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Couva South MP Barry Shiva Padarath has voiced strong support for Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar following the defeat of the Zones of Special Operations (ZOSO) Bill, 2026 in the Senate. The Bill, intended to allow the Government to establish crime hotspot zones, failed to secure the required votes, with eight Independent senators voting against and one abstaining, joined by six Opposition senators.

In a media release on Thursday, Padarath described the vote as a “dark and shameful moment” for Trinidad and Tobago, saying the senators prioritized political gamesmanship over citizen safety. He criticized the so-called “Independent Senators” for siding with criminals, leaving communities vulnerable, and undermining national security.

“The race card has been played cynically and irresponsibly,” Padarath said. “Crime statistics are not racism. Reality is not prejudice. To deny where violent crime is concentrated and who suffers most from it, is to lie to the nation and abandon the very communities these critics pretend to defend.”