April 23, 2021: The Embassy is aware of the UNC’s response to the Department of State’s travel advisory to U.S. citizens. The Travel Advisory for Trinidad and Tobago is now Level 4, do not travel, due to restricted travel options put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Department’s Travel Advisories are apolitical in nature, and in no way reflect our relationship with any country or with any specific political party within a country. We recently adjusted our Travel Advisory system to give more weight to recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Following this update, approximately 80% of countries worldwide have a Travel Advisory Level of 4: Do Not Travel.
The naming of specific neighborhoods in the travel advisory comes from a specific provision of U.S. law that provides there can be no double standard for U.S. citizens versus employees of the Department of State. Safety information we make available to our Embassy staff, by law must also be given to the greater U.S. public. Since the Embassy is located in Port of Spain, we warn our employees only about the areas in or around Port of Spain. There are other areas of the country that are dangerous for non-residents to visit as well, including beaches around Trinidad and Tobago, based on police reports of criminal activity. We strongly disagree with any attempt to politicize the Department of State’s travel advisory system.