BULLDOZERS MOVE IN: TWO MAJOR ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS CLEARED IN TCI CRACKDOWN

Public safety push applauded — but fears grow over displacement crisis

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

Turks and Caicos, August 15, 2025 – Striking scenes are unfolding in the Turks and Caicos Islands as authorities continue a forceful crackdown on illegal settlements — a move applauded by many for tackling crime, yet raising urgent questions about the humanitarian toll on hundreds of displaced residents, many of them Haitian.

Earlier this month, on August 8, a large-scale demolition at La Tortue in Blue Hills saw the destruction of more than 200 illegal structures, a site long linked to organised crime and recent serious incidents. The operation, led by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force with the backing of the National Security Council, was part of “Operation Dragon,” a multi-agency effort involving the Informal Settlements Unit (ISU), Planning Department, Border Force, Regiment, and local utilities.

The ISU confirmed that 218 structures were removed from land registered to a private owner. Authorities say La Tortue had become a dangerous hotspot, and dismantling it was critical for public safety.

But the bulldozers did not stop there. Just days later, on August 14, another reclamation exercise began on a privately owned cluster of parcels (Block and Parcel 606602/483 and 484). The ISU says the action was taken at the request of the landowner, with security provided by the police and Border Force. Notices to vacate were issued in April 2024, followed by formal warnings in April this year — well before the demolition began.

The operations come in the wake of a mass shooting that left four dead and 13 wounded, and amid a rising murder rate. While law enforcement frames these demolitions as necessary to disrupt criminal networks, others warn of the potential for a humanitarian crisis, as displaced residents — many with nowhere to go — face an uncertain future.