PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — A social-media post by Trinidad and Tobago Minister within the Ministry of Housing, Phillip Edward Alexander, has drawn paralells to a Guyana after he publicly called for investigations into the ownership, shareholders, and possible criminal associations of media houses in the Caribbean.
In his post, Alexander criticised what he described as a biased media narrative surrounding an incident involving Minister in the Ministry of Housing, Anil Roberts and Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves. He went further, alleging that the Caribbean has long served as a narcotics transfer hub, claiming that “many Caricom politicians are corrupted up to their necks in drugs and dirty money funnelled through Venezuela.”
Alexander argued that if governments are serious about combating criminal networks, media outlets themselves must also come under scrutiny. He asserted that certain media entities — along with their directors and shareholders — may have links to organisations benefitting from the region’s illicit narcotics trade.
Parallels in Guyana
Alexander’s comments mirror concerns raised by political observers and commentators in Guyana, who have repeatedly questioned the conduct and affiliations of some local media houses.
In recent months, Stabroek News, Kaieteur News, and social-media commentator Travis Chase have faced criticism for what analysts describe as a pattern of reporting favourable to Azruddin Mohamed.
Mohamed, along with his father, has been sanctioned by the United States and is the subject of an 11-count federal indictment in Florida for money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud. Reuters has also reported that Mohamed is under investigation for drug trafficking and other transnational crimes, and has documented his connections to figures linked to the Maduro regime in Venezuela, a major hub in the Western Hemisphere’s narcotics pipeline.
These allegations have fuelled questions about whether certain media entities in Guyana are aligned—directly or indirectly—with individuals under investigation for serious criminal offences. Critics argue that such relationships shape editorial positions, coverage choices, and political narratives.
While no formal investigations have been launched in either Trinidad and Tobago or Guyana regarding media links to criminal actors, the calls for scrutiny are growing louder.