ACTIVIST Wendell Eversley says that the mishandling of the 1990 coup attempt is what has led to the prevalence of crime and gang violence in TT some 35 years later.

The former hostage held a press conference at the eternal flame memorial outside the Red House on July 22. He noted the recent state of emergency (SoE), implemented based on intelligence of a co-ordinated attack on senior members of law enforcement and the judiciary.

“What we are witnessing in our country is because of 1990. This is because we didn’t treat and get rid of the cancer, because when those people were set free, it was like a carnival at the Royal Jail on Frederick Street…today we’re hearing about extortion, kidnapping, businesses having to close early.