Racial and political tensions have flared in Trinidad and Tobago after members of the Syrian-Lebanese minority were accused of an assassination plot based on a private phone call. Star Sabga, 69, lived in a luxury seaside apartment in a suburb of Port of Spain, making artisanal cheese and discussing politics with her niece, Genevievre Hadeed. In June, police detained Sabga, Genevievre, and her husband, Dominic Hadeed — a bottled-water magnate — accusing them of plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

The Hadeeds were held without charges for nearly a month; Sabga for over two months under Trinidad's state of emergency, in place almost continuously since 2025 due to rising violent crime. The emergency allows warrantless searches and indefinite detention without charges. The case ignited national debate over surveillance, preventive detention, and the targeting of government critics.

Dominic Hadeed had criticized the administration's tax policies in March and objected to the cancellation of a business lease held since 2007. Human rights experts warn crime reductions under such measures are often short-lived and erode civil liberties. Persad-Bissessar defended the emergency, citing lower crime stats, though she acknowledged it may not be "the best thing to do." The detentions exposed friction surrounding Trinidad's Middle Eastern-descended minority, historically associated with the People's National Movement.