Persad-Bissessar administration restores Columbus vessels, exiles steelpan from national symbol until 2031
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, December 23, 2025 - The ships are back. The Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria—Christopher Columbus's instruments of Caribbean conquest—have been quietly restored to Trinidad and Tobago's coat of arms, replacing the steelpan that briefly symbolized the nation's post-colonial cultural identity.
