence-sharing
  
  
• New economic zones focused on legitimate marine industries
  
  
• Strengthening social support systems for affected families
  
  

Without addressing the structural issues, Trinidad risks entering a prolonged cycle of crime, economic instability, and community displacement.

Conclusion

The disruption of Venezuelan drug flows into Trinidad & Tobago is a landmark geopolitical achievement—but one with profound unintended consequences.

It has exposed long-ignored truths:

• The drug trade functioned as an economic pillar for thousands.
  
  
• Its disappearance has triggered violent turbulence.
  
  
• The legal economy was more intertwined with illegal profits than previously acknowledged.
  
  
• The Caribbean’s criminal networks are being forced to reorganize in unpredictable—and dangerous—ways.
  
  

Ultimately, the situation reveals a central reality:

Trinidad & Tobago must confront both its dependency on illicit trade and the deep social fractures that allowed the underground economy to thrive for so long.