WORLD : Trinidad to Prosecute Rebels
Officials said today they will press charges against more than 100 Muslim extremists who took Prime Minister Arthur N. R. Robinson and 54 others hostage in a failed attempt to topple the government.
They also revealed that at least 30 people died in the assault and the widespread looting that followed it.
The authorities expect to find more bodies in Parliament where Robinson and other government ministers were held hostage and in a police station that was gutted by a car bomb and fire.
Government spokesman Gregory Shaw also confirmed for the first time that Robinson, after being shot in the leg, signed agreements to resign, turn over power to a caretaker government and grant amnesty to the rebels.
However, he said, “all the agreements were signed under duress, all under gunpoint, all of which are completely invalid.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
