Missing Persons Hysteria ‘Unfair and Exaggerated,’ PM Says

Missing Persons Hysteria ‘Unfair and Exaggerated,’ PM Says
Lead: Responding to foreign media coverage, Browne pushed back against claims that Antigua and Barbuda faces a crisis of missing persons, calling the coverage “hysterical” and politically charged.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has criticised what he described as exaggerated and politically motivated narratives surrounding missing persons in Antigua and Barbuda.

Speaking on Pointe FM on Saturday, Browne dismissed recent reports in Newsday and other outlets highlighting the disappearance of a Trinidadian national, arguing that there is no evidence the individual went missing in Antigua. He described the coverage as part of an effort to malign the country.

“We hope that the missing Trinidadian young man is safe, but there is no evidence that he went missing in Antigua,” Browne said, noting that the individual in question had a known history of travelling clandestinely by boat and working on illegal marijuana farms.

The Prime Minister accused “deracinated opposition elements” of teaming up with foreign actors to smear the twin-island state. “They are trying to create fear within the society and tear down the country. It’s not about me—it’s about all of us,” he said.

He also pushed back on claims of organ trafficking and human harvesting, calling such suggestions “absolute ignorance” and “utter foolishness.” Browne cited his own family’s experience with missing persons to stress his empathy but insisted that the issue is being sensationalised.

“There has always been a background level of disappearances,” he said, adding that several recent cases are more accurately classified as homicides under investigation.

Browne revealed that the government had recently located a woman missing for over 30 years and is arranging her return to Antigua from Venezuela. “We are bringing her home next Saturday. She was presumed dead, but she’s alive and well.”

The Prime Minister urged residents to remain vigilant but to avoid panic. “There is no crisis. What we are seeing is a deliberate attempt to destabilise and defame our country,” he said.

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