A group of Spanish-speaking participants coming to T&T yesterday for the People’s Summit forum were detained on arrival by local authorities at Piarco Airport. However, after lengthy security checks, they were released around 7 .30 pm last night, Summit organiser David Abdulah confirmed. The group of about seven from the Cry of the Excluded organisation—which was founded in Brazil—included Brazilians, at least two Venezuelans and two Puerto Ricans.

They had been suspected of being “security risks” for tomorrow’s Summit of the Americas, according to the group’s attorney Sheila Velez, speaking from Puerto Rico. The People’s Summit forum, hosted by labour organisations, began yesterday at UWI campus. It is one of several events preceding the historic Americas Summit, which begins tomorrow at the Hyatt hotel and for which security in T&T has been tightened immensely.