The Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, Wednesday gave the assurance of increased security around the members of the Trinidad and Tobago football team participating in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Gold Cup in the United States.
Griffith said that the decision to increase the security followed death threats to members of the team following the nil-all draw with defending champions Mexico, in the opening round of the competition in Arlington, Texas, last Saturday night.
Griffith said that he has held discussions with National Security Minister, Fitzgerald Hinds and Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister, Dr. Amery Browne, as well as the Trinidad and Tobago Ambassador to the United States, Anthony Phillip-Spencer.
He said as a result of those discussions, a decision was taken to send the Special Branch representative, based in Miami, to be the security liaison with the Trinidad and Tobago team for the remainder of their campaign in the Gold Cup.
The Commissioner said that the officer joined the team on Wednesday and his role will be to liaise with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Frisco Police Department in Texas, hotel security, and match security officials.
He will also be involved in the security checks to the team bus, coordinate security at the hotel, training fields, and match venues, especially prior to departure and on arrival, and ensure the players are secure from access to spectators from opposing teams.
Trinidad and Tobago will play El Salvador this evening at the Toyota Stadium in Texas and will complete the Group Stage of the competition when they play Guatemala on Sunday.
CMC
