Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar has ac­knowl­edged the grow­ing anx­i­ety among cit­i­zens, as­sur­ing the na­tion that her Gov­ern­ment has been work­ing “qui­et­ly, steadi­ly, and de­ci­sive­ly” to keep peo­ple safe.

Her mes­sage came af­ter the U.S. Em­bassy is­sued a se­cu­ri­ty alert ad­vis­ing its cit­i­zens to avoid all U.S. gov­ern­ment fa­cil­i­ties in Trinidad and To­ba­go through the Di­vali week­end due to a “height­ened state of alert.” The no­tice un­set­tled many, com­ing amid ris­ing re­gion­al ten­sions and re­ports of in­creased U.S. mil­i­tary ac­tiv­i­ty in the Caribbean.

Per­sad-Bisses­sar host­ed U.S. Em­bassy Chargé d’Af­faires Jenifer Nei­d­hart de Or­tiz and Chief of Mis­sion Char­lie Fran­ta for Di­vali din­ner at her home that same evening, say­ing, “I thank the mem­bers of the U.S. Em­bassy, led by U.S. Chargé d’Af­faires Jenifer Nei­d­hart de Or­tiz, for shar­ing a Di­vali din­ner at my home this evening.”