Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Bakes on March 22, 2014, 08:42:36 AM
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The crisis in Venezuela
Another day, more bodies (The Economist (http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2014/03/crisis-venezuela))
Mar 13th 2014, 16:49 by P.G. | CARACAS
(http://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/full-width/images/2014/03/blogs/americas-view/20140315_amp505.jpg)
THICK clouds of teargas hung in the air over the north gate of the Central University (UCV) in Caracas on March 12th. A police helicopter clattered overhead; on campus, plain-clothes gunmen on motorcycles, some bearing the initials of the national guard, harassed student demonstrators.
A month after the government crack-down on protesters began, Venezuela’s crisis is deepening. This was the bloodiest single day since three people were killed in Caracas on March 12th. Eighteen injuries were reported at the UCV, after a previously peaceful student march to demand the resignation of the Venezuelan government ombudsman was halted on the orders of President Nicolás Maduro.
But it was the city of Valencia, 125km west of the capital, that bore the brunt of the violence. Three people were shot dead there, including a national-guard officer and two civilians. The government blamed “snipers”; opposition sources insist the only people seen shooting belonged to the pro-government colectivos some are now beginning to call death-squads. The casualties in Valencia brought the month’s death toll to well over 20.
The protest movement began in early February after students and the more confrontational wing of the opposition Democratic Unity (MUD) alliance took to the streets. Their grievances, which are widely shared even by government supporters, include uncontrolled violent crime, inflation and growing shortages of food and other basics. Huge, peaceful protest marches across the country,as well as more violent clashes, often at night, have rattled the government.
Its response has been to jail the radicals’ most prominent leader, Leopoldo López of the Popular Will (VP) party, and unleash violent repression. More than 1,300 protesters, as well as innocent bystanders and journalists, have been detained; many have complained of beatings and ill-treatment. Dozens of cases of alleged torture are being investigated by human-rights groups. Plain-clothes security agents in unmarked cars have begun snatching alleged protest organisers off the streets.
While he wields a baton in one hand, Mr Maduro releases doves from the other. He has launched a so-called “peace conference”, which the opposition has boycotted. It says it will not sit down to talk unless the government gives clear signs that it is willing to mend its ways—which means, among other things, releasing Mr López and other political prisoners, and disarming the colectivos.
As the violence unfolded on March 12th, the Union of South American nations (Unasur) met in Santiago, the Chilean capital, to discuss how to respond to the Venezuelan crisis. Unasur agreed to form a commission of foreign ministers to visit Venezuela, whose task is to “accompany, support and advise”. The strained grammar of the Unasur communique, which reflects underlying political fractures among its members, leaves the reader to guess who is being “supported”.
Mr Maduro certainly seems to have seen the statement as a green light for further repression. He promptly called a meeting of his “security cabinet” and announced “drastic measures” to put a rapid end to the barricade-building and stone-throwing that have disrupted life in every major city in recent weeks. He ordered national-guard commandos to raid residential buildings in Valencia and said security forces would move within hours to arrest the “fascists” and their “suppliers and financiers”. Opposition mayors who fail to stop the protests are also being threatened with legal action.
Unless the Unasur foreign ministers can persuade the government to moderate its stance, their mission will be doomed from the outset. So far, their only achievement seems to have been to encourage the president to act more strongly to snuff out the protests.
https://www.youtube.com/v/A_Wz8yiVkcM#t=1159
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A FB friend has been doing her best to keep this crisis first and foremost on her feeds.
She posted some links that include graphic pictures showing injuries inflicted on the anti-government protesters.
here is one
https://www.youtube.com/v/ej0bhSFLjSk&feature=share
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American propaganda, no doubt.
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These protesters are from the elites of Venezuelan societies and their main beef is that the oil wealth is being shared by the poor .
In their mind the resources of Venezuela belong to them and them only and is not to be shared with the poor .
It is no wonder that all the protests is taking place in the rich neighborhoods of Caracas and life goes on peacefully in the Barrios . I believe that Maduro and Chavez before him has exhibited too much patience with these American stooges . These protests needs to be smashed with a heavy hand .
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These protesters are from the elites of Venezuelan societies and their main beef is that the oil wealth is being shared by the poor .
In their mind the resources of Venezuela belong to them and them only and is not to be shared with the poor .
It is no wonder that all the protests is taking place in the rich neighborhoods of Caracas and life goes on peacefully in the Barrios . I believe that Maduro and Chavez before him has exhibited too much patience with these American stooges . These protests needs to be smashed with a heavy hand .
You might want to take yuh head out yuh ass and watch the videos to see the "elites" who are in them. Watch the black girl getting she head bashed in by a female cop who straddles her, takes off her helmet and beats her about the face mercilessly as her friends and neighbors look on. Elites my ass.
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These protesters are from the elites of Venezuelan societies and their main beef is that the oil wealth is being shared by the poor .
In their mind the resources of Venezuela belong to them and them only and is not to be shared with the poor .
It is no wonder that all the protests is taking place in the rich neighborhoods of Caracas and life goes on peacefully in the Barrios . I believe that Maduro and Chavez before him has exhibited too much patience with these American stooges . These protests needs to be smashed with a heavy hand .
I can't agree with you.
In the beginnning of Chavez's second coming, his opponents were mostly class-based ... and blindly adhering to that line on a class basis. However, today discontent transcends class to a greater degree. The human rights violations can't be ignored on the altar of class warfare. You're correct that the plutocrats have a legacy of insensitivity to the poor ... but Maduro's methodology is no way to proceed.
(pecan, the VEN protesters in Toronto have been quite committed!)
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19 T&T Muslims held in Venezuela
Suspicion of being terrorists
By Mark Bassant CCN Senior Multimedia Investigative Journalist
AT LEAST 19 Trinidadian Muslims are now in the custody of the Venezuelan intelligence service SEBIN (Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional), under the suspicion of being terrorists.
Well-placed intelligence sources in Venezuela confirmed the arrests of the Trinidadians, along with two other non-nationals at Plaza Hotel in Sabana Grande, Caracas.
The arrests followed a daytime raid last Wednesday.
The Express and TV6 News understand that three Trinidadian imams were among those held during the raid.
They are all being detained at SEBIN headquarters in Caracas.
The Express and TV6 News were informed that officers from SEBIN searched the hotel rooms of the Trinidadians and found military-style uniforms and Jihadist videos.
They also confiscated US$102,000 in cash and 66 passports that were in the possession of one of the Imams, who is attached to the Montrose Masjid.
The imams claimed they were not connected to the group and said they had come to Venezuela to secure visas at the Saudi Arabian consulate for Trinidadians who were going to the Hajj pilgrimage.
But intelligence sources in Venezuela who checked into their story indicated that the imams had some of the arrested group members’ passports in their custody.
“When we checked into their story we understand that they were trying to get the passports of these group members renewed by going to their consulate here in Venezuela.”
Intelligence sources close to the investigation informed the Express and TV6 News that the imams were attempting to renew the passports of the members, stating that they were travelling to Syria in a few months.
A high-ranking security source in Venezuela told the Express and TV6 News that the Trinidadians are being treated as suspected terrorists as it is believed they were leaving for Syria to fight in the Jihadist war.
Umar Abullah, head of the Islamic Front in Trinidad, said: “We have been asking for a long time for this Government to establish diplomatic relations with the Saudi government as it relates to visa and travel requirements to the holy land. It would prevent incidents like this with Imams having to travel to Venezuela with huge amounts of money and people’s passports if we can establish a Saudi consulate here.”
But one of the men, authorities believe, is instrumental in teaching some of the group members to use firearms and is wanted in Trinidad on a suspected murder charge.
Another one of the men now in custody was detained for questioning during the 2011 state of emergency in Trinidad.
He was suspected of being part of an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and some members of her administration.
The Express and TV6 News obtained the names of all of the persons in custody, but decided to withhold them until further investigations.
Apart from the three imams in custody, there are eight children, ranging in ages from two to 11, five adult men and three women.
The Express and TV6 News were reliably informed that officials from the Trinidad and Tobago Consulate made attempts to see the children but have been barred.
Venezuelan authorities have been tight-lipped about the arrests and say they will not share any information since they believe it can prejudice their investigation.
Under Venezuelan law, the group can be detained up to 45 days without being charged.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official indicated under the Vienna Convention the group is permitted one consular visit.
The Express and TV6 News understands that the children and the adult men and women had entered Venezuela between January 1 and 5. The Imam from central Trinidad entered in February, while the other two imams came in on March 16 and 19.
Intelligence sources in Venezuela and Trinidad revealed “that the authorities were alerted to the members of the group from officials at the hotel, who indicated that they had being paying cash for the rooms ever since they arrived and kept to themselves all the time.”
Minister of National Security Gary Griffith confirmed the incident to the Express and TV6 News via text message and indicated that a team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Security is expected to leave today to hold talks with Venezuelan authorities.
Admiral Richard Kelshall is one of the members of the team heading to Venezuela, Griffith indicated.
Griffith, however, said he was not aware if the Trinidad nationals were being treated as suspected terrorists.
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TRINIS HELD IN ‘COUP’ PLOT
Venezuela accuses detained local Muslims of planning to overthrow govt
By Mark Bassant CCN Senior Multimedia Investigative Journalist
THE TRINIDADIAN Muslims detained in Venezuela after a raid at the Plaza Hotel in Caracas last Wednesday are now being fingered in a plot to topple the Venezuelan government together with rogue Venezuelan police officers and other men.
Intelligence sources within Venezuela told the Express and TV6 News that “President Nicolas Maduro had obtained crucial information about the plot from members of the El Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional (SEBIN) and they took the threat seriously”.
The eight Trinidadian Muslim men, along with six women and eight children, were held at the Plaza Hotel, Sabana Grande in downtown Caracas.
Intelligence sources privy to the information informed the Express and TV6 News that one of SEBIN’s very own was held in the exercise along with others.
They were identified as Rafael José Durán of SEBIN, Gregorio Socorro Montañez of the Bolivarian national police and Fery Hernán Molina, from the Chacao police.
Their names were published for the first time in a Venezuelan newspaper late yesterday and sources say they were allegedly training the Trinidadian nationals along with a Guyanese and Haitian — both naturalised citizens of Venezuela — how to handle firearms.
The men were held in the hotel with not only military uniforms but what they claim are jihadist videos, and new information suggests they also found laptops and satellite phones, which they say may have been provided to the group by the Venezuelan police.
The Venezuelan media identified the Trinidadian men who appeared before the Anti-Terrorism Tribunal Court as: Dominic Clive Pitilal, Andre Joseph Battersby, Asim Luqman, Charles Wade and Leslie Doisely for the alleged commission of crimes of terrorism and criminal association.
After spending a day and a half in Venezuela, the Trinidadian delegation returned home yesterday afternoon after holding talks with SEBIN and other high-ranking officials pertaining to the Trinidadian Muslims who were detained in the raid.
Also held were three imams.
Rear Admiral Richard Kelshall, head of the Trinidad and Tobago delegation, who spoke with the Express and TV6 News via phone just before boarding the plane in Venezuela said, “We are trying to have the imams extricated from this situation, and we are working on that but this matter is extremely sensitive and we have to be careful.”
Kelshall continued, “We hope to secure a proper resolution to the matter, but I can’t discuss anything more about the men, since their case is before a Venezuelan court.”
Late last night, senior intelligence sources in Trinidad confirmed that the three imams, Salam Abdul, Hamza Mohammad and Sheikh Hamid Hassan, are expected to be released either Monday or Tuesday next week and cleared of wrong-doing.
Kelshall described the marathon talks as “receptive between the parties” and said “they ensured that the women and children were brought back safely”.
Intelligence sources in Trinidad said the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) did background criminal checks on all the women and provided SEBIN with this paperwork to show they had clean records, thus allowing them to return here.
Well-placed sources in Venezuela told the Express and TV6 News that Luqman, in an e-mail obtained by the Trinidad and Tobago Consulate in Venezuela through his lawyer, claimed he had fled to Venezuela with his wife and children, fearing for his life after his brother was murdered.
Authorities have not been able to confirm Luqman’s story thus far. Luqman was one of the men detained during the state of emergency for questioning into the alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
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These protesters are the sons and daughters of rich people who has nothing better to do . A bit of bashing of the skulls by the security services will bring them to their senses .
i [size=78%] do admire the patience of Maduro in dealing with these parasites. [/size]
I find it rather telling that in a tweet one of these protesters tweeted that Maduro was a lowly bus driver but Radonski Capriles is a Harvard grad.
I recommend that one should view the documentary " The revolution will not be televised" and I am sure that it is still on You Tube... to see the kind of scum elitist people that are fomenting these disturbances
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These protesters are the sons and daughters of rich people who has nothing better to do . A bit of bashing of the skulls by the security services will bring them to their senses .
i [size=78%] do admire the patience of Maduro in dealing with these parasites. [/size]
I find it rather telling that in a tweet one of these protesters tweeted that Maduro was a lowly bus driver but Radonski Capriles is a Harvard grad.
I recommend that one should view the documentary " The revolution will not be televised" and I am sure that it is still on You Tube... to see the kind of scum elitist people that are fomenting these disturbances
Dem people in Venezuela doh have much choice. Is either foreign-backed elites or "bus drivers".
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... or the military or military proxy.
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These protesters are the sons and daughters of rich people who has nothing better to do . A bit of bashing of the skulls by the security services will bring them to their senses .
i [size=78%] do admire the patience of Maduro in dealing with these parasites. [/size]
I find it rather telling that in a tweet one of these protesters tweeted that Maduro was a lowly bus driver but Radonski Capriles is a Harvard grad.
I recommend that one should view the documentary " The revolution will not be televised" and I am sure that it is still on You Tube... to see the kind of scum elitist people that are fomenting these disturbances
You are a real clown. People dying and you call it " a bit of bashing of the skulls".
Money starting to run out so even the chavista slaves in the barrios starting to take to the streets. People going hungry right now, even elites have to eat because they are people too. BTW if you are a university student that makes you elite?
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You are a real clown. People dying and you call it " a bit of bashing of the skulls".
Money starting to run out so even the chavista slaves in the barrios starting to take to the streets. People going hungry right now, even elites have to eat because they are people too. BTW if you are a university student that makes you elite?
Pay that idiot no mind... he's a wind-up artist.
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You are a real clown. People dying and you call it " a bit of bashing of the skulls".
Money starting to run out so even the chavista slaves in the barrios starting to take to the streets. People going hungry right now, even elites have to eat because they are people too. BTW if you are a university student that makes you elite?
Pay that idiot no mind... he's a wind-up artist.
Go learn some history boy.
Do you remember when the former president of Venezuela Carlos Andres Perez acquired an IMF loan in 1989 and then introduced austerity measures ? Petrol prices doubled and transportation costs skyrocketed .
In the ensuing riots that followed over 3000 poor people were killed by the national guard and so these 30 or so elites that has died in these protests .. well cry me an Orinoco river
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1989, the year of much upheaval in many internal political contexts ... interesting that the 1989 events in VEN barely registered internationally, and that current events in VEN also have captured global attention only at the margins. This storm is really a calm before the actual storm ... if the political class fails to strike a balance of interests.
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These protesters are from the elites of Venezuelan societies and their main beef is that the oil wealth is being shared by the poor .
In their mind the resources of Venezuela belong to them and them only and is not to be shared with the poor .
It is no wonder that all the protests is taking place in the rich neighborhoods of Caracas and life goes on peacefully in the Barrios . I believe that Maduro and Chavez before him has exhibited too much patience with these American stooges . These protests needs to be smashed with a heavy hand .
You might want to take yuh head out yuh ass and watch the videos to see the "elites" who are in them. Watch the black girl getting she head bashed in by a female cop who straddles her, takes off her helmet and beats her about the face mercilessly as her friends and neighbors look on. Elites my ass.
That black girl is most likely a servant being paid by one of those rich people to participate in a demonstration,
I noticed that you mentioned " elites my ass" . My friend whether your ass is elite or egalitarian that is your business
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These protesters are the sons and daughters of rich people who has nothing better to do . A bit of bashing of the skulls by the security services will bring them to their senses .
i [size=78%] do admire the patience of Maduro in dealing with these parasites. [/size]
I find it rather telling that in a tweet one of these protesters tweeted that Maduro was a lowly bus driver but Radonski Capriles is a Harvard grad.
I recommend that one should view the documentary " The revolution will not be televised" and I am sure that it is still on You Tube... to see the kind of scum elitist people that are fomenting these disturbances
You are a real clown. People dying and you call it " a bit of bashing of the skulls".
Money starting to run out so even the chavista slaves in the barrios starting to take to the streets. People going hungry right now, even elites have to eat because they are people too. BTW if you are a university student that makes you elite?
I usually don't engage with Fox news viewers and I will not make an exception here
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Venezuela's president has accused the US of using continuing street protests to attempt a "slow-motion" Ukraine-style coup against his government and "get their hands on Venezuelan oil".
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Nicolás Maduro, elected last year after the death of Hugo Chávez, said what he described as a "revolt of the rich" would fail because the country's "Bolivarian revolution" was more deeply rooted than when it had seen off an abortive US-backed coup against Chávez in 2002.
Venezuela, estimated to have the world's largest oil reserves, has faced continuous violent street protests – focused on inflation, shortages and crime – since the beginning of February, after opposition leaders launched a campaign to oust Maduro and his socialist government under the slogan of "the exit".
"They are trying to sell to the world the idea that the protests are some of sort of Arab spring," he said. "But in Venezuela, we have already had our spring: our revolution that opened the door to the 21st century".
The conflict has claimed up to 39 lives and posed a significant challenge to Maduro's government. On Monday, the Venezuelanpresident agreed to a proposal by the South American regional group Unasur for peace talks with opposition leaders, who have up to now refused to join a government-led dialogue.
The US denies involvement and says Venezuela is using the excuse of a coup threat to crack down on the opposition. Human Rights Watch and Venezuela's Catholic hierarchy have also condemned the government's handling of the protests, while Amnesty International has alleged human rights abuses by both sides.
Maduro claimed Venezuela was facing a type of "unconventional war that the US has perfected over the last decades", citing a string of US-backed coups or attempted coups from 1960s Brazil to Honduras in 2009.
Speaking in the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, the former bus driver and trade union leader said Venezuela's opposition had "the aim of paralysing the main cities of the country, copying badly what happened in Kiev, where the main roads in the cities were blocked off, until they made governability impossible, which led to the overthrow of the elected government of Ukraine." The Venezuelan opposition had, he said, a "similar plan".
"They try to increase economic problems through an economic war to cut the supplies of basic goods and boost an artificial inflation", Maduro said. "To create social discontent and violence, to portray a country in flames, which could lead them to justify international isolation and even foreign intervention."
Pointing to the large increases in social provision and reduction in inequality over the past decade and a half, Maduro said: "When I was a union leader there wasn't a single programme to protect the education, health, housing and salaries of the workers. It was the reign of savage capitalism. Today in Venezuela, the working class is in power: it's the country where the rich protest and the poor celebrate their social wellbeing," he said.
Venezuela's protests have been fuelled by high inflation, which reached a peak of 57% but has now fallen to a monthly rate of 2.4%, and shortages of subsidised basic goods, a significant proportion of which are smuggled into Colombia and sold for far higher prices. Opposition leaders accuse the government of mismanagement.
Recent easing of currency controls appear to have had a positive impact, and the economy continues to grow and poverty rates fall. But Venezuela's murder rate – a target of the protests – is among the highest in the world.
About 2,200 have been arrested (190 or so are still detained) during two months of unrest, which followed calls by opposition leaders to "light up the streets with struggle" and December's municipal elections in which Maduro's supporters' lead over the opposition increased to 10%.
Responsibility for the deaths is strongly contested. Eight of the dead have been confirmed to be police or security forces; four opposition activists (and one government supporter) killed by police, for which several police officers have been arrested; seven were allegedly killed by pro-government colectivo activists and 13 by opposition supporters at street barricades.
Asked how much responsibility the government should take for the killings, Maduro responded that 95% of the deaths were the fault of "rightwing extremist groups" at the barricades, giving the example of three motorcyclists killed by wire strung across the road by protesters. He said he has set up a commission to investigate each case. The global media was being used to promote a "virtual reality" of a "student movement being repressed by an authoritarian government", he argued. "What government in the world hasn't committed political or economic mistakes? But does that justify the burning down of universities or the overthrow of an elected government?"The protests, often led by students and overwhelmingly in well-off areas, have included arson attacks on government buildings, universities and bus stations. From a peak of several hundred thousand people in February, most recent demonstrations have dwindled in size and are restricted to opposition strongholds, such as Tachira state on the Colombian border.
A hardline opposition leader, Leopoldo López, who participated in the 2002 coup, and two opposition mayors have been arrested and charged with inciting violence. Another backer of the protests, María Corina Machado, was stripped of her post in parliament.
This was not "criminalising dissent", Maduro insisted. "The opposition has full guarantees and rights. We have an open democracy. But if a politician commits a crime, calls for the overthrow of the legitimate government and uses his position to block streets, burn universities and public transport, the courts act." Critics, however, insist the courts are politicised.
Last month, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, claimed Venezuela was waging a "terror campaign" against its own citizens. But the Organisation of American States and the South American Unasur and Mercosur blocs of states backed the Venezuelan government and called for political dialogue.
Asked for evidence of US intervention in the protests, the Venezuelan president replied: "Is 100 years of intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean not enough: against Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Chile, Grenada, Brazil? Is the coup attempt against President Chávez by the Bush administration not enough? Why does the US have 2,000 military bases in the world? To dominate it. I have told President Obama: we are not your backyard anymore".
Maduro pointed to evidence of past and present US intervention in Venezuela in Wikileaks cables, the whistleblower Edward Snowden's revelations and US state department documents. They include cables from the US ambassador outlining US plans to "divide", "isolate" and "penetrate" the Chávez government, and extensive US government funding of Venezuelan opposition groups over the past decade (some via agencies such as USAid and the Office for Transitional Initiatives), including $5m (£3m) of overt support in the current fiscal year.
Maduro's allegations follow last week's revelation that USAid covertly funded a social media website to foment political unrest and encourage "flash mobs" in Venezuela's ally Cuba under the cover of "development assistance". White House officials acknowledged that such programmes were not "unique to Cuba".
Maduro has called a national peace conference – though opposition parties have so far refused to participate, arguing it will be skewed to endorse the government.
The president also says he will agree to Vatican conciliation if the opposition condemns violence. But he rejects criticism that he and the Chavista movement have been too polarising."I don't think polarisation in a democracy is something wrong. That seems to be trendy now, to try to turn polarisation into some sort of disease. I wish all democratic societies would polarise. A democracy can only truly function if its society is politicised."
"Politics is not only for the elite, for centre-right and centre-left parties, while the elites distribute power and wealth among themselves", Maduro said. "Venezuela has a positive polarisation because it is a politicised country where the large majority take sides over public policies. There is also negative polarisation that doesn't accept the other and wants to eliminate the other – we must get over that with national dialogue."Venezuela has been central to the radical political transformation of Latin America over the past decade, and Maduro insists that regional process will continue. When Chávez said "the 21st century is ours" in 1992, he says "it was a romantic idea. Today it is a reality and no one is going to take it away from us".
Challenged over whether Venezuela's 2009 referendum to abolish limits on the number of times presidents can stand for election meant he would like to continue indefinitely, Maduro countered that Venezuela had a right to recall elected officials, unlike in Europe. "In the UK, the prime minister can run as many times as he wants to, but not the royals. Who elected the queen?
"The people will decide until when I can be here. Be certain that if it is not me it will be another revolutionary. What will be indefinite is the popular power of the people".
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/08/venezuela-protests-sign-us-wants-oil-says-nicolas-maduro
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Meanwhile, it's business as usual.
60-member Venezuelan delegation coming
This year will see a large trade delegation of Venezuelans coming to T&T for the Trade and Investment Convention (TIC), said Ramesh Ramdeen, chief executive officer of the T&T Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA).
Although both countries are geographically close—11 kilometres apart—the relationship has always focused on energy and not much other commercial relations.
But this has begun to change.
During a visit to Trinidad in 2013, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro gave Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar a gift of a computer tablet and mobile phone assembled by the company, Venezuelan Industrial Technology (VIT), which manufactures computers and cellphones, and is an emblem of Venezuela’s light industrial base.
“We have a really big delegation coming from Venezuela this year. The Government of Venezuela is trying to spread its wings throughout the Caribbean. So recently at the Jamaican Trade Show, they had a significant amount of booths, and they have also targeted T&T as well as Guyana. Guyana’s Trade Show is in October and ours is in July. We are advised that the Venezuelans will place a lot of emphasis on the T&T market,” Ramdeen told the Business Guardian.
He said it is not only about the Venezuelans selling their goods to T&T, but they also want to source products from T&T.
“According to the last check, we have 21 people coming to exhibit and to do joint ventures and partnership. They have taken three large pavilions to house 21 people. We have about 42 people in terms of investors and buyers. So in total, about 60 people would be coming thus far. The profile shows that a significant amount is in the energy and downstream sectors, food and beverages, paper and construction. Those are the four main areas. In the area of construction, one Venezuelan company is in the area of bricks and building,” Ramdeen said.
Nicholas Lok Jack, president of the TTMA, who was also part of the interview said Venezuelan businesses have invested in Colombia, Panama and other regional countries.
“We cannot turn our eyes away from Venezuelan capital. The people who are coming to invest are good, solid businesspeople for years and are looking to spread their wings internationally,” he said.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/business-guardian/2014-05-22/60-member-venezuelan-delegation-coming
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Minister: Flights between Aruba, Venezuela resume
Associated Press
July 26, 2014
ORANJESTAD, Aruba — Flights between Venezuela and Aruba resumed Saturday, ending a brief suspension by the South American country to protest the arrest of its designated counsel to the island territory, the highest-ranking Venezuelan official ever detained on a U.S. warrant.
The lifting of the flight ban followed several hours of talks between Aruba Justice Minister Arthur Dowers and a representative of Venezuela’s foreign affairs ministry, Dowers told The Associated Press.
The suspension of flights to and from Aruba and other Dutch Caribbean territories came Friday afternoon after an Aruban judge ruled that Hugo Carvajal, the former head of Venezuelan military intelligence, must remain behind bars pending a U.S. extradition request on drug-trafficking charges. The order stranded about 500 travelers on the island, which is a popular tourist destination.
“We understand the Venezuelan government is upset with the detention of one of their diplomatic corps members, but I told them that based on basic human rights, it cannot be so that the movement of many more of their citizens and their right to go home will be sacrificed,” Dowers said.
Three airlines serving major Venezuelan cities confirmed flights resumed Saturday morning. It was unclear how many flights had been affected.
The flight ban was considered an economic blow to Aruba since Venezuela, just 15 miles (24 kilometers) away, represents its second-largest tourism market behind the United States.
Carvajal was arrested Thursday as he arrived in Aruba to take office as Venezuela’s consul to the island. Venezuela protested the detention, citing diplomatic immunity, but Aruban authorities said the arrest came before he was accredited.
Dowers said Aruba complied with a request from U.S. authorities to arrest Carvajal based on a treaty signed between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States.
He said he is aware that the Venezuelan government is still upset about the ruling and that it could reinstate the flight ban or take other punitive actions. He did not specify what those actions might be.
Aruba government officials scheduled an emergency meeting Saturday to talk about the issue.
U.S. authorities have alleged that Carvajal is one of several high-ranking Venezuelan military and law enforcement officials who provided a haven to major drug traffickers from neighboring Colombia and helped them export large amounts of U.S.-bound cocaine through Venezuela.
His surprise arrest has cast a spotlight on what’s known in Venezuela as the “Cartel of the Suns,” referring to rogue, high-ranking military officers believed to have grown rich from drug-running. Top Venezuelan officers wear sun insignia on their uniforms.
Together with the unsealing Thursday of a drug indictment against two other Venezuelan officials, Carvajal’s arrest will likely also ratchet up tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela’s socialist government, which frequently accuses Washington of conspiring against it.
President Nicolas Maduro had threatened to retaliate against Aruba, unless Carvajal is freed. The president likened Carvajal’s arrest to an “ambush” and “kidnapping” that violates international law and Venezuelan sovereignty.
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Wow... kudos to Dowers and the Aruban government for standing up for what they believe is right. Whether there's any substance to the charges, that remainst to be seen, but the rule of law must prevail.
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Venezuelan President wants to become family with T&T
By Joel Julien (Express).
SISTER KAMLA
THE time has come for Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela to move from simply being “good neighbours” to becoming “good sisters and brothers”, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said.
As a sign of their deepening bond, the leaders of the two countries yesterday expressed their commitment to the joint exploitation of energy reserves, the payment of an outstanding debt to Trinidad and Tobago’s national carrier by Venezuela, increased dialogue over the incarceration of five Muslims from this country in Venezuela, as well as commodity sharing between the two nations and national security cooperation.
Maduro yesterday arrived in this country around 11 a.m. accompanied by his wife, Cilia Flores, and his son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra. It was his second visit to Trinidad and Tobago.
A total of 95 Venezuelans, including seven government ministers, security personnel and 20 members of the media, made the trip with Maduro.
Local media, apart from the State-owned Government Information Services Ltd (GISL), were barred from covering both the arrival and departure of Maduro.
The first stop on Maduro’s visit yesterday was a courtesy call on President Anthony Carmona at President’s House in St Ann’s.
The second stop was a visit to the nearby Diplomatic Centre.
Around 12.30 p.m., Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar arrived at the Diplomatic Centre.
She was greeted with the song “Bailamos” played by on the pan by Caribbean Airlines Invaders Steel Orchestra.
Around 1.27 p.m., Maduro arrived at the Diplomatic Centre. He was greeted by the song “Brazil”.
Maduro tried his hand at playing one of Invaders’ tenor pans.
Maduro then paid a private courtesy call on Persad-Bissessar at the Prince Charles Room at the Diplomatic Centre.
Around 2.37 p.m., both leaders then led their respective delegations to the Octagon Room for bilateral talks.
Around 3.49 p.m., Maduro and Persad-Bissessar held a joint news conference.
“Now more than ever we must seek to foster closer ties, enhance cooperation and deepen integration with our partners in the region,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Chief among the discussions yesterday were energy matters, Persad-Bissessar said.
T&T, Venezuela must fight crime scourge
Two documents were signed. The first was the Unitisation Agreement for the Exploitation and Development of Hydrocarbon Reservoirs of the “Manakin-Cocuina Field” that extends across the delimitation line between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
The second was the framework Agreement on Energy Sector Cooperation between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
“Our two countries are energy-driven and the recent drop in oil prices remains at the forefront of developing energy policies, for this reason we believe a joint venture such as this, a unison of strengths would result in capacity to better treat with such fluctuations in the future,” Persad-Bissessar said.
This is the first time in the Western Hemisphere a commercialisation of cross-border reserves has occurred, Persad-Bissessar said. It is only the third time it has happened in the world before.
Maduro said the two countries were showing the world how to operate.
“We can easily see around the world the conflicts, the war, the tensions that are created as a result of the development and the use of resources of energy, gas, etc,” Maduro said.
“On the contrary, in our case we have been able to pave the way for a cooperation that has been translated into agreement for the joint exploitation of our resources which are going to be mutually satisfactory and beneficial.
“I think Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela are setting the example and showing to the world that it is possible to build a world of peace, understanding and development without the conflicts and without the confrontations that we have seen elsewhere in order to foster our developments,” he said.
Maduro yesterday gave his commitment to pay a debt owed to Caribbean Airlines Ltd which started at US$10 million and has been growing steadily since.
“I want to thank his Excellency for a commitment given today for the debt owed to Caribbean Airlines... for some resolution to be brought to this and Excellency was very firm and adamant about the settlement of the debt to Caribbean Airlines Ltd,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said she also raised the issue of the five Muslims from this country who are currently incarcerated in Venezuela since March last year over allegations of terrorism.
“We did raise the concern by some of our citizens here in Trinidad and Tobago with respect to the five Trini citizens incarcerated in Venezuela. We spoke without prejudice to the workings fairly of the justice system of Venezuela, and Excellency has given the commitment that our ministers of foreign affairs and national security will have further dialogue on that matter,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Persad-Bissessar said “commodity sharing” between both countries was also raised.
“As you may be aware, Trinidad and Tobago exports a number of goods to Venezuela, including gasoline, machine parts, air-conditioners, parts for refrigerators, toilet/facial tissue and cement,” Persad-Bissessar said.
“Our main imports from Venezuela include crude petroleum, gas, oil, jet fuel, electric conductors, iron ore and bars and rods from Venezuela.
“Following our discussions today, we are of the view that a mechanism for commodity sharing holds significant promise for both our countries,” she said.
National security for both countries was also raised, Maduro said.
“Our countries are victims of drug trafficking and our countries have to wage a serious and very expensive fight against drug trafficking and invest a lot to fight against these networks of drug traffickers in the region even though we are not producers of these products,” Maduro said.
He said both countries must fight the “crime scourge” which is a result of the drug trafficking problem. Maduro left Trinidad yesterday evening.
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Can't believe we agreed to only permitting State media to cover his arrival. Since when have we acquiesced in accommodating authoritarian anti-democratic regimes? Nonsense!
I hope the foreign policy ppl in the Opposition render this an issue.
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don't we sell our oil through vene if i am not mistaken?
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Maduro running that country into the ground. The sooner Venezuela gets a good leader the better for them and us.
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(http://media.trinidadexpress.com/images/nw352.png)
...Resident Venezuelans protest near President’s House
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Resident-Venezuelans-protest-near-Presidents-House-293949491.html (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Resident-Venezuelans-protest-near-Presidents-House-293949491.html)
Venezuelans residing in Trinidad yesterday staged a protest near President’s House, St Ann’s, against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom they accused of corruption and oppression in their home country.
Maduro arrived in Trinidad yesterday to hold bilateral talks with the Government, but the angry protesters said he should not be welcome in this country.
He met with both the President and Prime Minister.
The protesters said children were dying in Venezuelan hospitals due to a lack of medication, and citizens were without basic necessities such as food and water. They claimed Maduro’s policies are not in the interest of the people and have caused tremendous economic hardship.
Leading the protest, Yesenia Gonzales, a popular Venezuelan psychic who is a Trinidad resident, called Maduro “a devil in disguise” and said he lacked the intelligence, wisdom and knowledge to run Venezuela. “He is a very poor leader. We don’t want his policies anymore. He is very ignorant and he is a devil in Venezuela,” she said.
Gonzales said the Maduro-led government was corrupt and only interested in pocketing the country’s wealth. “They are living like kings while people in Venezuela are dying,” she said.
Yesterday’s protest was not the first of its kind. In April 2013, Maduro replaced Hugo Chavez who died from cancer. He won the election with 50.7 per cent of the vote against 49.1 per cent won by his opponent, Henrique Capriles.
Shortly after Maduro took up office, Venezuelans in Trinidad protested outside the Venezuelan Embassy in Woodbrook, demanding a recount of votes. In a similar fashion, protesters again gathered outside the Embassy last February, calling for peace following the deaths of several people in Venezuela during protests against Maduro’s governance.
The continued unrest in Venezuela took yet another dramatic turn with the arrest of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma last week for allegedly planning a coup. Ledezma, one of Maduro’s most outspoken critics, joins a number of activists who have been jailed, including opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. The arrests have sparked further protests and prompted strong responses from human rights groups and foreign governments, including the United States. Former US president Bill Clinton recently tweeted a message saying: “Leopoldo Lopez and the political prisoners in Venezuela should be released without delay.”
MSJ Support for Maduro
In stark contrast to the cries of Venezuelan nationals yesterday, members of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) gathered outside the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s to show support for Maduro’s visit to T&T. The members carried placards welcoming Maduro to Trinidad and Tobago in both English and Spanish.
MSJ public relations officer Gregory Fernandez said despite protests by Venezuelans, Maduro has the support of the majority of Venezuelan people.
“President Maduro is the officially elected president of Venezuela and his party, the PSUV, has been elected on three consecutive occasions through the democratic process. They have the majority support of the people of Venezuela and the reason that they are still in power is because they have been making a difference in the lives of the majority of the people of Venezuela,” Fernandez said.
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Is Gregory Fernandez in touch with reality? And why is this an issue the MSJ feels compelled to treat on the wrong side of history?
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http://www.trinidadexpress.com/letters/What-message-are-we-sending-294450721.html
What message are we sending?
I note the media coverage of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s visit (apparently with a very large entourage) has been extremely positive, framed in terms of reciprocal economic advantage and even some sort of political or social solidarity.
Meanwhile, even on a short return visit to Trinidad, one cannot help but meet a goodly number of Venezuelans, exiled from their country (albeit voluntarily), chased away by the harsh economic conditions and the treatment of the opposition.
No one would doubt it is important for Trinidad and Tobago to preserve good relations with its nearest Latin neighbour. Fortunately, these have survived various periods of tension because the ties binding the two nations are strong.
Additionally, no one would doubt there are advantages to be gained by joint exploitation of cross-border gas fields. Indeed the negotiation over Loran-Manatee has been anxiously watched for years and the Manakin-Cocuina agreement falls along these lines.
However, Trinidad and Tobago has long made respect for human rights and the rule of law a cornerstone of its foreign policy and international brand. As such, the country ought to ensure its enthusiasm for strong economic relations with Venezuela is not mistaken for endorsement of the current parlous state of governance in Venezuela.
A more sober tone in the coverage of Mr Maduro’s visit would have been appreciated by many.
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Venezuela diplomat grateful for T&T support
Rapheal John-Lall
Monday, March 16, 2015
Trinidad & Tobago Guardian
Venezuela’s Ambassador to T&T Coromoto Godoy yesterday expressed gratitude to the many local groups that have shown support and solidarity with her country. “Venezuela has been developing solidarity with T&T for many years now. Today, there are different social movements from T&T, political movements like the Movement Social Justice (MSJ) and trade unions, saying they want to express solidarity with us.
“We have two buses coming from Cedros who are fishermen. There are university lecturers calling us to show support. It means the people from T&T are with us and they understand what is happening in Venezuela and the terrible incident with US President Obama,” she said.
The ambassador made the comment during a baseball game at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, yesterday involving Venezuelans, Cubans and nationals of the Dominican Republic. Groups representing T&T's civil society were in attendance showing solidarity with Venezuela in its diplomatic tug of war with the United States. In a statement yesterday, the MSJ expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people and democratically elected Government of Venezuela.
“The events of the past week in which the United States has intensified sanctions against Venezuela and deemed that Government as a threat to national security interests have made the issues clearer. The MSJ has no doubt that the United States is pursuing its old imperial agenda of seeking to control strategic resources globally and to control oil and energy resources,” the release said. The MSJ said the issues is not democracy as claimed by the United States but its unstable relationship with Venezuela is about oil and geo-politics.
The party also referred to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's visit to T&T three weeks ago, saying it took place “at a difficult time for our next door neighbour and most Caribbean economies.” “The evidence is clear that this is being done by local merchants in co-ordination with the US Government to destabilise the economy in order to promote regime change.” The MSJ said Venezuela has helped smaller Caribbean economies that have been faring poorly.
“Venezuela has reached out to provide sharply discounted oil and gas supplies to help these countries face intense economic crises of the last decade,” the party said.
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From the bbc. Mods if there is another Ven-Guyana thread, fix to suit.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-34332366
Guyana's President David Granger says Venezuela has deployed troops along their border area.
Mr Granger described the move as a "dangerous escalation" in the long-running dispute between the two South American neighbours.
Venezuela says its troops are conducting exercises in the region.
It lays claim to the vast mineral-rich area of jungle west of the Essequibo river, which accounts for about 40% of Guyana's territory.
Venezuela has been claiming the area as its own since the 19th Century, when Guyana was still a British colony.
Mr Granger said Venezuela seems to be pursuing "a very offensive and aggressive course".
"We feel that Venezuela is treading a dangerous course at this point in time rather than seeking a peaceful resolution of the matter.''
'Significant oil discovery'
In June, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro demanded Guyana stop oil exploration in a disputed offshore territory.
The exploration was being carried out by US oil giant ExxonMobil.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez called the exploration "a dangerous political provocation".
An international tribunal ruled in 1899 that the area formed part of Guyana, which at the time was a British colony.
Venezuela never accepted the ruling, arguing it was unfair.
On 20 May, ExxonMobil announced "a significant oil discovery" in the disputed area.
A week later, President Maduro issued a presidential decree claiming sovereignty of the disputed waters.
President Granger in turn released a statement calling Venezuela's decree a "flagrant violation of international law".
Guyana has asked the United Nations to mediate the dispute.
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I am curious to know where Granger has placed his Defence Force in response to this..
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I am curious to know where Granger has placed his Defence Force in response to this..
I definitely don't want to see this dispute start with a shoot out. Guyana with a population less than TT may not be a match for Ven with their big military force.
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I am curious to know where Granger has placed his Defence Force in response to this..
I definitely don't want to see this dispute start with a shoot out. Guyana with a population less than TT may not be a match for Ven with their big military force.
Shootout? Where is Guyana defense if not guarding it's own border?
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Shootout? Where is Guyana defense if not guarding it's own border?
The GDF doesn't have much of an operational capacity, especially for rural access - it has been an issue for decades. They've always had an issue with not having enough vehicles (or the right type) for those remote regions, or not having enough landing strips to gain access quickly (and not enough troop transport options). They just don't spend enough as a percentage of GDP compared to their neighbours.
This Venezuela-Guyana should be a CARICOM issue, but this is incredibly muddy since Venezuela has been buying CARICOM goodwill through PetroCaribe and other financial support. Honestly I think that was part of their strategy to divide CARICOM and keep their Guyana/Venezuela dispute in isolation. CARICOM is less likely now to have a uniform voice condemning Venezuela on the border dispute because of how deep some of the governments (especially the Lesser Antilles) are with Venezuelan social programs.
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Guyana will be hard-pressed to defend all that territory. That better start working on the diplomatic front to help bolster them in case Maduro go loco. I think he should talk to Caricom now(well he must be talking to them and they keeping it a low profile).
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This also has some implications for T&T. When we settled our maritime border with Venezuela in 1990, part of our southern boundary that we agreed to was based on Venezuela's claim of half of Guyana, specifically the eastern-most portion of the southern line, near the end of our exclusive economic zone.
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Shootout? Where is Guyana defense if not guarding it's own border?
The GDF doesn't have much of an operational capacity, especially for rural access - it has been an issue for decades. They've always had an issue with not having enough vehicles (or the right type) for those remote regions, or not having enough landing strips to gain access quickly (and not enough troop transport options). They just don't spend enough as a percentage of GDP compared to their neighbours.
This Venezuela-Guyana should be a CARICOM issue, but this is incredibly muddy since Venezuela has been buying CARICOM goodwill through PetroCaribe and other financial support. Honestly I think that was part of their strategy to divide CARICOM and keep their Guyana/Venezuela dispute in isolation. CARICOM is less likely now to have a uniform voice condemning Venezuela on the border dispute because of how deep some of the governments (especially the Lesser Antilles) are with Venezuelan social programs.
Failure on the part of past Guyanese administrations regardless how much one may want to sympathize with them on this particular point.
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Historically, although Guyana has sought to address this issue through formal channels, it has not beat the drum sufficiently in terms of galvanizing world opinion and informal structures. When Chavez was at the height of being a scourge to the global community (to those opposed), Guyana had an opportunity to reap a tangible dividend. It did not capitalize on that reality.
In recent months, Guatemala has been fairly activist (as it has historically) on Belizean territory, and there seems to have been a parallel vacuum in state capacity to act (parallel vis-a-vis Guyana), with the most vocal and expressive actors being non-state actors. Recently saw footage of Belizean environmentalists confronting the Guatemalan navy and roundly condemning Dean Barrow's 'silence'.
R45, I regard the PetroCaribe concern as overstated.
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Shootout? Where is Guyana defense if not guarding it's own border?
The GDF doesn't have much of an operational capacity, especially for rural access - it has been an issue for decades. They've always had an issue with not having enough vehicles (or the right type) for those remote regions, or not having enough landing strips to gain access quickly (and not enough troop transport options). They just don't spend enough as a percentage of GDP compared to their neighbours.
This Venezuela-Guyana should be a CARICOM issue, but this is incredibly muddy since Venezuela has been buying CARICOM goodwill through PetroCaribe and other financial support. Honestly I think that was part of their strategy to divide CARICOM and keep their Guyana/Venezuela dispute in isolation. CARICOM is less likely now to have a uniform voice condemning Venezuela on the border dispute because of how deep some of the governments (especially the Lesser Antilles) are with Venezuelan social programs.
Failure on the part of past Guyanese administrations regardless how much one may want to sympathize with them on this particular point.
Guyana can't afford it.
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this situation almost tailor made for US intervention. dis eh ukraine or syria. de US can fly in, kick venezuela back, make maduro sweat a bit more, and hand out medal in time for christmas. venezuela better watch dey selves!
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So what if we had a Federation with Guyana in it. What allyuh think woulda happen?
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Historically, although Guyana has sought to address this issue through formal channels, it has not beat the drum sufficiently in terms of galvanizing world opinion and informal structures. When Chavez was at the height of being a scourge to the global community (to those opposed), Guyana had an opportunity to reap a tangible dividend. It did not capitalize on that reality.
In recent months, Guatemala has been fairly activist (as it has historically) on Belizean territory, and there seems to have been a parallel vacuum in state capacity to act (parallel vis-a-vis Guyana), with the most vocal and expressive actors being non-state actors. Recently saw footage of Belizean environmentalists confronting the Guatemalan navy and roundly condemning Dean Barrow's 'silence'.
R45, I regard the PetroCarribe concern as overstated.
I'm not saying that Caricom support for Guyana is impossible, but Petrocaribe and other Venezuelans programs will put some Caribbean countries that have benefited greatly from Venezuela since Chavez (especially St. Vincent and Dominica) in a very awkward position to bite the hand that is feeding them.
I think part of Guyana's problem/inability to lobby is due to their poor relations with powers. During the anti-Chavez time, the natural ally would have been with the US. However Guyana's relationship with the US is not very good. A good recent case is when they made Henry Greene their Commissioner of Police. This was very much protested by the US/Canada/UK, and Greene had strong ties with the drug trade but Jagdeo went ahead and maintained the appointment. That ended up scuttling tons of joint operations between the US (and others) and both the Guyanese police and defense force, and lots of foreign aid.
Historically Guyana was more aligned with the Soviets/Russians, but it doesn't even seem like that relationship is very strong either. Instead, at least in my opinion, Guyana is isolated on many fronts (through many of its own actions), including within Caricom, relative to its South American neighbours, and globally. Let's not forget that Guyana also still has active territory disputes with Suriname and French Guiana.
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Allyuh know that is also a British problem. Or was created by the Brits when they were a superpower
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Allyuh know that is also a British problem. Or was created by the Brits when they were a superpower
Only one of many - almost every modern territory dispute in the Americas can be traced back to disputes between the competing colonization powers from the 16th to 20th centuries.
We had our own disputes with Venezuela, specifically over the boundary in the gulf and some of our outlying islands (like Patos and Soldado). Fortunately it was mutually resolved in 1942 and hasn't been a major issue since (well despite fishermen getting arrested in our waters, but the border line isn't disputed).
In this Guyana/Venezuela case, another factor here is all of the Amerindian tribes that live in the area. Not much is really said about what rights they have, when some of them are living in the same area/region (including where is being disputed) for centuries prior to Columbus. Guyana has a fairly high percentage of both intact tribes and people of Amerindian/Indigenous descent.
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Another ingredient in this mix is a sort of cultural legacy. For decades in Venezuela it was common to see this sense of ownership (of the territory in question) passed down generationally through everyday icons such as car stickers and household adornments. They probably even learn it in school. I was surprised to see private vehicles emblazoned with stickers showing a map shape markedly different to the shape of the country we are taught.
Frankly, once Maduro started repatriating Colombians, I saw this developing on the other border. It fits his faux-Napoleonic narrative.
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Allyuh know that is also a British problem. Or was created by the Brits when they were a superpower
Correct. The Brits fixed problems to accommodate their immediate interests, but not for all time. Their diplomatic footprint is global and accomplished.
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this situation almost tailor made for US intervention. dis eh ukraine or syria. de US can fly in, kick venezuela back, make maduro sweat a bit more, and hand out medal in time for christmas. venezuela better watch dey selves!
Even assuming intervention, how would the integrity of the Guyanese border position be protected subsequent to US intervention?
Also, doh feel just because "iz Venezuela" that the issue possesses a walk-in-the-park solution. Certainly, despite varying degrees of intolerance towards Maduro across the continent, any US intervention would be greeted with much less than a welcome. One can't ignore the history and consequences of the US in Latin America. Additionally, would any such action distract the US' rapprochement with Cuba?
Also to be considered is whether the Venezuelan military strengthens or weakens in the process.
What is morale within the ranks?
What's in the US national interest?
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Even assuming intervention, how would the integrity of the Guyanese border position be protected subsequent to US intervention?
Also, doh feel just because "iz Venezuela" that the issue possesses a walk-in-the-park solution. Certainly, despite varying degrees of intolerance towards Maduro across the continent, any US intervention would be greeted with much less than a welcome. One can't ignore the history and consequences of the US in Latin America. Additionally, would any such action distract the US' rapprochement with Cuba?
Also to be considered is whether the Venezuelan military strengthens or weakens in the process.
What is morale within the ranks?
What's in the US national interest?
Additionally, US / Guyana relations are not great, and that would not only be a tough sell to the US public but a tough one for the Guyanese gov't to get to that point request intervention.
I think if this were to escalate, we would probably expect to see Brazil play a role, since the disputed area borders Brazil and both Venezuela/Guyana hold long borders with it (and Brazil is biggest player on the continent). It would be in Brazil's interests not to have this blow up right next door (also in T&T's might I add).
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Hmmmm :thinking:
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150924/business/rowley-gets-courtesy-call-from-venezuela-delegation
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley received a courtesy call on Tuesday from a delegation from Venezuela led by Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez Gómez, a release from the Office of the Prime Minister has said
.
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Hmmmm :thinking:
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150924/business/rowley-gets-courtesy-call-from-venezuela-delegation
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley received a courtesy call on Tuesday from a delegation from Venezuela led by Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez Gómez, a release from the Office of the Prime Minister has said
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I believe T&T can play a major role by mediating this Guyana / Venezuela conflict. However we must seize the opportunity right away.
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Call in the Brits,they had Jagan kicked out years ago,they can show their strength again.
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Hmmmm :thinking:
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150924/business/rowley-gets-courtesy-call-from-venezuela-delegation
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley received a courtesy call on Tuesday from a delegation from Venezuela led by Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez Gómez, a release from the Office of the Prime Minister has said
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Not necessarily related. One of Rowley's campaign promises was to get an agreement signed to develop some of the fields on the Venezuelan/TT border, and usually after election all of the resident ambassadors meet with the new PM within the first few weeks.
It would be a good time for Rowley to raise concerns about the Guyana issue escalating, however he may also be torn on keeping focus on the gas agreement - for years Chavez largely ignored Manning and did not respond to our requests to talk about the developing some of those fields - it took Fidel Castro intervening to get them to the table and get a MOU signed. That was pretty late in the last Manning administration.
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I know its not necessary related. The article however establish the on-going talks between T&T and our energy partner Venezuela. T&T and Venezuela has a stronger relationship now and T&T has the opportunity to be a key player in the escalating tension between our Caricom brother Guyana and our partner Venezuela since we have relationships with both countries.
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In recent days, Venezuela has been very active across the English-speaking Caribbean.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPiTpziUkAAIxve.jpg:large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPiJ0nlWwAALfmn.jpg:large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPhjrQzWUAEcM3I.jpg:large)
Photos of a Venezuelan delegation, led by Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez, in Trinidad and Tobago.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPq76tYWEAQStkT.jpg:large)
President Maduro in St. Kitts-Nevis.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPo1BHzWcAEsx2Y.jpg)
St. Lucia
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPnCwdYWIAUxlzq.jpg)
(http://www.vtv.gob.ve/articulos/2015/09/23/venezuela-firma-nuevos-acuerdos-en-materia-de-salud-y-vivienda-con-san-cristobal-y-nieves-8724.html/fb_7600.jpg/@@images/9b612e21-6bea-45b1-b874-e7512f2241c1.jpeg)
(http://www.vtv.gob.ve/articulos/2015/09/23/venezuela-firma-nuevos-acuerdos-en-materia-de-salud-y-vivienda-con-san-cristobal-y-nieves-8724.html/ag_-5.jpg/@@images/cbffd7fd-4d91-4709-a3fe-37507f264155.jpeg)
(http://www.vtv.gob.ve/articulos/2015/09/23/venezuela-firma-nuevos-acuerdos-en-materia-de-salud-y-vivienda-con-san-cristobal-y-nieves-8724.html/fb_7535.jpg/@@images/9f56019f-0b2c-4555-9fad-68c9eaa77e32.jpeg)
St. Kitts-Nevis where agreements on health and housing were signed.
(http://www.vtv.gob.ve/articulos/2015/09/23/presidente-maduro-sigamos-construyendo-el-caribe-como-zona-de-paz-y-union-3733.html/3.jpg/@@images/bc46b5e7-0134-49ed-9a34-5bf0cf635fe7.jpeg)
(http://www.vtv.gob.ve/articulos/2015/09/23/presidente-maduro-sigamos-construyendo-el-caribe-como-zona-de-paz-y-union-3733.html/maduro2.jpg/@@images/49903719-8677-4576-87b6-f8b425690463.jpeg)
(http://www.vtv.gob.ve/articulos/2015/09/23/presidente-maduro-sigamos-construyendo-el-caribe-como-zona-de-paz-y-union-3733.html/2.jpg/@@images/90fe06de-d070-4e9b-8999-464f586883db.jpeg)
(http://www.vtv.gob.ve/articulos/2015/09/23/presidente-maduro-sigamos-construyendo-el-caribe-como-zona-de-paz-y-union-3733.html/1.jpg/@@images/161ef6e3-8f5c-45c4-aabe-732c850e8f0c.jpeg)
President Maduro in Dominica.
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https://twitter.com/NicolasMaduro/status/646864219288281088/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc^tfw
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I know its not necessary related. The article however establish the on-going talks between T&T and our energy partner Venezuela. T&T and Venezuela has a stronger relationship now and T&T has the opportunity to be a key player in the escalating tension between our Caricom brother Guyana and our partner Venezuela since we have relationships with both countries.
I agree at a level, but I think Rowley & company are going to have a tough job balancing issues. Venezuela's Guayana Esequiba claim is long-standing and nationalistic, so trying to mediate that is sensitive and could distract from bi-lateral talks over energy development.
I don't necessarily agree that we have a "strong" relationship with Venezuela. Our relationship with them has always been very cool/warm. Our joint development of those fields straddling our border has huge hurdles, including ideological gaps with Venezuela's views on foreign investment and nationalizing their oil industry (we are certainly more liberal/foreign friendly), and they've used PDVSA to be fairly hostile to the major Oilcos in the last decade - those Oilcos operate heavily in T&T and are at the core of our development.
Actually getting an agreement signed is going to take a lot of work, and if we are lobbying them to back off from their territory claims, it might derail the energy talks. Out of all the Caribbean countries, Cuba is probably best positioned to mediate the dispute.
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PM: Guyana/Venezuela border dispute will be resolved
PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley expects that the ongoing border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana will be “resolved in the best interest of all and in accordance with international law”.
Rowley conveyed his expectation to a high-level delegation from Venezuela that visited this country on Tuesday.
He also told the delegation he expects that “neither side will do anything to escalate” the dispute.
On Tuesday President of Guyana David Granger said that Venezuela had deployed troops to a contested border region between the two countries.
Granger told reporters that Venezuela made “extraordinary military deployments” along what Guyana considers its western border.
Venezuela and Guyana have been engaged in an ongoing dispute over an area known as the Essequibo.
Guyana has asked the United Nations to mediate the border dispute and Granger is expected to raise the issue at the upcoming General Assembly meeting.
A release from the Office of the Prime Minister stated that Rowley “received a High-Level Delegation from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, led by Venezuela’s Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs Delcy Rodríguez Gómez.
Venezuela’s Minister of People’s Power for Oil and Mining and the Minister of People’s Power for Economy and Finance were also present.
“During the courtesy call, Prime Minister Rowley recalled the commitment given to him by His Excellency Nicolás Maduro, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to despatch a high–level Ministerial team to Trinidad and Tobago, in the shortest possible time, to pursue cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
“The Prime Minister highlighted the scope for meaningful collaboration in the energy, trade and security sectors as well as culture and the arts, among others.
He cited the benefits to both countries of accelerating exploitation of the Loran-Manatee cross-border field and of joint efforts to counter the illicit trade in small arms and narcotics,” a release from the Office of the Prime minister stated.
Rowley also addressed the Venezuela and Guyana border dispute.
“In respect of the situation between Guyana and Venezuela, the Prime Minister conveyed the expectation that the situation would be resolved in the best interest of all, in accordance with international law, and that neither side would do anything to escalate the situation,” the release stated.
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https://www.youtube.com/v/h6W-JN7RkUc
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Guyana showcases military skills in face of Venezuela buildup
(http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/images/2015/09/army-1.jpg)
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Guyana showcases military skills in face of Venezuela buildup
(http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/images/2015/09/army-1.jpg)
Guyana bringing out dem big bad nuclear build up to guard dem border. :)
Chief of Staff Brigadier Mark Phillips is talking tough. Man ready to fight for their country and not let Venezuela take advantage of them.
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2015/09/26/guyana-showcases-military-skills-in-face-of-venezuela-buildup/
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Venezuela has been announced as having three cities in the Top Ten most violent cities in the world ... Caracas being deemed the most violent city in the world.
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Situation in Venezuela today is crazy and scary. Saw some relatives who had been there in November - they spent 3 hours looking for milk, bread, and meat (going from grocery to grocery, stores empty). Inflation is absolutely insane - a quote for changing a tire doubled in a space of two weeks. I feel for people who are powerless in that situation.
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Situation in Venezuela today is crazy and scary. Saw some relatives who had been there in November - they spent 3 hours looking for milk, bread, and meat (going from grocery to grocery, stores empty). Inflation is absolutely insane - a quote for changing a tire doubled in a space of two weeks. I feel for people who are powerless in that situation.
yeah saw this on the news in trini the otherday. highest inflation rate in the world now they say. low oil prices do all that? (or is a concerted effort by babylon a la zimbabwe)?
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yeah saw this on the news in trini the otherday. highest inflation rate in the world now they say. low oil prices do all that? (or is a concerted effort by babylon a la zimbabwe)?
I don't think it would be fair to attribute it to one thing. Venezuela has for years had wealth inequality, but the measures started by Chavez to address/reverse it has over the last decade largely killed private enterprise. When the oil dollar was high, it was something they could throw oil dollars at (big welfare state, very little real economic development outside oil and gas). Now with the oil price shocks, they have no foreign currency and a completely damaged local economy. Venezuela imports most of its food (agriculture never developed) and basic goods, so with no foreign exchange, basic inflation is literally killing people.
It's very sad to see and the situation is so unstable, people in T&T need to keep their eyes on it (both from just watching your neighbours house on fire [i.e. water your own roof], but also learn from their mistakes).
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US$50M trade deal with Venezuela.
By Clint Chan Tack (Newsday)
Tuesday, May 24 2016
TRINIDAD and Tobago and Venezuela yesterday reached agreement on a US$50 million revolving fund, that will be used by Venezuela to purchase critical manufactured goods from this country, for its citizens.
The announcement was made by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, following bilateral discussions at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s.
The trade agreement was reached against the backdrop of Venezuelan citizens protesting outside of the Diplomatic Centre about the inability of their countrymen being unable to access many basic goods (including food and medicine) within their nation, which continues to be gripped by social and political unrest. (See Page 5) Recalling that his country’s liberators found refuge in TT and the mutual respect which both nations share for each other, Maduro announced key agreements on energy and security which he and Rowley had reached at the end of their discussions. “We have also decided to increase the trade flow between the two nations,” Maduro said, adding this involves establishment of a revolving US$50 million fund by his government.
He explained that through this fund, “We will be able to strengthen the trade flow between TT and the eastern part of Venezuela.” In noting that Maduro was the first foreign Head of State to be hosted by his administration, since it assumed office last September, Rowley said TT was, “pleased that financing has been put in place to enable cross border trade of manufactured items.” Observing that the people of TT and Venezuela share common challenges, Rowley said, “We look forward from TT to provide some significant relief to the people of Venezuela.” Expressing satisfaction with the agreements on trade, security and energy which both countries agreed upon at the end of yesterday’s bilateral discussions, Rowley said the groundwork began in conversations between both governments since last September.
Describing Maduro’s visit as very productive and very useful, the Prime Minister declared, “As we move on to the execution phase, the outcomes of these decisions will have far reaching positive consequences for the people of Venezuela and the people of TT.” Speaking afterwards with reporters about the trade agreement, Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon identified chicken, butter, ketchup, rice and black beans as some items which could be going to Venezuela under this agreement.
Indicating that her ministry had already provided the Venezuelan government with a list of manufactured goods in TT, Gopee-Scoon said details will be fleshed out when the Venezuelan vice trade minister and a delegation of Venezuelan private sector representatives, visit this country next week.
She also gave the assurance that there would be, “easy and swift payment to manufacturers within a reasonable time frame as well.” Asked which local manufacturers would be providing goods to Venezuela under this agreement, Gopee-Scoon said her ministry would inform the media accordingly as the details are fleshed out in the coming weeks.
Gopee-Scoon, who served as foreign affairs minister in the former Patrick Manning administration, said that Government recognised the current state of affairs in Venezuela.
However she said the agreements reached between both nations yesterday was part and parcel of the continued strong diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Gopee-Scoon was one of several ministers who were part of Rowley’s delegation at yesterday’s bilateral talks. Attorney General Faris Al Rawi, Finance Minister Colm Imbert, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dennis Moses, Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, Minister in the Ministry of the AG and Legal Affairs Stuart Young, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre were the other members of the Government’s delegation.
Maduro’s delegation included Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Delcy Rodriguez, Petroleum and Mining Minister Eulogio del Pino, Industry and Commerce Minister Miguel Pérez Abad, Vice Minister for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Alexander Yánez Deleuze and Venezuelan Ambassador to TT Coromoto Godoy Calderon.
TT, Venezuela talk prisoner exchange
T&T Newsday
PRIME MINISTER Dr Keith Rowley yesterday announced that National Security Minister Edmund Dillon will be going to Venezuela on May 30 for direct government to government talks that could lead to the repatriation of five TT nationals incarcerated in the South American nation on charges of terrorism to this country.
The talks which Dillon will have with his Venezuelan counterparts in Caracas next week will also be aimed at clamping down on the flow of illegal drugs and guns into TT, in order to curb crime in this country. “We agreed after discussions that we would take steps, on both sides of the border, to ensure our immigration and judicial processes repatriate our citizens currently in various states of detention on both sides of border,” Rowley said.
Agreeing with Maduro about the need to strengthen cross border security, Rowley said, “We also discussed at length the common purpose of reducing illicit activity in western Venezuela in so far as it affects the waters and territory of TT.” The Prime Minister said he and Maduro agreed that the security services of both countries meet as a matter of urgency and re-establish the joint TT-Venezuela security operation coordinating committee.
Rowley added that Dillon will also discuss this matter on May 30 and this will usher in a new era of security cooperation between both countries. Speaking afterwards with reporters, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said the matter of repatriation of the five TT nationals was not contingent on any type of trade or relief from this country being offered to Venezuela.
“The issue of Trinidadian citizens who have been held in detention in Caracas, is the subject of judicial process in Caracas.
We have been tracking this issue since we came into office,” Al-Rawi.
On a time frame for the repatriation of the five TT nationals and some 18 Venezuelan nationals detained in TT, Al-Rawi said both countries have agreed that these matters should be handled with alacrity.
Asked what would happen to these persons once they are repatriated, the AG replied, “That’s a matter for us at the AG’s Office to manage in conjunction with the Minister of National Security.” Saying all persons have the benefit of being innocent until proven guilty, Al-Rawi explained, “These are allegations in a foreign territory.
The method for designation of terrorism, if that’s your question, is one which only happens after conviction.” When a reporter asked if these persons would be subject to this country’s judicial system when they are repatriated, Al-Rawi replied, “Why so pessimistic? Let’s get the facts first. Law ought not to be done on the side of a room.
There is a judicial process to be followed and due process must be followed. Al-Rawi said matters arising out of yesterday’s talks with Maduro would not cause any diplomatic problems with the United States or any other country TT has ties with.
Trini Venezuelans outraged
By MIRANDA LA ROSE
Tuesday, May 24 2016
SURPRISE gave way to frustration and then outrage among a group of Venezuelans living in this country, as local police used two buses to block their pots and pan protest from the view of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as his entourage entered the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s.
Some of the protestors wept in frustration while others - mainly women - confronted heavily armed police officers demanding their human right to publicly protest not be infringed. Had the vehicle transporting Maduro slowed down and the glasses wound down, he would clearly have heard angry chants of, “Get out Maduro!”, by the protestors.
Mixed in with the Venezuelan natives were supporters and relatives of five Trinidadian Muslims who have been in custody in Venezuela for the past three years. As the buses were driven and parked strategically on the roadway, the shouts of “Get out Maduro” turned to “Remove the buses!” The two 25-seater buses had earlier transported a guardof- honour and band members.
As Maduro’s entourage left the Office of the President and made its way to the private entrance of the official residence of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, the police moved the two buses, one behind the other, into position and blocked the protestors who were banging on empty pots and pans and shouting slogans for Maduro to demit office.
As the buses were being moved, activist Yesenia Gonzalez broke away from the group of protestors, and made her way to the pavement facing Queen’s Hall and prostrated herself on the ground. As the convoy of vehicles approached, Gonzalez tried to break free to get on to the street but five police officers in riot gear restrained her.
The tight blanket of security that covered the area included over 12 police cars and the two buses. They took up strategic positions along St Ann’s Road long before the arrival of the convoy.
In the background, on President’s Grounds were armed camouflage- clad soldiers. In brief remarks, Gonzalez told reporters that their protest was sabotaged.
She said Maduro could run, “but he cannot hide!” “There is no food. No medicine.
No toilet paper. Children are dying for want of medical care,” she shouted. Asked what they will do next, she said, the plan is to go home and continue praying.
“We are going to pray hard to get this man out of office!” Asked if they could have been blocked for protesting in Venezuela, she said, “Worse. We could get killed.” She said she did not expect to be grabbed when all she was carrying was a crucifix and Venezuela’s national flag. Faye Torres, through her tears said, “The police prevented us from sending our message. They made us believe we had the privilege. They took away that privilege by blocking our messages.” Earlier, Beatriz Joseph told Newsday they were on the picket line to demand that Maduro demit office because his administration has destroyed the economy, destroyed institutions, failed to maintain the dams that provide hydro-electricity and have failed at providing basic services to the people.
Asked about TT and Venezuela entering into an energy agreement, Joseph said, “To my knowledge, Dr Keith Rowley is desperate also because he has his own cocoa in the sun.” It is disgusting, she said, to see TT being asked to assist Venezuela on humanitarian grounds.
Also on the picket line, but not in solidarity with the protesting Venezuelans, were some members of the Joint Trade Union Movement who stood in solidarity with Maduro. They assembled on the pavement outside Queen’s Hall before making their way outside the Office of the President.
They did not meet with the other protestors.
Among them was former general secretary of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) and Political Leader of the Movement for Social Justice David Abdulah. A member of the Steel Workers Union of TT told Newsday his presence was to warn the TT Government, “if you do not watch yourself, what is going on in Venezuela, could happen here.
“That is the statement. We are not supporting Maduro.”
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Prisoner exchange? Really?!!!!! On what basis?!!!! Send theirs back. Leave ours there?
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(http://www.trinidadexpress.com/storyimage/TT/20160623/LOCAL/160629770/AR/0/AR-160629770.jpg&MaxW=730&imageversion=Article)
One of the Venezuela military aircrafts that landed at the Piarco International Airport on Thursday to transport local food items to Venezuela after a meeting with Venezuelan officials and the Ministry of Trade on Tuesday. -Photo: ROBERT TAYLOR
Venezuelans get food supply from T&T
Venezuela this morning began receiving the first batch of much needed food items from Trinidad and Tobago.
Early this morning, two cargo planes from Venezuela's military arrived at the Piarco International Airport and began airlifting tonnes of items including chicken tomato ketchup, spaghetti, milk and mayonnaise to the Latin American country, which is currently facing a food shortage.
VEMCO Limited director, national brands, Christopher Alcazar told the Express that US$100, 000 worth of Swiss Tomato Ketchup, Swiss Spaghetti, Kerrigold Powdered Milk and Swiss Mayonnaise were delivered to Venezuela. Arawak Company Limited's managing director Robin Phillips confirmed that a similar amount in chicken was also sent across.
Read More: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20160623/news/venezuelans-get-food-supply-from-tt
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T&T has always been one of the more generous countries in the region. Throughout our post Independence history we have answered the call in several different ways to assist nations in our region. Every T&T government that has been office has done this
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This isn't generosity, this is a new trade market. The biggest concern was and probably will continue to be the reliability of the Venezuelan government to maintain their schedule of payments as per signed agreements. The first payments were received prior to airlifting this first shipment. Time will tell if this will be sustained on both sides as we can easily maximize our production capacity via this new market.
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This isn't generosity, this is a new trade market. The biggest concern was and probably will continue to be the reliability of the Venezuelan government to maintain their schedule of payments as per signed agreements. The first payments were received prior to airlifting this first shipment. Time will tell if this will be sustained on both sides as we can easily maximize our production capacity via this new market.
Yes, that is how I interpret this trade. We can't afford to give aid at this moment. I would have ask for the TT national team to play in the Ven. pro-league as part of the concession.
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a few years back when oil was high, venezuela had money to bail out argentina. now dey struggling to survive. an epic collapse.
they should rename "dutch disease" to "venezuela disease".
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ah took in this short piece on recent venezuela elections:
https://www.youtube.com/v/HC7LInc3yDU
i didn't realize chavez STILL have such an effect on people. is that a revolutionary theme - living out de dream of the dead saviour - like guevara? they won't get far with that kind of mentality - they need to make some big changes.
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(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/02/08/world/08Venezuela-bridge/merlin_150266940_13d58ca4-bfcf-49ea-aaef-c0e8cf3db638-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp)
(Photo courtesy The New York Times)
There is nothing more emblematic of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago's failed foreign policy posture concerning Venezuela than Nicolás Maduro's move to block the delivery of humanitarian assistance to his fellow citizens.
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Jumbie, dahis you contributing as "Jumbie" on Wired868 or someone else?
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Venezuelan ‘sex ring’ victims still being treated.
By Ryan Hamilton-Davis (Newsday).
The 19 Venezuelan girls who were rescued by police from an alleged sex ring last Wednesday continue to receive treatment, both medical and psychological, as police investigate how they entered the country and how they were found.
National Security Minister, Stuart Young updated reporters during a press conference held at the Nat Sec Building on Abercromby Street yesterday.
Young yesterday thanked the Minister of Social Development Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn for her assistance with the girls, saying that she stationed even more social workers at a safe house where the 19 girls are being kept.
Young said investigators are speaking with the girls, with the assistance of interpreters as they investigate the matter.
“We are hoping the information we get from there will help with further intelligence-driven operations,” Young said.
Young added that with the nation’s borders being heavily guarded by the Coast Guard, there has been a reduction in the influx of South Americans entering the country illegally, but noted as things worsen in Venezuela, there is a possibility that there would be more illegal immigrants coming into the country. Young said there was a policy which is expected in Parliament to treat with the influx of South Americans.
“The Ministry of National Security has been mandated by the prime minister to develop a policy to the registration of Venezuelans and how we deal with them. We are currently formulating that policy, which should be in my view a registration of all Venezuelans so we have them in a system.
“You hear all sorts of numbers being batted about, but just looking at the immigration records is not going to be sufficient. So the first part of that policy is that we will deal with registration of Venezuelans that are here and we will take further decision after that,” Young said.
Last Wednesday the Special Operations Response Team (SORT), under Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith, cracked down on a possible child sex ring, rescuing 19 girls between 15 and 17 from a house. Thirteen people were arrested in relation to the incident.
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Cousins held in Venezuela released.
By Seeta Persad (Newsday).
COUSINS Kenrick Morgan, 17, and 24-year-old Kendell Singh, who were allegedly kidnapped by Venezuelan pirates on January 14, have returned safely to their homes. The Moruga youths spent a month in captivity.
Morgan and Singh were kidnapped while fishing in the Columbus Channel in Moruga.
A relative of the cousins said a ransom of US$12,000, together with grocery items and a bucket of KFC, were handed over in exchange for their release.
Morgan was released at Erin, and Singh at Moruga between 3.30 and 4.30pm on Tuesday.
Ashley Boodoo, sister of Kenrick, said her brother was dehydrated and needed medical attention. Boodoo said he received intravenous fluids at the Siparia health facility, and he was then taken home to Moruga. She said he was not in a proper frame of mind to speak with the media.
But she said, “Our prayers have been answered. We know God was on our side and this nightmare will come to an end.”
Kenrick’s mother Linda Boodoo was too emotional to speak. “My mother knelt and prayed when she got the news,” said Ashley.
She said she would not like anyone else to experience such horror. “It is most distressing to know that your relative may be killed at any time.”
Her family continues to give praise to the Lord, she said, for keeping her younger brother alive while he was held captive.
After the cousins went missing, the families were reportedly contacted by phone by a Spanish-speaking man who told them if US$40,000 was not paid, the two would be killed. A photograph of the cousins with a man holding a gun to their heads was sent to the family.
The release of the two comes days after seven other men from the Morne Diablo area were returned to TT from Venezuela after also being held captive and ransoms demanded.
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Jumbie, dahis you contributing as "Jumbie" on Wired868 or someone else?
If it is you, let me applaud the innings yuh bat in representing the contrarian view regarding Baldeosingh's article on intervention, South Africa and Venezuela.
Although it was not a Letter to the Editor without deficiencies, the core issue raised held merit.
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(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/02/08/world/08Venezuela-bridge/merlin_150266940_13d58ca4-bfcf-49ea-aaef-c0e8cf3db638-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp)
(Photo courtesy The New York Times)
There is nothing more emblematic of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago's failed foreign policy posture concerning Venezuela than Nicolás Maduro's move to block the delivery of humanitarian assistance to his fellow citizens.
sharing koolaid?
democracy now..take a listen (https://www.democracynow.org/2019/2/25/the_coup_has_failed_now_the)
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Was there supposed to be something in that article that disturbs my assertion?
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My question is though.....should Venezuela's elitist oligarchy operating in concert with the US be allowed to simply win..........either way there is serious ramifications for T&Ts interests especially as it related to to dragon.......the human cost notwithstanding....there is clear and present danger to our interests either way rock and a hard place.........I have no confidence dat d nex set dat positioning deyself to be puppets have we best interest at heart where this issue is regarded
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My question is though.....should Venezuela's elitist oligarchy operating in concert with the US be allowed to simply win..........either way there is serious ramifications for T&Ts interests especially as it related to to dragon.......the human cost notwithstanding....there is clear and present danger to our interests either way rock and a hard place.........I have no confidence dat d nex set dat positioning deyself to be puppets have we best interest at heart where this issue is regarded
Is "in concert with the US" a fair and comprehensive charge doh? Canada's foreign policy orientation and global standing is weighted differently than the US and Canada has been at the diplomatic, activist pointed edge of taking on Maduro's bankrupt leadership. We are a bit beyond the hemispheric politics of Venezuela being in the US' backyard. I don't agree with the polarity of the US being the biggest winner or only winner post-Maduro and that US orchestration will persist post-Maduro.
The narrative of pro-US and anti-US is from a vocabulary that should be retired from Latin American simplification of US interests, but it won't even die a slow death.
Otherwise, you touch precisely on an aspect of why I regard T&T's foreign policy as failed. Karma is positioned to be a diplomatic bitch.
By the way, some of the elites are part of the Maduro inheritance (for example, Tareck El Aissami). They are not all resident in Chacao.
But, to be fair ... it is reasonable to distinguish within the strata between elites and elitist oligarchs.
I agree with our foreign policy to the extent that we should not be picking winners ... but, we also should not be picking losers. And we are "in concert" with a loser. He just hasn't lost yet officially.
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My question is though.....should Venezuela's elitist oligarchy operating in concert with the US be allowed to simply win..........either way there is serious ramifications for T&Ts interests especially as it related to to dragon.......the human cost notwithstanding....there is clear and present danger to our interests either way rock and a hard place.........I have no confidence dat d nex set dat positioning deyself to be puppets have we best interest at heart where this issue is regarded
Is "in concert with the US" a fair and comprehensive charge doh? Canada's foreign policy orientation and global standing is weighted differently than the US and Canada has been at the diplomatic, activist pointed edge of taking on Maduro's bankrupt leadership. We are a bit beyond the hemispheric politics of Venezuela being in the US' backyard. I don't agree with the polarity of the US being the biggest winner or only winner post-Maduro and that US orchestration will persist post-Maduro.
The narrative of pro-US and anti-US is from a vocabulary that should be retired from Latin American simplification of US interests, but it won't even die a slow death.
Otherwise, you touch precisely on an aspect of why I regard T&T's foreign policy as failed. Karma is positioned to be a diplomatic bitch.
By the way, some of the elites are part of the Maduro inheritance (for example, Tareck El Aissami). They are not all resident in Chacao.
But, to be fair ... it is reasonable to distinguish within the strata between elites and elitist oligarchs.
I agree with our foreign policy to the extent that we should not be picking winners ... but, we also should not be picking losers. And we are "in concert" with a loser. He just hasn't lost yet officially.
therein lies d rub, we need dragon to be on stream and as it stands our "neutrality" is hinged on an agreement "in principle" that makes us neutral only in official position, a more delicate approach may have been to put in place the refugee structure we are now hastily seeking to build and let the matter play out as organically as possible. The gov't perceived hostile position on refugees certainly does not help our current predicament
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Perceived hostility to refugees? ;D
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(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/02/08/world/08Venezuela-bridge/merlin_150266940_13d58ca4-bfcf-49ea-aaef-c0e8cf3db638-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp)
(Photo courtesy The New York Times)
There is nothing more emblematic of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago's failed foreign policy posture concerning Venezuela than Nicolás Maduro's move to block the delivery of humanitarian assistance to his fellow citizens.
Was there supposed to be something in that article that disturbs my assertion?
The United Nations, the Red Cross and other relief organizations have refused to work with the U.S. on delivering aid to Venezuela, which they say is politically motivated. Venezuela has allowed aid to be flown in from Russia and from some international organizations, but it has refused to allow in aid from the United States, describing it as a Trojan horse for an eventual U.S. invasion.
be fair and call out everybody else.
block semantics and say you on one side and you want t&t to be on that side.
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Believe it or not, all aid is politically motivated and all aid comes with a price. Second, neutrality is a fundamental underpinning of the operations of relief and international organizations like the UN. Nothing surprising about their position. They have to protect their ability to effect their core mission without compromising it in the absence of a lack of consultation/consensus (between the US and Venezuelan authorities) about the delivery of such aid.
Another US administration would have finessed this differently through back channels. It is certainly more difficult to finesse Kim Jong-un than Maduro. What's preventing penetration with Maduro? (Among the answers to that question are the futures of individuals such as El Aissami mentioned above and Elías Jaua).
The Venezuela issue is not an issue on which any government about these parts should be neutral. Who are we kidding? We have a crisis that has manifested direct implications and consequences within our borders and we feign pretence at neutrality? We are not neutral. On the one hand we are economic opportunists leveraging political cowardice, a lack of moral authority and a lack of leadership and on the other hand we could have seen these days coming many moons ago. Yet, nothing in our policy suggests that we have been anything other than reacting reflexively to the Venezuelan presence within the country.
At the time I posted, I was aware of the Trojan horse concern but it bolsters rather than undermines my view. If the analysis for Maduro comes down to covering his ass or feeding his people, we know what he would choose. And the blockage of the Tienditas bridge is as I stated emblematic of the nonsense.
Do we really have an interest in halting the migratory flow? If so, what should our foreign policy reflect to get us there?
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Perceived hostility to refugees? ;D
the gov't approach is more akin to abdication than hostile in my view, the in/actions of related agencies is enough evidence of that.....on the ground it's more a "keep yuh head down and we won't bother you" type posture, what is hostile is the side effects of the intentional tunnel vision by gov't, re: labour and sex exploitation by the general public, other than that, most move freely within our shores as it stands....I from south so I "interact", read, share public spaces with them regularly, If you get "caught", busted sex ring and what have you, the gov't will act, but it doh have nutten proactive goin on in any shape or form regarding repatriation or regularization.
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12 Venezuelans arrested in Point
T&T Guardian Reports
Police arrested 12 Venezuelans in Point Fortin on on Carnival Monday.
The group of ten men, one woman and a 14-year-old girl were found by police along South Central Road, Point Fortin. They were all charged with being in the country illegally.
They were taken into custody at the Point Fortin Police Station and the Immigration and Counter-Trafficking Units were contacted.
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(https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/53314541_1387032044773153_7889605694389747712_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&oh=a11efd541f07ffb11bc264a7aac8c116&oe=5D1EE725)
THANKS GOES OUT TO ALL THE TRINI MEN FOR CARNIVAL
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Believe it or not, all aid is politically motivated and all aid comes with a price. Second, neutrality is a fundamental underpinning of the operations of relief and international organizations like the UN. Nothing surprising about their position. They have to protect their ability to effect their core mission without compromising it in the absence of a lack of consultation/consensus (between the US and Venezuelan authorities) about the delivery of such aid.
Another US administration would have finessed this differently through back channels. It is certainly more difficult to finesse Kim Jong-un than Maduro. What's preventing penetration with Maduro? (Among the answers to that question are the futures of individuals such as El Aissami mentioned above and Elías Jaua).
The Venezuela issue is not an issue on which any government about these parts should be neutral. Who are we kidding? We have a crisis that has manifested direct implications and consequences within our borders and we feign pretence at neutrality? We are not neutral. On the one hand we are economic opportunists leveraging political cowardice, a lack of moral authority and a lack of leadership and on the other hand we could have seen these days coming many moons ago. Yet, nothing in our policy suggests that we have been anything other than reacting reflexively to the Venezuelan presence within the country.
At the time I posted, I was aware of the Trojan horse concern but it bolsters rather than undermines my view. If the analysis for Maduro comes down to covering his ass or feeding his people, we know what he would choose. And the blockage of the Tienditas bridge is as I stated emblematic of the nonsense.
Do we really have an interest in halting the migratory flow? If so, what should our foreign policy reflect to get us there?
De shot call today. (https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/venezuelan-minister-and-former-vice-president-tareck-zaidan-el-aissami-maddah-charged)
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Young on V’zlan influx: Many jobs on offer in T&T
By Sean Douglas (Newsday).
MINISTER of National Security Stuart Young said this country has many jobs on offer, including new opportunities in the reconstruction of East Port of Spain, replying to Newsday’s query as to whether Venezuelan migrants were pushing T&T nationals out of jobs.
At yesterday’s post-Cabinet briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, Newsday asked if his recent promise to regularise Venezuelans to work for up to a year in T&T could create a labour market distortion by migrants exploited to work for far lower wages than locals.
Promising a Cabinet note next week on the registration of Venezuelans, Young addressed the alleged distortion of the labour market.
“Quite frankly, we'll deal with that as it comes.
“One of the reasons we want to do registration is to ensure that Venezuelans who are registered can work. It is to deal exactly with the exploitation, because now they will be covered, and don’t have to be fearful that they are not here lawfully. One of the ways people exploit them is to say, ‘You are not here legally and I’m going to call the authorities for you unless you do this,' or they are hiding because they want to do things under the table.”
Young said the registration process will deal with that, after which it will be an "open market" for labour.
“It continues to be speculation, because at this stage we do not have an accurate figure, and that’s what I want to deal with: an accurate figure of how many Venezuelans are really here.”
He reckoned the country has many jobs on offer.
“There continue to be jobs in the newspaper. You look every day on the Internet, etcetera, there are jobs available. There are workplaces that are calling out for labour.
“As the number of government projects starts to increase – you’ve heard the Minister of Housing (Edmund Dillon) here talk today about a massive project we’re going to do in east Port of Spain – there’s going to be an increase in the need for labour in the market.”
Young said the regularisation of Venezuelan migrants will be observed “as we go along.”
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Newsday asked if his recent promise to regularise Venezuelans to work for up to a year in T&T could create a labour market distortion by migrants exploited to work for far lower wages than locals.
Duh!!!!!!!
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34 Venezuelans plead guilty.
By Laurel Williams (Newsday).
THIRTY-FOUR Venezuelans, among them 14 women, appeared in the Siparia Magistrates’ Court yesterday when each pleaded guilty for entering the Trinidad illegally.
The foreigners appeared in the second court before magistrate Ava Vandenberg-Bailey who read that on unknown dates at unknown locations they entered the country and failed to report to immigration as required by law. South Western Division police arrested the 34 over the weekend at Erin, San Flora and Siparia.
Legal officer Sheldon Salazar prosecuted and interpreter/ translator Luz Marina Tapias translated yesterday. The Venezuelans were between the ages of 18 and 42 and cannot speak English. Among them were Yurismeel Flores,42, and her 18-year-old son Kirry Jimenez and Jose Luis Cantillo, 35, and his brother Cesar Cantillo Payola,18. Many of the women told the court they are homemakers, students and a hairdresser. One of the women, Jessica Martinez, 28, via the translator, said she works in a bakery in Venezuela. She has a one-month-old baby who was born in Trinidad. When police detained her, the baby remained in the care of a sitter.
Some of the men said they are students of different schools, plumbers, labourers and have families to take care off. They came to Trinidad to seek better lives given the economic, social and political hardships in their homeland. During the hearing, many of the Venezuelans wept.
After the magistrate reprimand and discharged them, they said “gracias” (thank you) in unison. But the Venezuelans remain in police custody and are expected to be deported.
After the case was called, two of the men seen earlier crying in the court alleged that “Fyzabad police” seized US$150 from them while they were in custody at the station. Speaking in Spanish, one said he is waiting for police to return his US$90.
Another said police did not return US$60 and a cell phone. As they were being led out, they asked this reporter for help to recover the money and phone.
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Venezuelans denied entry, sues State.
By Jensen La Vende (Newsday).
HIGH COURT judge Justice Carol Gobin yesterday ordered that eight Venezuelans, out of 14 rejected by immigration at the Piarco International Airport on Thursday, not to be deported, pending the outcome of their lawsuit against the State.
In her written ruling, Gobin gave an interim order stopping the rejection order against the Venezuelans and allowed them to file their claim by tomorrow challenging the decision to refuse them entry. The Venezuelans are being represented by a team of lawyers from Regius Chambers – Wayne Sturge, Mario Merritt, Lemuel Murphy, Abigail Roach, Kirby Jackson, Shirvani Ramkissoon and Keishel Grant.
On Thursday, 14 Venezuelans were denied entry and according to their attorneys, they were not given any reason. Merritt said in the absence of an acceptance by T&T, the Venezuelans are in the care of the airline that brought them, Venezolana. The airline, he said, does not have an office in the country and a local travel agency was the one caring for them. Merritt told Sunday Newsday that of the 14, eight were housed at a guest house in Arouca.
The Venezuelans are locked in their rooms with no cellphones, he said, and are kept in rooms with more people than beds. He added that none of the Venezuelans were told why they could not enter the country after they presented the necessary documents and information on their finances during their stay. Two brothers who came with a letter from their relative in T&T were separated after one was denied entry and the other allowed to enter. Merritt said there was an arbitrary denial of his clients which needed to be addressed.
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V’zuelan children not taken away from parents.
By Sean Douglas (Newsday).
THE children of illegal migrants from Venezuela recently held at Cedros were not separated from their parents to be held by the State, assured Stuart Young, Minister of National Security. He replied to an urgent question by Oropouche West MP Vidia Gayadeen-Gopeesingh, last Friday in the House of Representatives, who asked if the five children in the group of 10 people had been admitted to the Child Protection Unit at the Oropouche Police Station.
“No,” Young replied. “The immigration officers took the very humane decision, after doing an assessment of these Venezuelans including the children, and decided to release them on supervision orders.
“So they were not detained for any length of time and they were not sent to the police station.”
Gayadeen-Gopeesingh asked if there was any set policy or procedure to deal with children of Venezuelan migrants?
Young replied, “All children who are within the borders of T&T fall under our suite of children’s legislation. However in immigration matters, the Immigration Division can take decisions with respect to the detaining of persons who have entered illegally or who have overstayed their visits. So with respect to these particular children, that was utilised.
“With respect to other children, Venezuelan or otherwise, the Children’s Authority is the body that has jurisdiction over them when they’ve run afoul of the law, which would include overstaying. They work hand in hand with our Immigration Division.”
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Immigration agrees to supervision orders for 8 Venezuelans
By Jada Loutoo (Newsday).
Detained at guesthouse for six days
AFTER being detained at a Trincity guesthouse for almost six days, a group of eight Venezuelans who were rejected by immigration at the Piarco International Airport, will be released and will be placed under supervision orders.
Today, immigration officials agreed to issue supervision orders for the eight who came into T&T last Thursday, after their attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus application in the high court.
The Venezuelans are being represented by a team of lawyers from Regius Chambers – Wayne Sturge, Mario Merritt, Lemuel Murphy, Hasine Shaikh, Kirby Joseph, Delicia Helwig-Robertson, Shirvani Ramkissoon, Karunaa Bisramsingh and Danielle Rampersad.
The writ called on Nav Tours – the travel agency acting on behalf of the airline that brought the Venezuelans to T&T – to justify the continued detention of the eight.
The eight were in the care of the airline that brought them, Venezolana, but, since the airline does not have an office in the country, Nav Tours housed them at a guesthouse, awaiting instructions from immigration on what to do with them.
The eight were said to be locked in their rooms with no cellphones, and were kept in rooms with more people than beds.
On Saturday, a high court judge ordered that they not be deported, pending the outcome of their lawsuit against the Chief Immigration Officer (CIO).
Earlier today, their habeas corpus applications were listed for hearing before two judges at 11 am, and were called in two separate courts, at which time a request was made to have one judge hear all applications.
The matters were transferred to Justice Jacqueline Wilson, who was told of the agreement of the CIO to issue the supervision orders for the eight.
For two hours, the judge heard submissions on the question of who should pay the costs of the eight having to come to court.
The State, represented by attorney Coreen Findley, argued that at no time were the eight in the custody of the CIO, so the State should not have to pay costs to either party, despite agreeing to issue the supervision orders.
“They are not in the chief immigration officer’s custody,” she said, adding that the agreeing to the supervision orders was only to facilitate the judicial review claim of the eight.
“We have not detained the applications so we are not entitled to pay costs,” she said.
In the end, Wilson made no order for costs, saying that she saw nothing in the conduct of immigration to warrant the State having to pay the Venezuelans’ or Nav Tours’ costs.
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Venezuelans claim Immigration officers in racket
By Peter Christopher & Rhondor Dowlat (Guardian).
Bribes to stay in T&T
National Security Minister Stuart Young is challenging activist Yesenia Gonzales and other Venezuelan nationals to bring evidence they have against Immigration officers they allege are taking bribes from Venezuelan nationals seeking to gain entry into T&T and to stay here after their time has elapsed.
Young made the call yesterday, hours after Gonzales made the claim on CNC3’s The Morning Brew and some of her compatriots backed up the allegation.
“A particular person of Venezuelan heritage…let’s call her that…was making a whole host of allegations…I am calling on Ms Gonzales, if she has evidence of any of those activities, to come forward to the TTPS and give the information to them,” Young said after attending a passing out parade for police officers at the St James Training Academy.
He added that the police would bear the responsibility of investigating if there are any allegations of criminal activity.
Young also clarified one of the things he said in the Senate on Tuesday, saying while he knows allegations of intimidation of Immigration officers are being made against Venezuelan nationals, there were also T&T nationals who were doing so as well.
“We are working with the TTPS to hold these persons,” Young said.
The issue arose after Immigration officers claimed they were intimidated by relatives of a group of Venezuelan nationals who were refused entry into the country after arriving on a flight from Venezuela last week. Young addressed the matter in the Senate on Tuesday and said police would now set up sting operations at the Piarco International Airport and other ports of entry to arrest any individuals who may engage in this activity.
Yesterday, however, Venezuelan nationals living in T&T, Gonzales among them, scoffed at the claims.
“That is (a) big joke. Everybody laughing at the statement that the Minister of National Security (made) and he has to be very careful about,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales said contrary to what Young was saying, she felt it was the other way around as many Venezuelans felt they were being victimised and exploited by the Immigration officers, with many who were already here forced to make payments to stay in the country.
“It is the Immigration (officer) who has a lot of the power. They are the ones who are deporting them and persecuting them and asking them for money from people who don’t even have money and they say they are illegal. A lot of complicated things, a lot of negative things going on with the Venezuelans here, who looking forward for a safe place or something like that and the immigration just taking advantage of that,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said she believed it was more likely that persons who were involved in bringing Venezuelans and other nationals into the country illegally were the ones threatening Immigration officers.
“The persons who bring people here and doing all sorts of thing to Venezuelans, they are probably the ones doing that to Immigration, not the Venezuelans. The Venezuelans don’t have anybody here, they don’t speak the language,” said Gonzalez.
“The Immigration seem to have more power than the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Security.”
Venezuelan refugee and human rights lawyer Karla Henriquez also said there were numerous instances of Venezuelans and other refugees being asked to pay immigration officers security bonds for their continued stay in this country. Interestingly, the cost of the security bond would vary based on the nationality of the asylum seeker, she said.
“When your time is up, you get a bond to apply to stay and then the Immigration tell you you’re gonna get back the money when you leave,” said Henriquez via a translator.
“Colombians, Cubans and other nationalities pay a different amount.”
She said the price was also increased based on if the asylum seekers came in using legal papers or not.
“If you have legal papers and you ask for the bond it’s $2,100, but if you came via an illegal act it’s more money that you have to pay,” Henriquez said.
Guardian Media received photographs of the bonds, stamped by Immigration officials, indicating the various forms of payment. However, Henriquez said these payments should not be legal based on treaties Trinidad and Tobago had signed with the United Nations.
In January, several refugees protesting outside the Parliament also claimed Immigration officers were asking them for money in order for them to see their families at the Immigration Detention Centre. When Guardian Media asked about that practice then, Ministry of National Security officials denied there was any such practice.
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More Venezuelan children coming to Authority.
By Julien Neaves (Newsday).
CHILDREN’S Authority director/CEO Safiya Noel says the authority has noted an increase in requests from the Immigration Division to care for children of Venezuelans detained for illegal entry.
Asked to comment on a news article about a group of Venezuelans recently held in Cedros, Noel said yesterday if people are detained for illegal entry and they have children, many times, Immigration Division would contact the authority for help with caring for the children until the adults are released.
“So we make ourselves available for those children who come in and cannot remain with their parents. And when it is the parents are leaving we just release the children back into their care. So yes, we have seen an increase in requests from the Immigration unit and we do our best to facilitate.”
Noel said the number of these children the authority is required to house is very small compared to the wider population of children in T&T. “We need more space in the system to house children but what we really need is for children to remain with families.
“That is what we really need. We don’t need children emptying out into other spaces. That is not what we need really. Which is why we continue to appeal to parents.” Noel was also asked how cases of abuse against Venezuelan children were treated by the authority.
“Children who are coming from Venezuela or any other part of the world, they are afforded their rights in terms of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. But they are afforded their rights within the confines of the local law.”
She said if a child who is abused is a non-national, the authority investigates as it would any other child, get to the root of the problem and provide interventions for the safety of that child. “So it is no different whether it is a non-national or a citizen of T&T. We will intervene.” In the House, two Fridays ago, Oropouche West MP Vidia Gayadeen-Gopeesingh asked if five children in a group of ten Venezuelans, had been admitted to the Child Protection Unit at the Oropouche Police Station.
National Security Minister Stuart Young replied that immigration officers took the very humane decision, after doing an assessment of these Venezuelans including the children, and decided to release them on supervision orders.
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‘Treat Venezuelans with humanity’
By Carol Matroo (Newsday).
PM urges T&T
IS there a refugee/immigration/migrant crisis in T&T? According to the Prime Minister, there is not. However, he said there was an increase in the number of people who come and go, from Venezuela in particular.
“Some of them would like to remain because of economic circumstances in Venezuela – economic migrants – and as a good neighbour, we allow them to remain. We do not put out a call, ‘Come hither,’ but it is not such that people come here and not meet our humanity.”
Speaking on Monday, Dr Rowley was asked about offering work permits to Venezuelans for a year, but denied that it was “an offer.”
“We are not making a call for Venezuelans to come here, but if they do come, we try to treat with the situation the best we can.
“If we make ourselves a port of call and issue a call for Venezuelans to come to T&T – we are a very small country. We have 1.3 million people on a small piece of land. Venezuela has 33 million people on a very large piece of South America.
“But by the same token, the few who have come here are what, 30,000, 40,000, we will establish that very soon, we try to ensure that they are treated as well as we can.”
Asked why T&T was not recognising that Venezuela was in a humanitarian crisis and atrocities were being committed on its people, the PM said there was a process for what was happening. He said there were some who were experiencing difficulty with the Venezuelan business model.
Rowley said the anti-Venezuela sentiment did not start with President Nicolas Maduro, but started with former president Hugo Chavez.
“We seem to forget that the Chavez regime was no more popular than Maduro in certain quarters, and when you add the difficulty to treat with the population’s needs, then you move from problem to crisis.
“But that is not a crisis that T&T can fix or can address. We are not in the position to fix Venezuela’s problems.”
He said what was being seen in Venezuela was not a regional problem between T&T and Venezuela, but an international problem.
Rowley said the government was just concerned that T&T did not get the backlash that could come from clashes among countries with interests in Venezuela.
There was very little T&T and Caricom could do, he said, to prevent the world superpowers who were now focused on Venezuela from doing what they were doing, except to stand on principle.
“We can’t prevent the US or Colombia from bringing about regime change in Venezuela. What we do know is, our borders would come under tremendous pressure from people who in that circumstance will impact on T&T. If there is a military conflict in Venezuela, you think the supply of arms and personnel will be reduced in T&T?
“No, it is likely to increase.
“If there is a deterioration in Venezuela’s conditions, does that bring about a reduction in the number of Venezuelans fleeing those conditions? “No, we expect more economic migrants in T&T.” The PM also said he did not know of any increased presence of US military in the southwest peninsula.
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Cops rescue 4 abducted V’zuelans
By Ken Chee Hing (Newsday).
THE Special Operations Response Team (SORT), the Anti-Kidnapping Unit (AKU) and Western Division police have rescued four Venezuelans who were reportedly kidnapped.
Police said the rescue took place around 11.50 am yesterday at a house in Union Road, Four Roads, Diego Martin.
Missing-persons reports had been filed at the St James Police Station after two of the women did not return to where they were staying after leaving earlier in the day to look for apartments to rent in St James.
Acting on intelligence, officers went to the house in Diego Martin, where they rescued four women being held hostage. They have since arrested three men for kidnapping, robbery and sexually assaulting those women.
Several police units are now involved in this investigation.
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CoP: ‘Deport Them’
By Ryan Hamilton-Davis (Newsday).
Gary on Venezuelans involved in crime:
COMMISSIONER of Police Gary Griffith is asking that consideration be made to deport all Venezuelans, who, through intelligence gathering, have been found to be involved in criminal activity.
He made the statement earlier at a police press briefing held at the TTPS Administration building in Port of Spain, a day after Government announced that registration for legal and illegal Venezuelan immigrants would be undertaken in June.
Griffith's statement was also made hours before two more Venezuelan men were killed, this time in a shoot-out with police in Central T&T.
Griffith said three Venezuelans had been murdered for the year, and investigations had indicated that they were linked with criminal elements. He added that several others had been arrested for various crimes. According to Griffith, six were arrested for their involvement in robberies, three were held with firearms, one was held with narcotics, two were arrested in relation to malicious woundings, one, in relation to a kidnapping and another for sexual offences.
“While we are doing the charitable thing and we are trying to help, my point is charity must begin at home. There is a clear and present danger when certain Venezuelans are entering this country and they are involved in one thing and one thing alone – criminal activity.” Griffith said.
“The reason I am saying this is, as much as they would have all the people who would like to say that Jesus was a refugee and we have to take care of everyone, the fact is that I have to take care of T&T citizens.”
Griffith explained Venezuelan refugees are coming into the country, and because they are in desperate need of work some are being lured into a life of crime by criminals, while others who have had a criminal past in Venezuela, have managed to come into the country with the intention of continuing their lives of crime.
Griffith said letting these criminal elements into the country unchecked would severely damage the work being done by police to protect the citizens of T&T and reduce crime and the fear of crime.
“This situation with Venezuelan nationals coming in here with a deliberate intention to be involved in criminal activity is unacceptable... What they are basically getting is a “get out of jail free card.”
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Greenlight for Venezuelans
By Akash Samaroo (Guardian).
Cabinet has agreed to open a two-week registration for Venezuelans in Trinidad and Tobago, to allow then an initial stay of six months in which they can also work in Trinidad and Tobago.
The decision is for Venezuelans who arrive here legally or illegally.
The two-week amnesty will begin on May 31st and run until June 14th.
Government Minister Stuart Young told today's post-Cabinet media conference that five registration centres will be set up with interpreters for the registration process.
The centres will be located in Port-of-Spain San Fernando, Arima, Cedros and Scarborough.
The Venezuelans will undergo medical examinations and at the end of the six months, will have their situations evaluated before another six-month period becomes available to them.
The minister said they will also be able to access emergency medical care as well as primary and public care, inclusive of treatment for heart attacks, strokes, diabetic comas and so on.
However, the minister says anything beyond that will have to be paid for.
He said the Cabinet also agreed that there will be no guarantees to a right of education or social services.
Minister Young said that the government's first priority for the provision of education is to Trinidad and Tobago citizens but he notes that if there are extra spaces in schools, then Venezuelans could be accommodated.
They will not be required to pay NIS but if he says that if qualify to pay PAYE, then they will.
The registration cards will have photo identification and security features.
The minister said that when the process is complete, national security will revert to the normal applications of immigration laws.
He added that this is not a process to allow more Venezuelans to arrive here illegally.
He said the Cabinet also agreed to review the situation with respect to other persons in the Immigration Detention Centre.
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42 Venezuelan women fined $.28m.
By Sascha Wilson (Guardian).
Fifty-six Venezuelan nationals, including 42 women, were fined sums totally $280,000 in the San Fernando Magistrates Court this week after they pleaded guilty to entering the country illegally.
Thirty-two of them were fined on Thursday—the same day National Security Minister Stuart Young announced that registration for all Venezuelans in this country will commence between May 31 and June 14.
Young said Venezuelans housed at the Immigration Detention Centre will also be allowed to register.
Registered Venezuelans would be given a form of an identification card and the option to work for six months to a year. The 56 Venezuelans pleaded guilty in the San Fernando Magistrates Court. They entered the country through an illegal port of entry this year and failed to report to an immigration officer.
They were each fined $5,000 and allowed two months to pay or serve three months in jail. At least 24 of the women were arrested at Classic Seamen and Four Play Restaurant and Bar.
All of them were held in the Southern Division within the last week. Twenty four of the women appeared in court on Monday and were fined. Nineteen others, consisting of ten women and nine men, appeared on Tuesday and were remanded to Thursday. And on Thursday they along with 13 others, including eight women, appeared before Magistrate Indar Jagroo.
With the assistance of Spanish interpreter Luz Maria Tapais-de-Copilah, they claimed they entered the country this month. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have been fleeing their homeland which is in a social and political crisis.
According to the United Nation records as of May 2018 than estimated 40,000 Venezuelans were living in T&T.
(http://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.1964572.a51b759265?size=1024)
Some of Venezuelan women who were fined for entering the country illegally escorted to the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court earlier this week.
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'Trinis are enslaving us' - Venezuelans, Cubans appeal for help
By Alexander Bruzual (T&T Express).
ABUSE. Sexual assault. Blackmail. Victimisation by both citizens and law enforcement.
These were just some of the horrifying allegations made yesterday by men and women from Venezuela and Cuba who told of the problems they’ve endured since they came to Trinidad seeking asylum.
More than 30 men, women and children assembled at Grant Avenue, Mt Lambert, to speak to reporters yesterday.
The group came together and recalled incidents of how they have been taken advantage of, persecuted and victimised in Trinidad and Tobago, as they tried to find sanctuary away from life-threatening conditions in their home countries.
Many of them broke down in tears as they recalled what they have been through.
In the end, they pleaded with the authorities to intervene, with members indicating they have written a letter to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for help.
Copies of the letter are to be delivered to the office of the Minister of National Security and the office of the Commissioner of Police as well.
Most said they had refugee status or were asylum-seekers, and proudly displayed documents and cards to illustrate their status.
Documents not enough
However, despite being in possession of these documents, they said they were still targeted, victimised, even charged and brought before the courts, as many police officers refused to acknowledge their status.
Activist Yesenia Gonzales, who has lived in Trinidad for many years, told the Express she had heard Government ministers on TV telling the public many of the foreigners held in the Immigration Detention Centre were there because they had not applied for refugee or asylum status—a claim she countered by saying many of these people were in possession of refugee cards and applications.
But in the eyes of this country, these documents were not enough.
“You make an application (at the UNHCR in Port of Spain) and are given a card, and told it has to go through a process, which can last from months to years. In the interim, they give you documentation indicating as such. But if you are walking the roads just to get groceries or anything like that, these papers are not enough. “You will have officers who will arrest you regardless, telling you the law is that your passport has to be stamped properly or you have to have direct documentation approving your stay. Applications are not enough. So then you end up before courts,” Gonzales said.
‘Making slaves of us’
Another Venezuelan national, Martha Tobar, pleaded with the Government to put things in place to treat with refugees and asylum seekers, saying the current system was only leading to persecution and victimisation.
“This is the only country that we can come to that gives us even a remote chance of improving our lives. If we could have gone to another country and avoid the hardships here, or the victimisation we experience, we would. But we don’t have those options. Most people give up everything they have to leave Venezuela and come here. The other option is that they kill you. So it’s either we come here, or we lose our lives. This is our reality. And most times, the documents you have, passports, identification cards, birth certificates, all these things are either destroyed or left behind due to circumstances. So we literally come here with the clothes on our backs. That is all we have.
“But then when we arrive here, there is no protection. It is not as bad as Venezuela, but it is not much of an improvement either. Because as soon as people know that you are running away, as soon as they know that you don’t have anything, they try to take advantage of you. Man or woman. It doesn’t matter. They will basically make slaves of you, or in some cases send people into prostitution.”
Tobar continued: “The situation is so bad that there are immigration officers who are blackmailing us. If they see us on the roads, they will pull us aside, tell us give them money, or they will bring the police. But where are we getting this money? If we hold to the conditions of the applications, we can’t work. If we break the conditions, we are brought before the courts because we have broken the laws of the land. So where is the care? Where is the understanding and compassion for your fellow human beings?”
Month of hell
Among the stories which were given yesterday was that of a young woman who endured what she said was a “month of hell” trying to reach Trinidad and Tobago.
She told the Express that on November 29, she arrived in this country legally.
However, she claimed immigration officials refused to allow her into the country.
“They said that I could not leave Immigration because I didn’t have anyone to go by and that no one was there to claim me. I told them that my friend was outside and they said they checked and no one was there. They didn’t allow me to call or check via Internet messages. They deported me the following day. I learned upon returning to Venezuela that this was all a lie. My friend was outside waiting the whole time. And he said he was never approached nor heard his name called or anything,” the woman recalled.
However, she was desperate to try to make some money to send back to her 15-year-old brother and father, and she admitted she returned to the country illegally on December 8.
She spent a few days with people she thought she knew and trusted, but on December 13 she said she was “set up” and kidnapped.
The woman said she and another Venezuelan friend were beaten and sexually assaulted by a group of men, and moved around from house to house.
They endured this for several days until they were rescued from their kidnappers by police.
The woman said what was worse was that she spent more time in police custody than the men she alleged assaulted her, as police investigators told her she was here illegally, and as a result she did not have any rights.
Eventually, she was released and applied for refugee status.
But she said the people who kidnapped her were eventually freed from custody and she has been told they are looking for her.
“This is not a situation I am wishing on anyone. I came here to work to send back things for my family, but instead I was given the worst treatment that any human being can be given. My advice to Venezuelans who are coming to this country, male or female—until the Government steps up and fixes the persecution we face here, trust no-one. People who claim they are helping you, they will sell you in a heartbeat because they know it will benefit them and they know the authorities simply do not care on what happens to us,” the woman said.
How application process works
An application is made and in response to this, a certificate is given to the person, identifying he/she as an asylum seeker.
The certificate identifies the applicant, their UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) registration number, date of registration, country of birth, country of asylum, and arrival date.
Following this is a letter, which is stamped by the UNHCR, in which it is noted that the applicant is an asylum seeker whose application is being processed.
The letter states, “(name) is a person of concern to the UNHCR and should be protected from forcible return to a country where she would face persecution, pending a final decision on her refugee status. Any assistance accorded to the above named individual would be appreciated.”
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has been criticised for statements on legislation for refugees and asylum seekers.
Amnesty International has said this country was a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol.
Al-Rawi said that the convention has not been ratified and must be enacted in domestic law.
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Notorious Venezuelans infiltrate T&T gangs
By Mark Bassant (Guardian).
Deadly alliance
A murderous and notorious Venezuelan gang has infiltrated Trinidad and Tobago’s borders and many of them are now part of the criminal landscape that has intensified this country’s violence over the last few months.
The findings, senior intelligence sources say, are contained in a number of secret intelligence reports that have been recently prepared by various arms of local law enforcement authorities.
Guardian Media saw the reports which highlighted the worrying trend of the presence here of members of the Venezuelan gang Evande. Law enforcement officers say several hundred members of Evande, which reportedly has more than 650 members, are in this country illegally.
The law enforcement reports say Evande members have been responsible for several violent crimes in Venezuela, including high profile kidnappings and murders. However, Evande members here have now embedded themselves with local gangs and have also sought jobs on construction sites across the country. The reports also pointed to the gang’s involvement in the trafficking of narcotics and firearms into this country.
What authorities have also unravelled in their investigation is that Evande members fled Venezuela for T&T not only to escape rival gangs, but also the Venezuelan Guardia Nacional who were given instructions to dismantle their operations due to their “violent and heinous nature.”
One senior intelligence said, “This is going to have a domino effect in Trinidad and Tobago. With more drug seizures someone is going to have to pay the price.”
Another high ranking intelligence officer familiar with the report said the Venezuelan gangs operate with a different modus operandi.
“These gang members move in groups and when they are going to put down a hit they move with AK47s. If their target is one person, they will open fire on that person even if there are other people around. They will not be bothered if innocent people are killed. And that’s the difference with these Venezuelan gangs,” he explained.
Criminologist Darius Figueira, who spoke to the T&T Guardian last Saturday, said Venezuelan gangs have been setting up organised criminal operations here and using their compatriots in these activities.
“They are prostituting under the directions and control of Venezuela’s organised crime, which is disturbing the balance of forces on the ground in T&T’s gangland,” Figueira said.
Figueira also alluded to the fact that these Venezuelan gangs form coalitions with local gangs. He said those Venezuelans have already affiliated themselves with local gangland operators and they are not afraid to die.
Two senior intelligence sources revealed to Guardian Media that they have received credible information that at least three Venezuelan nationals shot and killed over the last month and a half in T&T were in some way connected to the Evande gang.
One Venezuelan national was found dead on February 21 but is yet to be identified. His body was found dumped off Morne Coco Road, Petit Valley, with gunshot wounds and his hands tied behind his back. Sources say he was a member of the Evande gang also they have not been able to confirm his given name. The other Venezuelan nationals who had ties to the gang were Alexander Cedeno Roroba, who was shot and killed near the El Pecos Grill in Woodbrook recently. The man was reportedly an asylum seeker, but police sources told Guardian last week that he worked as a hitman in Venezuela.
The third Venezuelan with deep ties to Evande was Jose Rodriguez, 36, who was shot and killed by a lone gunman while driving along the Western Main Road in Glencoe last Thursday.
One of the senior intelligence sources explained that Rodriguez was able to get a shipment of cocaine from a Colombian link for a businessman in this country. However, the shipment was intercepted by police several months ago and Rodriguez told the businessman the money for the multi-million dollar shipment was still owed to the Colombians. But the businessman, the intelligence source explained, later had Rodriguez executed to cancel out the debt.
“But because these Colombian drug dealers are so connected to Venezuelan gangs and they are still owed money, it is only a matter of time before they come knocking.”
CoP monitors growing pattern
Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith has noted a “growing pattern of certain elements from the South American mainland attempting to set up their trade of illegal activities in this country.”
In a release yesterday, Griffith warned that this emerging pattern could compromise the country’s security.
In an interview earlier, however, Griffith had refused to comment on the intelligence reports on the Venezuelan gangsters infiltrating T&T gangs and becoming involved in criminal activity.
He also said he did not have any information to counter claims made by criminologist Darius Figueira on Venezuelan gangs now infiltrating the country.
In his release last evening, he also stopped short of making any reference to the T&T Guardian’s exclusive story. However, he reiterated his position on deporting persons of interest back to their countries.
He said to prevent a recurrence of an incident at the Freeport Police Station involving Venezuelan women attacking officers, officers will now be “equipped with pepper spray and tasers in tandem with the minimum use of force policy.”
In relation to that particular incident, Griffith said if the Venezuelan nationals are found to have overstayed their time here they will be deported immediately.
Griffith also noted a number of illegal activities involving non-nationals who were either perpetrators or victims of crime over the past few months.
Citizens warned to be vigilant
Secret intelligence reports compiled by law enforcement agencies have advised all arms of the protective services to be vigilant of the existence of members of the Venezuelan gang Evande and their potential threat to national security here in Trinidad and Tobago.
The report also urged citizens to beware of their public surroundings near their groceries, homes, markets and other public areas.
Instructions were also given to cross-reference Venezuelan nationals who entered Trinidad and Tobago illegally with several law enforcement agencies, including the assistance of Interpol.
Crime involving non-nationals Jan-April 2019:
• Four Venezuelans murdered
• Two Chinese men, one Venezuelan woman and one Guyanese man charged in sex-ring bust
• Nineteen female non-national minors rescued from human trafficking ring
• Nine non-nationals arrested for possession of narcotics
• Five detainees escaped the Immigration Detention Centre
• Police rescued four Venezuelan women from a house at Diego Martin
• Fifty-six Venezuelans arrested and charged for illegal entry
• Six Venezuelan women attack police
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Four V’zuelans denied bail for assaulting police.
By Laurel Williams (Newsday).
Four Venezuelans – three women and a man – appeared before a Chaguanas magistrate yesterday charged with a total of 17 offences. including obstructing two police officers in the execution of their duties and assaulting them.
The four accused stood before senior magistrate Rajendra Rambachan in the first court. One woman and the man were each charged with assaulting PC Mohammed, throwing missiles to endanger people, resisting arrest, obstructing him and behaving in a disorderly manner.
Another woman was charged with resisting arrest, behaving in a disorderly manner, assaulting PC Mohammed and WPC Glasglow.
The last woman was charged with resisting WPC Glasglow, obstructing PC Mohammed and behaving in a disorderly manner.
They pleaded not guilty.
The charges stemmed from a fracas on Sunday at Freeport. Police on patrol at Uquire Road, Freeport stopped and searched two men, a Venezuelan and a Trinidadian. It is alleged when they tried to search the Venezuelan, the women intervened and assaulted the police.
Ag Cpl Bain and PC Mohammed of Central Division laid the charges.
Sgt Alicia Soodeen prosecuted and objected to bail, saying they were foreigners and had no fixed addresses in TT.
Attorney Nicholas Rampersadsingh represented the accused and Moonilal Ragbir translated.
The magistrate denied them bail and remanded them into police custody to reappear on May 14.
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We can't stop a Venezuelan influx—Padarath
By Radhica De Silva (Guardian).
Even as National Security Minister Stuart Young announced yesterday that security forces were locking down T&T’s borders in response to Venezuela’s worsening crisis, Opposition MPs said it was a little too late to do this.
In an interview with the T&T Guardian, Princes Town MP Barry Padarath said nothing will stop desperate people from fleeing their homeland if civil war breaks out in neighbouring Venezuela.
Padarath said with factions of Venezuela’s military supporting Opposition leader Juan Guaido, T&T could become caught in the fallout as fleeing Venezuelans could flock to the island, creating a negative impact on T&T’s national security among other issues.
“Could our resources handle the influx of Venezuelans and would we be able to manage the situation?” he asked in relation to Government’s decision to register Venezuelans and allow them to work for up to a year legally.
He said education and the health sector will also be strained under this scenario, adding that while it was important to deal with the situation in a humanitarian way, the Government should also take precautions to ensure there is no negative impact on T&Ts security.
MP for Mayaro/Rio Claro Rushton Paray said since the attempt was made by Guaido to overthrow the Nicolas Maduro regime there have been no reports of a high influx of Venezuelans coming to T&T from the east coast. However, he said he was sure they were coming in from other points along the coast.
He noted that the Mayaro region had a large number of hard working Venezuelans who were eagerly waiting for registration. He warned, however, that under the ad-hoc registration process no plan was put in place for a Venezuelan woman who bears children in T&T during the one-year period.
“Will the children get citizenship? Will the parents be sent back? Why did the Government allow a 50-day window before registration begins?” Paray asked.
He also predicted a higher influx of Venezuelans coming to T&T over the next few days. He said while NGOs in Mayaro were assisting Venezuelans with accommodation and schooling, he was uncertain whether the country will be able to accommodate any great number of them seeking refugee status in T&T.
In a statement yesterday, National Security Minister Stuart Young said T&T was maintaining its principled position of non-interference and non-intervention in the Venezuelan crisis. However, he said Government hoped that the Venezuelan people could resolve their issues peacefully.
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Venezuelans continue to enter South coast.
By Radhica De Silva (Guardian).
Boatloads of Venezuelans are still continuing to secretly enter Trinidad through Icacos even though the National Security Minister Stuart Young announced that all borders are now in lockdown.
Guardian Media visited the coastal villages of Coromandel, Fullarton, Icacos and Bonasse yesterday to see whether there was any physical proof of additional security. No additional police, soldiers or coast guard were seen.
However, residents said the number of illegal Venezuelans had increased since violent street protests erupted in Venezuela following the attempt by Opposition leader Juan Guaido to oust President Nicholas Maduro.
Shortly before the T&T Guardian team arrived at Icacos Beach at noon, residents said a boat with five Venezuelans pulled up and the occupants ran out and entered a forested area to hide.
A source, who requested anonymity, said more than 50 Venezuelans were seen entering Icacos during Monday night and about a dozen ventured in during the day.
“On Tuesday at 5 am, three maxis were at the beach picking up the women and children, many of whom could be no more than 20-years old.
“This is a regular thing. We cannot talk about it but everyone sees and knows what is going on,” the source said.
Some fishermen, who were trying to hoist a boat off the sand and who the source claimed had orchestrated the illegal trip, denied seeing any Venezuelans on the beach. They did not want photos taken.
Several fishermen said since the minister announced a lockdown there has been no additional security.
Adrian Massey, who was kidnapped by Venezuelans two years ago while fishing in local waters, said he was concerned about developments in Venezuela.
“It is cause for concern because there is war in Venezuela . It will mean a lot of Venezuelans coming here,” he said.
He said while locals could not fish in territorial waters, the Venezuelans were coming in with little or no restrictions.
While he expressed sympathy for the plight of the Venezuelans, Massey said one could not be certain whether the foreigners were criminals.
President of Icacos United Fishermen Association Gary Edwards said, “There is no lockdown here. Who cares what is happening in Icacos. Do you think people don’t know what is happening? You know and that is why you are here.”
He added that Venezuelans were living in every part of the peninsula.
At Bonasse Village, Cedros tour guide Edward Marcelle said there was no evidence of a border lockdown because of the Coast Guard interceptor was not stationed off the coast.
However, at Bowen and Carlise Trace, Coromandel, army officers were spotted inside the forest trails. There were also additional soldiers seen by residents in the Galfa area.
On Monday, Young said the borders will be locked down to stop illegal entry. He said the government is taking a non-interference and non-intervention stance to the Venezuelan crisis.
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22 Venezuelans fined $3,000 each for illegal entry
By Sascha Wilson (Guardian).
A teacher, a student and a trainee policeman were among 22 Venezuelans who fled their crisis-stricken homeland to Trinidad in search of work, food and a better life.
On Monday, they all appeared in the San Fernando Magistrates Court charged with illegally entering the country. The 20 men and two women pleaded guilty.
Having lost their jobs, unable to find work or food and penniless, they came to Trinidad leaving behind their children and spouses in Venezuela.
Some of them said they were working on an agricultural farm in Erin. They appeared before First Court Senior Magistrate Jo-Anne Connor who read the charge that on an unknown date they entered the country in a place not designated as a port of entry and failed to report to an immigration officer.
They arrived in the county about two weeks ago. Their ages ranged from 18 to 45 years old and they were charged by Cpl Richardson of the Immigration Division.
The 18-year-old, the police trainee, and one of the women, age 45, were reprimanded and discharged. The others were each fined $3,000. They were given three months to pay the money or serve six months in jail.
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$123,000 in fines imposed against migrants.
T&T Guardian Reports.
In two days, a total of 47 Venezuelans appeared in the San Fernando Magistrates Court for illegally entering the country. The majority have been slapped with fines totally $123,000.
Twenty-two appeared on Monday, 19 were fined a total of $57,000 and three were discharged. On Wednesday, 25 Venezuelans, including six women, pleaded guilty before First Court Senior Magistrate Jo-Anne Connor.
They admitted to entering the country at a port of entry which is not designated port and failing to report to an immigration officer.
The majority of them claimed they lost their jobs in occupations such as bakers, babysitters, construction workers and mechanics and came to here looking for work. They sneaked into the country between February and May and had been staying in various locations, including Union Hall, San Fernando, Aripero, Rousillac, Moruga, Williamsville, Marabella and Palmiste.
Some were able to find jobs here doing mainly domestic and construction work. Three women, a 23-year-old woman working as a babysitter, a 21-year-old working as a maid and a 25-year-old who holds an administrative assistant degree and was earning a living by cleaning houses and cooking here, were all reprimanded and discharged. The other 22 were given three months to pay the fines or serve six months in jail.
In any event, they will be detained at the Immigration Detention Centre to await deportation. Christie Ramkissoon was the Spanish translator while WPC Limo of the Immigration Division laid the charges.
Close to 100 Venezuelans held in Santa Flora
Police have detained scores of Venezuelan nationals in Santa Flora in South Trinidad.
Many of those detained were carrying backpacks, suggesting that they had recently come ashore.
We're told that close to 100 were detained.
This is a developing report and we will have more later.
Released! Venezuelans allowed until end of July
The 93 Venezuelan nationals who have been detained by police in Palo Seco, are being released.
The men, women and children were taken to Siparia where they were processed by Immigration officials.
They were given documents allowing them to stay in the country until the end of July.
Some of the officers even took the Venezuelan nationals to get doubles in Siparia.
They were also given soft drinks and sandwiches.
Most of them said they have not eaten since they came early this morning.
They say they are not sure where they will stay but are asking persons in the area to borrow phones to make phone calls.
The Venezuelans were held at a two-storey house in a forested area in Palo Seco.
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This is the saddest problem going forward. As if we don't have enough social issues. Not sure what can be done. ??? ??? ???
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We may have to explore alternatives to be proactive to intercept these refugees before they get on land. At the very least we can document who's entering or trying to enter through undesignated ports. Coast guards with the help of other military units I guess? I'm not even sure what measures we currently have in place.
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Young urges Venezuelans to register
By Sampson Nanton (Guardian).
National Security Minister Stuart Young is sending a message to Venezuelan nationals in Trinidad and Tobago, "do not to listen" to those telling them to stay away from the registration process.
At a news conference in Port-of-Spain on Friday, Minister Young said that it is in their own interest, because when the registration process is done, the state will revert to enforcing the law of deporting persons who are here illegally.
He has made a fresh call for all Venezuelans, whether here legally or not, to come forward and register during the time-period May 31 to June 14.
"I want to tell you of the consequence of not registering. Come June 15, persons who have not taken part in the registration process, we revert back to the enforcement of the law as it currently stands. Do not listen to anyone trying to convince you not to participate in the exercise," he said.
The Ministry of National Security, which is spearheading the process, has reduced the number of registration centres from five to three.
They will be at the Queen's Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, the Achievers Banquet Hall in San Fernando and the Caroline Building on Wilson Street, Scarborough, Tobago.
He said that there has been an over-subscription of persons responding to the call for interpreters, translators and assistants for the process.
The process will involve an online segment, in which persons will be asked to fill out forms, following which they will acquire identification numbers.
The forms will be both in English and Spanish.
At each registration point, there will be computer terminals for those wishing to fill out their forms and there will be assistants there to help.
He said there will only be a certain number of persons registered daily but that no one will be turned away.
The registration form will also allow for the registration of children.
Persons will then be taken to a desk for verification, fingerprinting and photographing.
"Everyone, including children, will be registered that way," Young said.
He added that the representatives of the Minister of Health will also be available and that quick health scans will be conducted to ensure there are no issues regarding the health of those being registered.
In the end, everyone will be given a receipt which will entitle them to a registration card.
Registration cards will only be given to Venezuelans above the age of 16, and will allow them the opportunity to stay and work in Trinidad and Tobago for a year.
Young said the cards will have special security features and can also be used by Immigration officials for verifications.
He has reiterated that the cards will not prevent those involved in illegal activities, from being deported, adding that national security operatives have been getting information from Interpol with regards to those involved in criminal activity.
"So we have a red flag list of anyone who comes up as a criminal," he said.
He said he has signed around 10 deportation orders in the last few weeks.
Minister Young insists that the government's policy on Venezuelans has not changed and that the decision by Immigration officials to grant supervision orders to 93 Venezuelans held in Palo Seco this week, is not a new thing.
According to the minister, Immigration officials must take into consideration the space at the Immigration Detention Centre and also the care needed for women and children.
He said in that case, it would be more humane to release them on supervision orders, with requirements for them to appear every two weeks so that their whereabouts can be tracked.
"There is no softening of our policy," he said.
On the other end, he said that the authorities have discussed with Venezuela's 'Guardia National', efforts to also stop shiploads of Venezuelans from travelling from Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago.
The cost of the registration process is $5 million but the minister said the figure is fluid as they may come across contingencies that they have not catered for before.
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Venezuelans in court for illegal entry
By Sascha Wilson (Guardian).
Even as aid is being sought for more 100 Venezuelans migrants found hiding in the Palo Seco area, 46 others appeared in court this morning charged with entering the country illegally.
The majority of them were convicted and ordered to pay fines of $2000 and $3000. They were given three months to pay the fines or serve six and four months in jail. Most were men and they came into the country at different dates between last August and this month.
After appearing before San Fernando Senior Magistrate Jo-Anne Connor the migrants were taken away in prison vans.
On Thursday, more than 100 Venezuelan men, women and children were held by police in the Palo Seco area. They arrived in the country via boat and were hiding in the forests. They were later given shelter at a sports complex in Siparia and Good Samaritans provided them with food and clothing. Medical care was also provided.
Those migrants have been given permission to stay here until the end of July.
More Venezuelans arrive via Icacos
By Radica De Silva (Guardian).
While police locked down the coastal points at Beach Camp, Palo Seco and Erin on Wednesday night, three more boatloads of Venezuelans arrived at Icacos Beach and Columbus Bay.
A source who requested anonymity said the boats came in between 11 pm on Wednesday to 1:30 am on Thursday. Shortly after midnight, a heavy contingent of police came in, searching for the Venezuelans. It is believed they fled into the forests near Constance estate, La Vege Estate, St Quintin Estate at near Columbus Bay. A few of them were later arrested but the majority are still in hiding.
"Things were hot here last night. Earlier on they picked up 12 of them at Fullarton Beach. The people who normally come for them did not show up last night because there was too much police around," the source added.
Usually, a maxi taxi is hired and the foreigners are carried to various destinations.
A photo of Venezuelans being held for questioning at the Cedros Security Complex circulated on social media on Thursday morning.
In an interview with Guardian Media, councillor for the area, Shankar Teelucksingh questioned whether the 360-degree radar was functional.
"I want to know whether the radar is working? How is it that the Venezuelans are still arriving at the southern coasts? Where is the Coast Guard? Is it that they are only patrolling to stop the Venezuelans ferries?" Teelucksingh asked. He also questioned why Immigration granted an Order of Supervision to 105 Venezuelans who were picked up on Wednesday at Aguillera Trace, Beach Camp. One of the orders of supervision papers handed to Erica Yohan Mendoza Michelena advised that he has to report to the senior immigration officer at Knox Street, San Fernando.
Teelucksingh said the Venezuelans should have received clearance to stay for one week in Trinidad to get supplies and then the ferries should have been hired to deport them back to Venezuela. He called on the Ministry to set up refugee camps and to liaise with agencies like the UNCHR and Red Cross to help the Venezuelans.
Many of those interviewed at Siparia after their release were left with nowhere to go. They eventually spent the night at the Irwin Park pavilion after Guardian Media implored chairman of the Siparia RegiionalCorporation Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh to find suitable accommodation for them.
Several business owners and church groups have offered to provide lunch for the homeless Venezuelans. Once registration begins, Venezuelans who qualify will be allowed to live and work in Trinidad for a year.
Guardian Media will bring you more on this as this situation develops.
Women, children hideout in Icacos forest
Desperate to escape being caught by the police, more than 50 Venezuelan women and their children are hiding in the forests of Icacos, with mangoes and coconuts for a meal.
By dusk, when the mosquitoes, gnats and sand flies descend, the hungry women stumble out of the forests in search of food, holding their children protectively around them.
Guardian Media went in search of the bush families on Thursday and saw evidence of their existence. Fresh tracks were seen in the forest leading to the sea and a knapsack was spotted on the road. A team of officers from the Customs and Excise Division were seen searching in a road leading to the beach near Galfar.
It is an area accessible only through the bumpy Gran Chemin village in Icacos where an old colonial road once broke off leaving the land exposed to the sea.
Villager Roxanne Williams who was seen shredding coconut branches to make cocoyea brooms confirmed that she had seen the homeless forest children.
“It is so sad seeing them. I cannot imagine how they are living in there where there are snakes and all kinds of animals,” she said.
“We estimate that about 300 of them came up here over the past few days. On Wednesday, I saw one woman who had a baby not older than a year. The other child was about four. They were looking for food. They run across the road when they saw me,” Williams said.
She said whenever the Venezuelans see the police, Customs or Immigration, they would run in the bushes and hide.
Another villager Candy Edwards said he estimated there were still about 50 Venezuelans hiding in the bushes and abandoned coconut estates in Icacos.
“Some of those who came before had a contact to take them to various places to work but many who are coming now have no money, no possessions and nowhere to go,” Edwards said.
Having been imprisoned in Venezuela for 52 days after being arrested by the Guardia Nacional last year, Edwards said the last thing he wanted was to be in Venezuela.
“It is no wonder that people running from there. In the villagers like Pedernales, Tucupita and Capri, people are suffering. They have no food, no water and no medicine.”
While Edwards expressed concerns that some of the Venezuelans were criminals he said something has does be done to protect the children.
“It’s not right. My mother has been feeding the children from the forests but she cannot take them in.”
Contacted for comment, chairman of the Children’s Authority Haniff Benjamin said the Authority has been working with the Ministry of National Security to assist all children in T&T including those who were foreigners.
“We have a mandate to protect all the children of T&T. We are a signatory to the United Nations Rights of Child and we have a duty to provide care and attention to children as well as to protect all children. The mechanisms of the Children’s Authority will kick into place to provide help to the children.
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PM: Volume of Venezuelans will become a burden.
By Sampson Nanton (Guardian).
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says that Trinidad and Tobago cannot be the solution for millions of Venezuelans who are fleeing the country and that there will come a time when the volume of Venezuelans coming here will become a burden.
He made the remark at today's post-Cabinet media conference.
The prime minister said the first priority of the government is the welfare of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
He told the media conference that while Trinidad and Tobago is attempting to keep its doors open, it will not be able to cope with a large migration of Venezuelans.
"International agencies, many of them with different agendas to our interest in Trinidad and Tobago, will not encourage us into converting Trinidad and Tobago, this little island nation in the mouth of the Orinoco, into any refugee camp for the larger Venezuelan public," he said.
Dr Rowley added: "To protect the interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago we will have to limit our exposure to the fallout in Venezuela."
He said one way of doing so is to continue the 90-day limit allowed for Venezuelans coming into the country.
However, he is warning that Trinidad and Tobago might have to ensure that the migration of Venezuelans to this country, stops.
"There comes a time when the volume and the presence of these economic migrants in Trinidad and Tobago will threaten the quality of life of the people of Trinidad and Tobago and it falls to us to protect ourselves from that," he said.
He said the government is not naive to the fact that criminal elements are also attempting to exploit the generosity of this country in allowing Venezuelans in.
Dr Rowley said he will chair a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday to address major concerns related to that.
He said the registration process which begins on May 31, will help the authorities to know how many are here, where they are and who they are.
"If you engage in criminal conduct of any kind, we will deport you because you are our guests," he said.
Meanwhile, National Security Minister Stuart Young says that the government did not play a role in the decision to grant supervision orders to Venezuelan nationals found in Palo Seco on Wednesday.
Close to 100 Venezuelans were found in a house in a forested area and were taken to Siparia for processing.
Immigration officers allowed the Venezuelans to go free on supervision orders, until the end of July.
Minister Young said that he could not say on what grounds the Immigration officials acted.
"I can't say what was the decision taken by the Immigration officers," Young said, adding, "I can tell you that the government did not participate in that decision."
Minister Young said the might have had to do with the space available for holding Venezuelan migrants.
"You have to understand there are limited facilities for holding persons and that is something we are going to be working on, and I think they just took a decision on the ground there that if they release them on supervision orders - and I was told that people are holding to the terms of the supervision orders, so they are actually turning up when they are supposed and reporting in etc - that was a decision taken by the Immigration officer who was in charge yesterday," he said.
He said he did not have information on where they were today.
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No one will be turned away —Young.
By Renuka Singh (Guardian).
Any Venezuelan national who arrives in this country before the end of the two-week registration process can apply to live and work here for up to a year.
This confirmation came from National Security Minister Stuart Young as he gave details for the first time on how the registration process will unfold between May 31 and June 15.
Young gave details of the process on Friday at the Ministry of National Security head office on Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain following a meeting of the National Security Council, which was chaired by the Prime Minister.
In the days before the start of registration, Young admitted, more Venezuelan nationals are likely to come ashore illegally.
Even as he spoke, police and immigration authorities were searching for a group that arrived in Cedros yesterday. The United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights estimated in April, there are between 40,000 and 60,000 Venezuelans in T&T. That figure has been growing daily as migrants come ashore in the dead of night at secluded inlets in several areas in the country — moreso in the southwestern peninsula which lies just seven miles away from the South American nation.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said on Thursday this country cannot be the solution to millions of Venezuelans fleeing their country due to economic hardship nor can this country be converted into a refugee camp. Venezuela has an estimated population of 33 million, 25 times Trinidad and Tobago's population of 1.3 million.
He said the Government has a responsibility to protect the interest of citizens first.
"The policy is now where we are faced with an influx threatening to be overwhelming for us," he admitted.
But Young's admission that "no one will be turned away", seemed to contradict the PM's statement.
Young said five registration centres had been initially proposed but noted the Government would only be able to manage three: one in Port-of-Spain at the Queen's Park Oval, a second at the Achievers Banquet Hall on Duncan Street, San Fernando and a third in at the Caroline building, Wilson Road in Scarborough.
He is counting on the network within the Venezuelan community in T&T to help get migrants to the registration centres, and he encouraged the use of a pre-registration process online.
"From a logistics point of view, from a security point of view and just being able to manage the registration centres, we could not go to with more than three," Young said.
Young said the smaller number of registration points would not pose an additional financial burden on the people coming into the country.
"At the end of the day, my honest belief and in listening to immigration, and they are the ones who are dealing with persons on the ground for months now, people will make their way to where they need to be for registrations," he said.
The minister emphasised that the registration process is mandatory for all Venezuelan nationals who fled their homeland.
"The consequence of not registering, so come June 15, what happens to persons who have not taken part in this registration process, we will revert back to the law and the enforcement of the law as it currently stands, " he said.
"Even if persons have gone through the registration process and then engage in criminal activity, as the Minister of National Security, I will deport you," he said.
Each individual over the age of 16 would be granted a registration card and a unique number, allowing them to work legally in the country and emergency access to health care.
The registration process includes a biometric portion that will use the registrant's fingerprints and photographs.
Officals from the Ministry of Health would also be present during that two-week process to ensure the health of the person registering.
At the end of the registration process, each person would be given a receipt for a registration card.
The card allows the holder to work in the country for one year. They must check in at the six-month mark for a comparison of records.
He said in the past few weeks, he signed some 10 deportation papers and would sign many more if Venezuelans commit any crimes in the country.
While he said that there would be no softening of the immigration policy at the country's entry points, he admitted that the deportation policy would be ramped up only "after" the registration process.
"After, definitely. The deportation comes on the back end of conviction. Under the immigration law, however, there are other methodologies available," he said.
Questions have been raised about the process especially as just under 100 Venezuelan nationals entered the country last week illegally and were detained by police. The group was then granted immunity until July.
This group, too, would be allowed to register.
Young said the registration programme cost the Government $5 million so far.
"It is a fluid process," he said, adding that the full cost would only be known after the programme is completed.
Young also said that the Eastern Detention Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre in Santa Rosa will be outfitted and used as an immigration detention centre.
While some of the new arrivals have been detained and later released by immigration authorities and ordered to report within 90 days, other have been taken to court, charged as much as $3,000 for being in the country illegally, and detained at the already overcrowded Immigration Detention Centre in Aripo.
The security agencies have been stretched trying to limit the number of new arrivals who are hiding out in forests along the coastline and abandoned buildings.
(http://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.2056638.d60e64fbf9?size=1024)
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Migrant squatting, prostitution worry MPs
By Gail Alexander (Guardian).
Quatting, squabbles and sex-related problems.
Reports of squatting in Central Trinidad by some Venezuelans and the occupancy of abandoned South houses are among the mixed bag of issues resulting from the influx of migrants to T&T in recent months.
Other issues include certain Claxton Bay-based Venezuelan women being followed home by T&T men after work—and maxi taxis ferrying “arrivals” out of certain La Brea coastal areas.
Parliamentarians on both sides who’ve been tracking the impact on their constituencies of the rising tide of immigrants have noted these and other issues as the two cultures try to deal with the new experience presented by Venezuela’s instability and Government’s upcoming bid to ascertain how many Venezuelans are in T&T during an amnesty registration process starting this week.
In the countdown to Friday’s start of the Government’s two-week registration drive, while most MPs said yesterday that migrants mainly try to earn their keep, certain Opposition MPs were doubtful—from what some Venezuelans tell them—the registration will attract sufficient response to inform Government on exactly how many Venezuelans are in T&T. That’s the intent of the exercise which will allow registrants a one-year work stint and deport the undocumented.
The T&T Guardian compiled some of the extent of the Venezuelan influx—and effects—in various constituencies from the MPs:
Couva North MP Ramona Ramdial: “There’s a large number of Venezuelans in my area, mainly doing low-paying jobs and consequently we do have issues. There’s competition on for jobs and my constituents are complaining. Landlords renting to them cautious about being able to control tenants since one or two may rent a place and end up with 10 people in it. Squabbles/quarrel with neighbours are also being reported.
“But there’s also a lot of squatting by Venezuelans around Brickfield and coastal areas where they’re mixing in with squatters there. Apart from the human trafficking and prostitution concerns that are ongoing, there are also emerging concerns, that some fishing sectors, due to lack of regular gas, may be inclined to turn to ‘transportation’ as alternative business.”
Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene McDonald: “Venezuelans have always been in Woodbrook/Port-of-Spain areas, as some came to learn Spanish there over the years. But we’ve had an influx now as businesses are employing them. It raises many questions when citizens can’t find work, yet they’re finding work, so we have to find ways to handle this aspect. Many constituents tell me people are passing daily asking if they have rentals and some constituents feel it’s becoming dangerous with strangers in their area. Sunday (yesterday) morning a couple and two young children rang my bell—in a residential St Joseph area—seeking to rent; they’re going door to door. I also see Venezuelans renting in East Port-of-Spain. But our upcoming registration process will help manage the situation.”
Many Venezuelans rent and work in Port-of-Spain North but some landlords are now monitoring rentals closely, residents also say.
Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee: “There’s quite a lot, including in Marabella, Claxton Bay; employed in car washes, clubs, bars. There have been incidents but many go unreported as some of these people are illegal. Recently, some female Venezuelan bar workers were followed to their Macaulay home by local customers. We’ve asked Claxton Bay police for more regular patrols, especially around bars’ closing time. With Petrotrin’s closure, we have a lot of abandoned buildings on the seaside and I understand people are taking occupancy. We’re trying to ascertain whether local or foreign. Constituents are also concerned about job competition due to Petrotrin’s absence. Since Government is so disconnected from people, I really doubt the registration in its current format will attain its target.”
Mayaro MP Rushton Paray: “We have a couple hundred people. Those I’ve encountered say they may not register as they feel they’ll be deported after a year. They don’t understand the process and don’t want to return home as they feel the situation with Maduro’s administration won’t be resolved. So they may end up hiding. Many are working in bars and other places and there’s the perception of prostitution. I’ve advised groups working with them to let them know to conduct themselves better, as dancing half-naked in bars doesn’t assist their cause. We’ve all noted T&T females are fuming on social media about the situation. From a business perspective, migrants can assist the economy if their talent’s used in appropriate channels, but Government moved on this humanitarian crisis late.”
Oropouche East MP Roodal Moonilal: “There’s high concentration in Penal/Debe. Many work in bars and restaurants, which has implications for social/medical services. But some are unable to afford accommodation and live in squalor. Some groups are providing water and foods but the situation is straining community services. The darker side is reported prostitution and impact on T&T families. One lady told me four months ago her husband visits a bar daily - but doesn’t drink alcohol. Bar owners are tending to hire Venezuelans to attract customers. If more arrive, Southern constituencies may buckle under the strain of providing services, including education since Government failed to complete many schools.”
La Brea MP Nicole Olivierre: “We know they’re there but people only see one or two Venezuelans here; one man runs a restaurant in the area. Constituents don’t complain but I’ve had reports that when people arrive from Venezuela, maxi taxis from outside our area come to coastal points and take them out and we’re also aware of an illegal ‘port’ where they arrive. It doesn’t seem they remain here so it’s not impacting on constituents.”
Chaguanas West MP Ganga Singh: “We have a large presence. In places, five or six rent premises for $3,500/$4,000. Since Chaguanas is a productivity centre, many are engaged in tyre shops, selling etc. They’re hard working. But my reports confirm a level of exploitation and some receiving less than minimum wage. Many have real fear of registering since they’re scared Immigration will know where they are and deport them. They’re confused by Government’s statements and the language barrier isn’t helping. Given the right approach, the registration could work. But issues should have been addressed to prevent the current ‘round up’ approach.”
Fyzabad - MP Lackram Bodoe’s is overseas but his colleague Suruj Rambachan, who is at his Fyzabad property almost daily, said: “Venezuelan numbers have quadrupled in the last three weeks in Fyzabad and Santa Flora especially. Daily, five to seven people come job-seeking, very humbly, even offering to work for as little as $100 daily. They plead that they have to eat so it’s possible they could be open to exploitation. They seem in bad shape, some come, holding three-month-old babies who they say come with them ‘on the boat’. It seems in some cases they’re occupying abandoned houses, but some obviously don’t have a fixed place of abode.
“Most of the men are below 25 and women under 25. Generally, many tell me - via interpreter- they’re apprehensive about registering because they seem to think a yellow paper they get from Immigration - for the 90-day stay- allows them to stay here indefinitely. They keep that with them continuously. One man was arrested in Fyzabad for not having it. They know little about minimum wage but those I met are hardworking and skilled, some even university graduates. This crisis could strain south Trinidad’s resources. We should particularly have a medical camp to ensure they’re healthy, especially those living in forest camps. While T&T people are very generous, the presence of so many Venezuelans has seen social tensions developing with locals unable to get work. But it must be considered it takes much courage to bring babies on the high seas, so clearly, some of them sincerely want to earn a living.”
Naparima MP Rodney Charles: “ Ten per cent in my area are foreigners and police say a 10 per cent increase in crime is due to that. They’re hiding under the radar but you can see increases as they work in bars with contractors and other places. The biggest sign of their presence is women complaining to me that their families are being broken up by their presence but we lack data. The National Security Minister’s even failed to explain how they decided on the number of registration centres which Venezuelans are saying are insufficient.”
Caroni Central MP Bhoe Tewarie: “Their significant presence is seen in apartment rentals where there are more people per room than normal. The number of constituency companies hiring also means either locals aren’t getting jobs or don’t want to work. My information is the Venezuelans are generally underpaid and work long hours. While registration’s desirable, it’s in a context where it’s hard to enforce, we seem unable to manage border influx and there’s the question of how many people can T&T absorb to support all humanely and deal with integration.”
Caroni East MP Tim Gopeesingh: “ There are scores in St Helena/Kelly I encountered during flooding. Constituents help and accommodate them, including finding them jobs. While there’s the suspicion of prostitution, incidents are unconfirmed.”
Point Fortin mayor Abdon Mason: “We’d want to ensure no negatives - crime, prostitution, etcetera - in our area from any uncontrolled influx. We have our own challenges so we’d not want people in their quest to handle their own, add negatives to ours.”
Laventille West MP Fitzgerald Hinds: "I haven't received complaints from constituents but at the national level we're dealing with the Venezuelan presence and the effects on our porous borders via our registration process and security framework - there are 135 illegal ports of entry. But once our registration is done, we'll know who's protected economic migrant and who isn't."
Princes Town MP Barry Padarath: “We've seen over 18 months Venezuelans settling in St Julian Village, Matilda, Craignish and noted an equal number of them marrying local men and women, integrating apparently to get residency. During our Christmas Toy Drive, we visited homes and saw where they’ve settled and have children. What’s worrying is there’s been several altercations involving Venezuelans in the area in the last six months and people who’ve employed some as domestics have reported thefts."
Tabaquite- While MP Suruj Rambachan noted an influx in Gasparillo, Reform and other areas, a district church has been ensuring some Venezuelans have a daily meal. Couva/Tabqauite/Talparo Regional Corporation chairman Henry Awong, added, “Constituents have two concerns - ensuring they get jobs in this competitive atmosphere with Venezuelans arriving in batches and where some businessmen are glad for the very cheap labour. Also, people are worried health facilities won’t hold up as some rural health centres already routinely lack drugs.”
Arima MP Anthony Garcia: “Arima has a high number but I haven’t received complaints. Groups help them, including with food.”
San Juan-Barataria MP Fuad Khan: "My area has many judging from high rental levels. Some have been robbed but didn't report it. Perhaps if they register, they'll report it. They work hard I've seen. Some measure should be implemented to ensure they get minimum wage after registration. My constituents recognise once they master English, Venezuelans will be a force to be reckoned with in T&T and our demographics can change. So citizens should learn from them because they'll be competition."
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Venezuelans afraid of persecution following line of questioning
By Radhica De Silva (Guardian).
Some of the 115 Venezuelans who completed registration at Achievers Banquet Hall in San Fernando on Friday say they are surprised at the line of questions they were asked during their brief interviews by Immigration.
Some expressed fear of being persecuted politically if the information they divulged was shared.
Speaking to Guardian Media through our translator Angie Ramnarine, Venezuelan Juan Fernandes said the questions were limited and did not take into account their medical problems or their medical needs.
Another Venezuelan Jhoselys Fuentes said, "They mainly wanted to know how we got here, legally or illegally. By boat or by plane? Whether we were working now. Nothing about our medical history or our needs," she said.
She noted that the questionnaire given to them when they were interviewed by Living Waters was more detailed.
Living Waters is the agency affiliated with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Fuentes said most people believed that the Venezuelans who live in Trinidad were wealthy because of their grooming. However, she said it was part of their culture to be well groomed.
Acting Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds who visited says the information provided by the Venezuelans will be strictly confidential.
He noted that in the interest of national security background checks will have to be done using Interpol resources.
He also said all Venezuelans had a medical form to fill out which will provide information on their medical history.
Hinds added that instructions were given to provide printing and copying services to the Venezuelans who did not have hard copies of their respective forms.
According to the minister, all Venezuelans were advised beforehand to walk with passport sized photographs.
He said the process is flowing smoothly and will get better as the day progresses.
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Tobago love for migrants.
By Casandra Thompson-Forbes (Guardian).
There has been outpouring support for Venezuelan migrants who journeyed to Tobago to be registered at the Caroline Building, Scarborough.
Several churches, youth organisations, private citizens and businesses provided blankets, water, breakfast, lunch and snacks, as they braved the hot sun, waiting in line on Tuesday.
Many of the migrants slept on the pavements in Scarborough, on the steps of business, as well as abandoned buildings, makeshift tents, some even getting soaked by the overnight rainfall on Monday.
The Tobago Mission of Seventh Days Adventist Welfare department, DelTech Distributors, the Roxborough Police Youth Club, were some of the organisations which provided meals for more than 400 migrants, as they waited their turn.
Guardian Media understands that some of the Venezuelans were accommodated at the Harmon SDA school at Rockley Vale, where some of them slept and took showers.
Although the centre has been operating on a first come, first serve basis, the migrants created their own system using a priority listing, entering the centre in batches, which allowed a free flow.
Speaking with Guardian Media, co-owner of DelTech Distributors Kelvon Morris said their team has been closely following the situation with the migrants coming to Tobago and was moved by the number of children having to endure the elements.
Describing the situation as unfortunate, he said, they were only doing what they would have liked for themselves if they were in a similar situation.
"The number of Tobagonians coming over to Tobago over the last week has increased drastically and seeing so much young people, so many kids in the hot sun and all that, we really felt the need to reach out and assist the Venezuelan migrants, because at the end of the day this kind of unfortunate situation in a country could happen to anybody and if we were in the same position and we had to flee our country for survival, then we would hope wherever we run to we would be welcomed. So it is in that context we really came together as friends, as young people in business and stuff to lend support to the Venezuelans, whom we know are going through a tough time," he said.
He said that they plan to continue their humanitarian efforts until the registration deadline on Friday. He also urged other Tobagonians to lend support.
"We are encouraging everybody to do what they can in their own way, in their own space. We plan to go back, because there are also many other people who have already indicated they will support whatever additional resources we plan to put into it, some hope that in different ways we will go back until the culmination on Friday and do as much as we can and encourage others to do as well," Morris said.
Up late Tuesday, arrangements were being made by the Tobago House of Assembly to provide a Multipurpose Centre to house those who had nowhere to stay.
Venezuelan migrants journeyed to Tobago after several attempts to register at the two Trinidad locations failed. Some arrived via the Cabo Star, the Galleons Passage, the T&T Spirit, as well as Caribbean Airlines.
At the closing of the centre on Tuesday over 200 migrants were seen by Immigration officials, leaving hundreds to return on Wednesday.
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Tobago love for migrants.
By Casandra Thompson-Forbes (Guardian).
There has been outpouring support for Venezuelan migrants who journeyed to Tobago to be registered at the Caroline Building, Scarborough.
Several churches, youth organisations, private citizens and businesses provided blankets, water, breakfast, lunch and snacks, as they braved the hot sun, waiting in line on Tuesday.
Many of the migrants slept on the pavements in Scarborough, on the steps of business, as well as abandoned buildings, makeshift tents, some even getting soaked by the overnight rainfall on Monday.
The Tobago Mission of Seventh Days Adventist Welfare department, DelTech Distributors, the Roxborough Police Youth Club, were some of the organisations which provided meals for more than 400 migrants, as they waited their turn.
Guardian Media understands that some of the Venezuelans were accommodated at the Harmon SDA school at Rockley Vale, where some of them slept and took showers.
Although the centre has been operating on a first come, first serve basis, the migrants created their own system using a priority listing, entering the centre in batches, which allowed a free flow.
Speaking with Guardian Media, co-owner of DelTech Distributors Kelvon Morris said their team has been closely following the situation with the migrants coming to Tobago and was moved by the number of children having to endure the elements.
Describing the situation as unfortunate, he said, they were only doing what they would have liked for themselves if they were in a similar situation.
"The number of Tobagonians coming over to Tobago over the last week has increased drastically and seeing so much young people, so many kids in the hot sun and all that, we really felt the need to reach out and assist the Venezuelan migrants, because at the end of the day this kind of unfortunate situation in a country could happen to anybody and if we were in the same position and we had to flee our country for survival, then we would hope wherever we run to we would be welcomed. So it is in that context we really came together as friends, as young people in business and stuff to lend support to the Venezuelans, whom we know are going through a tough time," he said.
He said that they plan to continue their humanitarian efforts until the registration deadline on Friday. He also urged other Tobagonians to lend support.
"We are encouraging everybody to do what they can in their own way, in their own space. We plan to go back, because there are also many other people who have already indicated they will support whatever additional resources we plan to put into it, some hope that in different ways we will go back until the culmination on Friday and do as much as we can and encourage others to do as well," Morris said.
Up late Tuesday, arrangements were being made by the Tobago House of Assembly to provide a Multipurpose Centre to house those who had nowhere to stay.
Venezuelan migrants journeyed to Tobago after several attempts to register at the two Trinidad locations failed. Some arrived via the Cabo Star, the Galleons Passage, the T&T Spirit, as well as Caribbean Airlines.
At the closing of the centre on Tuesday over 200 migrants were seen by Immigration officials, leaving hundreds to return on Wednesday.
These comments from Kelvon Morris of DelTech are among the most sensible comments presented in the public sphere regarding how to treat with the circumstance of the Venezuelan presence in T&T. There have been relatively few comments that fall into the category of being sensible articulations of how to engage with an intractable issue. :applause:
More broadly, kudos to Tobagonians for embracing the challenge.
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New visa policy for Venezuelans
By Anna-Lisa Paul, Sascha Wilson and Casandra Thompson Forbes
From Monday, Venezuelans seeking to enter T&T will have to get a visa as the Government announced the new measure to prevent the free flow of immigrants into this country.
Minister of National Security Stuart Young made the announcement at a media briefing at the close of the two-week registration process which ended at 5 pm on Friday.
He said over 15,000 Venezuelans were registered at three centres—Queen’s Park Oval, in Port-of-Spain, Achievors Banquet Hall, in San Fernando and Caroline Building, in Tobago.
The Minster said from his information all the people waiting to be registered were accommodated but the situation in San Fernando and Tobago was in total contrast to his statements. Told by reporters that the situation was not as he described, the Minister said that was the information he had.
“We have completed the registration process as we had said we would, we stuck to it. There were absolutely no incidents or injuries to anyone during the two-week process.”
Young claimed there no crowds of migrants waiting to be registered by the cut-off time, but rather persons who were “ring-fenced” and would have been processed last night.
He said, “The significance of that is it shows the success of this registration process and the accuracy of it.”
“This registration process was a well thought out and implemented process that is now a success, also allowed to gather intelligence,” he added.
In San Fernando, hundreds were turned away outside Achievors Banquet Hall after police cordoned off the line shortly after 5 pm. Those with online registration documents they were later told by an official from the registration centre to visit the Immigration Division next week to complete the process.
By nightfall, the group dispersed, many of them missing out the chance of benefiting from the amnesty which would have allowed them to live and work in this country. Earlier, the atmosphere was chaotic and tense as Venezuelans were not sure what was happening and were trying to get information as what was going to happen to them as the cut off time was almost upon them.
Caliz Puerto said they had organised about five lists among themselves which they were passing on to the officials to try to ensure order and discipline in the line.
She said each list had about 2,000 plus names. However, that collapsed when the cut off time was extended by an hour and immigrants began rushing, hoping to get a place.
Police officers, soldiers and members of the Air Guard stood guard to ensure law and order. There were several attempts to jump the line, causing some to protest.
Around 6 pm law enforcement officers stopped anyone else from joining the line. An official involved in the registration process came out about 15 minutes later and officially announced that registration was closed.
Speaking in Spanish, she informed them that those with the online registration forms to visit the Immigration Division from Monday to complete the process. When asked about the people who have no forms, the official said she was not given any information about them. This left many immigrants in fear that the police would arrest them.
In Tobago close to 600 immigrants were ushered to Port Mall where they were later told that they would have to spend the night and will be processed on Saturday.
In Port-of-Spain, there were no immigrants waiting in the line when the venue closed registration at 5 pm but there were about 300 inside the venue still to be processed.
Speaking at a briefing at the Ministry of National Security, in Port-of-Spain, the Minister said he had signed an order giving effect to the new visa requirement.
“Those visas will be issued out of Port-of-Spain via an application process that will take place out of our functioning embassy in Caracas.”
“Only Venezuelans who will be allowed to enter our ports of entry legally are those to whom we issue visas,” he said.
Young said additional discussions are to held relating to this latest policy decision—which previously allowed persons to enter T&T and remain for a 90-day period.
He warned that those who did not come forward to register will now be subject to the laws of T&T when they are held and will be deported.
The Minister said details on the number of immigrants who were processed during the two-week registration will be provided at a later date.
The Minister said during the exercise the Police Service was able to interrogate immigrants and gather valuable information to assist officials moving forward.
Young denounced the criticisms and misinformation he said had been circulated to, “mislead the world at large about our border situation.”
He denounced statements by the Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar who claimed that T&T coastline was being invaded by Venezuelan immigrants, adding that the Coast Guard had been able to turn back several boatloads of migrants in the past two weeks.
He also accused the Opposition of inciting people to protest the presence of the Venezuelan migrants, referring to a protest action outside the Oval on Thursday night.
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PM blasts BBC ‘agenda’ in migrant report
T&T Guardian Reports.
Progress with US leaders, problems with United Kingdom’s media leader - the BBC.
While Trinidad and Tobago recently made headway in the US on Venezuela, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is most upset with the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC’s) recent documentary on T&T’s Venezuelan amnesty registration exercise - and he’s writing to the British Government on it.
The BBC programme, ‘The Displaced’, which started airing on social media yesterday, focused on Venezuelans seeking betterment here via Government’s registration drive over May to June. The Government had stated that 16,523 Venezuelans registered.
The BBC video aired aspects of the registration process, including the anti-amnesty group which protested outside of the Queens’ Park Oval. Rowley particularly took issue with the aspect claiming T&T had 40,000 Venezuelans and only 16,000 were allowed to register.
Rowley said TT had 16,000 odd Venezuelans here and they were registered, including approximately 2,000 children.
But he added, “This didn’t prevent the BBC from going out of their way to misrepresent the position on T&T. As a lifelong listener and respecter of the BBC, the programme the BBC mentioned on T&T isn’t worthy of the BBC.
“Everyone around has an agenda and I’m not to believe there are people in the BBC who allowed themselves to be part of someone’s agenda. The BBC is too sacred to us in the Commonwealth for that nonsense to go on,” he said.
He said that on the last day of the registration there was nobody in the line and Government even continued the process on the weekend after.
“So it’s quite wrong for the BBC to put pressure, saying we have 40,000 people and registered 16,00 and didn’t allow the other 14,000 to register. That’s feeding into people’s agenda... I don’t know where they were getting those numbers from,” Dr Rowley said.
Rowley said Government made it clear if Venezuelans didn’t want to be registered, then they could not stay in this country.
“You’re not welcome; anybody who didn’t register, well, too bad for you..I don’t know there are 40,000 or even 14 Venezuelans who wanted to be registered and who didn’t. So we take objection to that!”
“The BBC is a Government agency in the UK and we’ll make a formal complaint to the British government about that,” Rowley added, saying he didn’t want T&T misrepresented in “this very dangerous world.”
He said he was disappointed the BBC was subscribing to a view that the truth doesn’t matter and the issue was what one can get people to believe.
He said the BBC didn’t have to use the anti-amnesty group who protested outside the Oval and convey that as T&T’s position since anyone would know the vast majority of nationals were not of “that ilk and didn’t behave like that.”
Rowley added the BBC didn’t have to reach out to Government since the registration information was public and Government answered many Opposition queries in Parliament.
“Our story is a very public one. I don’t know any BBC person had any difficulty - if their motive was honourable- to speak to any government member including myself; I know of no such approach, I’ve heard none of the ministers speak about. This came like a bolt out of the night,” he said.
He said he found it interesting the item arose just when he was preparing to attend the United Nations (UN) soon. When Newsday’s Sean Douglas asked if Government had a communication problem, Rowley snapped, “ You doh start dat! Doh start dat at all! You have no problem getting through to Government and I as prime minister stand here and answer every question you have! We’re not accepting we have a communication problem where this is concerned! It’s not an absence of communication that caused these people to misrepresent our circumstance.”
He said the UN had first started the 40,000 figure and that was wrong. He said there were people with agendas who wanted to inflate numbers to pressure T&T and people were demanding T&T institute a refugee policy, though the country is focusing on economic migrants.
The prime minister spoke about the developments at a media conference yesterday following his recent trip to the United States.
He met US Congressional leaders of teams on Foreign Relations, Security and Financial Services among others.
He said the bulk of the conversation was on the Venezuelan issue, security co-operation and derisking danger regional banks face from US banks’ hesitation to work with them. Several regional states - including T&T - were being blacklisted due to Global Forum and other European requirements.
Rowley said US discussions had gone as far as the possibility of having hearings in the US on Venezuela and the financial services issue. Consequently, a US delegation is coming to T&T for a few days from October 3 to discuss the matter sand US officers are eager to work with T&T.
He said T&T was congratulated for its handling of the Venezuelan amnesty.
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Trinidad and Tobago birth certificates being sold to Venezuelans illegally.
T&T Express Reports.
‘Illegal activity’ at Registrar General’s Dept...
Trinidad and Tobago birth certificates are being illegally sold to non-nationals.
The scam, which allegedly involves several employees attached to the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Registrar General’s Department, has been ongoing for years, with Nigerians, Venezuelans, Indians and people of other nationalities benefiting from it.
Due to the turmoil in Venezuela, there has been an increase in sales, with certificates costing from $3,500 upwards.
The cost for a T&T birth certificate to nationals is $25.
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'We will take you to Venezuela'
T&T Newsday Reports.
Airline starts operating in PoS
The Venezuelan company Rutaca Airlines recognizes that 90 percent of travelers arriving in Venezuela from T&T do so through their private flights and, as such, have opened operations in Port of Spain to give the premises comfortable facilities to obtain their tickets .
The airline's director, José Gregorio Hidalgo, told Newsday that the company opened a new commercial office on Richmond Street last week. "We registered as a company in Trinidad and Tobago in November and from there we decided to open a customer service office and sell tickets to provide better service," said Hidalgo.
The Venezuelan ambassador in T&T, Carlos Pérez, was at the launch of the commercial office together with the owners of the company and other executives. Hidalgo emphasized that around 80 Trinidadians travel on each flight.
"Trinidad and Tobago has always had passengers because many local people travel to Venezuela for tourism and health, as there are many medical specialists who provide good services in Venezuela," he added.
He said that the flow of Venezuelans is maintained despite the brake set by the Trinidad and Tobago government, with the imposition of visas.
However, he acknowledged that passengers who now have a visa travel with greater peace of mind. “Before the visa, at the airport, a significant number of passengers returned due to several inconveniences (but) now, with the visa, they have a little more security, practically no traveler has returned us in recent months and this is positive " Hidalgo said that from T&T to Venezuela, many Venezuelans began applying for visas from work permits to travel to Venezuela, visit and return to T&T to continue their work.
Rutaca Airlines has been operating flights from Piarco to Porlamar in Venezuela since 2014, through several local companies offering various services, including legal representation before local authorities.
Then they incorporated the city of Barcelona, in eastern Venezuela as a second destination, but due to the low influx of passengers, they decided to stop flights last year to this destination. The company opened direct trips to Caracas, which today is the second meeting point between Venezuela and T&T through Rutaca.
“The trips are Thursday and Sunday making a stop in Porlamar and continuing to Caracas,” said Hidalgo. This opened the possibility for new customers. He confirmed that ticket sales are made in Trinidad dollars.
"We are in T&T and we cover all services in local currency," said Elianny Winston, head of the Rutaca office in Port of Spain.
He gave good news for Venezuelans residing in the east of that country, since Rutaca Airlines will open direct flights from Piarco to the city of Maturín.
“The plan is for these flights to start leaving within a month. 90 percent of Venezuelans living in T&T are from eastern Venezuela (Bolívar, Anzoátegui, Delta Amacuro, Sucre and Monagas states) and Maturín is at the center of all these places, ”Winston said.
He added that Maturín flights are scheduled for Wednesdays and Saturdays. He also commented that Rutaca is offering its passengers connections to the Dominican Republic.
(https://newsday.co.tt/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/7230429-1024x684.jpg)
The owners and managers of Rutaca Airlines opened the company's new office located on Richmond Street, with the presence of the Venezuelan ambassador in T&T, Carlos Pérez. - Grevic Alvarado
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VIASA gone thru.
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US sanctions force T&T and Venezuela to tear up gas agreement.
By CURTIS WILLIAMS (cnc3.co.tt).
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has announced that Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela have rescinded their agreement to jointly exploit 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Loran Manatee field and would instead develop it independently.
Rowley said the continued US sanctions on the Bolivarian Republic had made it all but impossible to jointly develop the gas and as a result, the two countries will go independently.
With this in mind, Royal Dutch Shell—who is the 100 percent operator of the Manatee block—has agreed to develop it and already has started planning its development.
Rowley noted that this should add roughly 275 to 400 million standard cubic feet of gas by 2024, and be a game changer,
The gas will be in the shallow water and should be able to come on stream in fewer than five years.
In a wide ranging address at the opening ceremony of the Energy Chamber's Annual Energy Conference, Rowley said he expected the natural gas shortages to come to an end by 2024.
He also predicted an increase in crude production to 90,000 barrels of oil per day by 2022 as BHP brings on its Ruby project.
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Gas deals with Venezuela off.
By CURTIS WILLIAMS (Guardian).
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has announced that T&T and Venezuela have rescinded their agreement to jointly exploit 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Loran Manatee field and would instead develop it independently.
In a wide ranging address at the opening ceremony of the Energy Chamber’s Annual Energy Conference being held at the Hyatt Hotel in Port of Spain, Dr Rowley also announced yesterday that “it is regrettable that we cannot move ahead with the Dragon Project which is on hold, at this time, due to US sanctions on Venezuela.”
He said this country was ready “at a moment’s notice,” to move ahead with the project “on the lifting of such restrictions since virtually all the preparatory work has been done.”
Notwithstanding, this he said “we are proceeding with the Manatee initiative which is the single most significant development in the energy sector in recent times.”
Rowley said the continued US sanctions on the Bolivarian Republic had made it all but impossible to jointly develop the gas and as a result the two countries will go independently.
As a result, Royal Dutch Shell which is the 100 percent operator of the Manatee block has agreed to develop it and has already started planning its development.
Rowley noted that this should add between 275 to 400 million standard cubic feet of gas by 2024, which he said would be a game changer,
He explained that the gas will be in the shallow water and should be able to come on stream in fewer than five yeas.
In recent years there have been concern about declining natural gas and the impact it has had on this country. But the Prime Minister sounded a note of optimism saying he expected by 2024 the natural gas shortages will come to an end. He also forecast an increase in crude production to 90,000 barrels of oil per day by 2022 as BHP brings on its Ruby project.
PM Rowley told the conference that gas production is projected to come on stream from Manatee field, which forms a part of the Loran- Manatee cross-border field and is located in the marine area of T&T.
The Loran-Manatee is a shallow-water field that straddles the maritime boundary between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
Rowley said exploration activity, initially by state owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and later by US Corporation Chevron, which holds a 60 per cent interest, encountered a substantial amount of gas in the Loran field. In 2005 Chevron/BG, which held a joint interest of 50 per cent each in the Block 6 comprising Sub-Block 6b and Sub-Block 6d, discovered the Manatee field in Block 6d. Chevron subsequently sold its interest in Block 6 to Shell which now has 100 per cent interest in the block, the PM added.
“Shell has sanctioned this development and is currently gearing up to build the infrastructure to produce from this cross-border field in keeping with the schedule as just mentioned,” Rowley noted.
In 2007, T&T and Venezuela executed a Framework Treaty relating to the unitization of hydrocarbon reservoirs that extend across the delimitation line between the countries.
The Treaty established the general framework under which any cross-border reservoir would be exploited.
Rowley also noted that despite the strides made by the Caribbean, in its penetration of sustainable energy sources, renewable energy systems account for a small fraction of the region’s untapped potential.
“It is estimated that the Caribbean holds 2,525 MW of potential solar energy, 800 MW of potential wind energy, and 3,770 MW of potential geothermal energy. “
“These resources, if harnessed, would displace approximately 2.7 million barrels of oil per year and save Caribbean countries US$5.0 billion in fuel imports per annum,” Rowley added.
He said given the potential savings Caribbean countries have established ambitious targets in the implementation of renewable energy systems.
In addition the PM noted that financial aid from donor countries and institutions, the falling costs of renewable energy technology and improvement in the efficiency have made these targets somewhat achievable.
Rowley said this country, temporarily insulated from high energy costs by virtue of its hydrocarbon resources, has been measured in its approach to renewable energy.
“This in part is to ensure that citizens of Trinidad and Tobago are not burdened by the transformation costs on the conversion to renewable energy systems.”
“ Having cancelled our attempts at economic diversification in the form of manufacturing of aluminium products, we are left, at this time, with substantial quantity of surplus installed power which has to be paid for but for which there is no immediate market,” Rowley said.
This condition, he added, makes investment in renewables a little tricky however, he said T&T has not given up on the need to join in with this future prospect.
Rowley added that Trinidad and Tobago is also poised to participate in the exploitation of hydrocarbon in the marine areas off the Guyanas.
“Our claim to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf is expected to be presented this year and if successful would extend our maritime jurisdiction seawards to areas in close proximity to the Guyana-Suriname Basin,” Rowley added.
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'He was in wrong place, at wrong time'
By GREVIC ALVARADO (NEWSDAY).
"My brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
So said Adriana Viaje, sister of murdered Venezuelan Edgar Yamil Viaje Mohammed, 22, who was one of two men shot dead last week Thursday in Diego Martin.
In an interview on Monday, Viaje said her brother stopped at the La Puerta recreation ground on Farfan Street, at 4 pm, to lime and send WhatsApp messages to his relatives in Venezuela. Mohammed and Corey "Crime" Nickles, 39, were shot and killed.
"My brother arrived from work and, as he did every day, he stopped at La Puerta for a few minutes and that was when he was killed,” said Viaje. "He sent a message to my dad Edgar Viaje who is in Venezuela, greeted him normally. But when he did not reply to my father's message he (the father) felt that something was wrong.
A friend of the Viaje family, who witnessed the incident, later related that two men who were walking by pulled out guns and started shooting.
"They involved my brother in a story that wasn't true. My brother was killed simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was not the target," added Viaje. An autopsy showed Mohammed was shot four times. Police found 17 spent shells at the scene
The family friend who saw what happened was buying water nearby when he heard the gunshots. Mohammed's mother Jameela got the news at the family's apartment near where the shooting took place. She rushed to the scene.
Viaje said the family is waiting for her father to arrive from Venezuela before they hold Mohammed's funeral.
"We are demanding justice. We went to the police and they have not given us my brother's belongings, nor have they told us if they have any detainees for the murder."
Funeral expenses are being covered by the family and Mohammed's friends and co-workers. Viaje said her brother used to travel back and forth from Trinidad and Venezuela visiting relatives, but decided to stay in Trinidad long term after getting a work permit from the government.
Mohammed had two sisters.
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The relatives of the young Venezuelan Edgar Yamil Viaje Mohammed (22), killed last thursday in Diego Martin: Mossaed Mohammed (left / cousin), Adriana Viaje (center / sister), Gilbert Dimas (center / brother-in-law) and Matías Scholtz (right / friend) - Sureash Cholai
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38 Venezuelan nationals held in Woodbrook exercise
T&T Guardian Reports.
Thirty-eight Venezuelan nationals were arrested by officers of the Port of Spain Division during an anti-crime exercise conducted in the Woodbrook District early this morning.
The exercise was conducted between 3:30am and 6:00am, on Tuesday 11 February 2020, at a nightclub at the corner Ariapita Avenue and Carlos Streets, Woodbrook.
A search of the establishment resulted in 29 female and nine male Venezuelan nationals being arrested. Among the females, five were between the ages of 15 and 17.
They were handed over to the Immigration Division to verify their immigration status.
A small quantity of narcotics was also seized during the exercise.
Investigations are ongoing.
The exercise was supervised by ASP (Ag.) Sooker, Insp. (Ag.) Roberts and Sgts. Toolaram and Bharath, and included Immigration Division officials.
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No help for V'zuelan couple hit by tree
BY GREVIC ALVARADO (NEWSDAY).
The two young Venezuelans who were injured when a tree branch fell on them in Woodford Square on January 27, have not received help from the government or the PoS Corporation.
But Yuliannys Pérez, 19, and Jairo Fontt, 22, said they would not take legal action because they have no money to pay a lawyer.
“We have no money to eat or to pay the rent for the apartment, much less to pay a lawyer. Everything is in the hands of God,” Pérez said.
She has been unemployed since the beginning of January. Fontt, despite the accident, has got a temporary job.
Perez said, "We are still injured. My boyfriend is working in pain, but we need the money to buy our food."
Both have government work permits.
"The local authorities have a responsibility to help us because of the injuries we have suffered, it has been difficult for us to get a job," said Perez.
The couple weer sitting on a bench in the square when the branch fell on them, pinning them to the ground. Passersby immediately helped them and called the police and fire services.They were taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital of where they were treated and discharged on Tuesday.
"We were walking around the city looking for work and decided to sit in Woodford Square in front of the Red House to rest," Perez said shortly after the accident. They were praying to find a job.
“The tree made a strange sound and fell on us. We didn't have time to get out of the way. There was no wind, ”Pérez said.
The two come from Guiria in the Venezuelan state of Sucre. Fontt has been in T&T since last February and Pérez arrived in April. They live in St James.
After the incident, city corporation workers began assessing the other trees in Woodford Square and to cut down those considered dangerous.
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Jairo Fontt, left, and Yuliannys Pérez. - AYANNA KINSALE
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They shouldn't have to pay an attorney.
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They shouldn't have to pay an attorney.
Desperate people will do anything for money, this eh bong to be true either, a tree fall on you and you have a neck brace?
This eh whiplash, no scratches, bruse, nothing? and she man look healthy to me.
In these modern times, they coulda take some photos.
But if they telling de truth, then yes, de government should help them out.
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V'zuelan shot dead after stealing car
BY SHANE SUPERVILLE (NEWSDAY).
A Venezuelan man is dead after he pointed a gun at police early on Friday morning.
Police said Josue Perdomo robbed a man of his Nissan Tiida car on Richmond Street, Port of Spain, at around 3.20 am.
Perdomo drove off with the car but the owner called the police who saw it and chased it along the Priority Bus Route.
The car ran off the road at the corner of Sixth Avenue, Barataria.
Police called on the driver to come out but instead he pointed a gun at the officers and fired.
Police shot at Perdomo wounding him.
Police took Perdomo to the Port of Spain General Hospital where he died receiving emergency surgery.
Police found a bag in the car containing a gun and a wig.
Perdomo was wanted by police in relation to a stabbing incident in the Western Division.
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Video - How Venezuelans Penetrate Trinidad's borders (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2x-MKndW1w)
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14 Venezuelan teens among 37 arrested in Cedros
RIA CHAITRAM (NEWSDAY).
Fourteen Venezuelan minors were among 37 people held by police on Tuesday night in Cedros.
A police press release said the teens – 11 boys and 12 girls – who entered the country illegallywere held around 9.30 pm.
Police said five vehicles suspected transporting the Venezuelans were stopped and searched. Eight people from the South and Central Divisions were also arrested in connection with the incident.
The anti-crime exercise was carried out by the South Western Division Task Force (SWDTF), Emergency Response Patrol and Cedros Police Station.
Investigations are ongoing.
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Venezuela grateful for T&T's stand on US warships
GREVIC ALVARADO (NEWSDAY).
Venezuelan chancellor Jorge Arreaza has expressed the country’s gratitude for T&T’s position on US naval manoeuvres in the region.
The US is deploying warships in the Caribbean, saying it has intelligence reports of an increase in the illegal drug trade in the region.
The US government also recently imposed sanction on Venezuela and accused President Nicolas Maduro of narcoterrorism.
On Wednesday evening, Arreaza tweeted, “We appreciate that the government of T&T, in the voice of the PM, is calling for respect and compliance with international principles and regulations protected by the UN, with respect to threats of intervention and use of force in Venezuela.”
Dr Rowley was asked about the US moves at a media briefing on Monday.
He said, “Our position remains the same. T&T remains part of Caricom and we resolutely defend that position, saying that we see the Caribbean as a zone of peace. That has not changed, and we do not expect it to change.”
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32 Venezuelans Rescued By T&T Coast Guard To Be Repatriated
https://socamusictv.blogspot.com/2020/05/32-venezuelans-rescued-by-t-coast-guard.html
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Venezuelan held by Customs officers with gun, ammo
JENSEN LA VENDE (NEWSDAY).
MEMBERS of the Customs and Excise Marine Interdiction Unit arrested a 23-year-old Venezuelan with a gun and ammunition on Wednesday.
Reports said the officers were on mobile patrol near Old Granville Road, Cedros, around 5 pm when they saw the man hiding in a bushy area near the beach.
The officers came ashore and held the Venezuelan with a shotgun, two shotgun cartridges and six round of 9mm ammunition. He was held and will be handed over to police to be officially charged, after securing a translator.
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Venezuelan woman faked death to survive attack, cop held
By Stacy Moore (Newsday).
An 18-year-old Venezuelan empanada vendor endured hours of torture, being stabbed, beaten, and raped by a group of men who left her in the bushes off the M2 Ring Road in La Romaine, but only after she pretended to be dead.
After an intensive search by police to find the teen’s attackers, a day later, police arrested one of their own colleagues in connection with the crime.
Investigators believe the policeman arrested owns the car the teen was abducted in.
The policeman ,who is also on suspension, was held near the Mucurapo Foreshore with another man believed to have been involved in the attack.
Senior police told Newsday it was a miracle the victim was found alive, given the extent and location of her injuries.
The young woman, who was stabbed several times in the neck, fingers and hands, was on her way to San Fernando to sell empanadas when she was abducted and attacked.
Bleeding from her wounds, the teen crawled out of the bushes along a dirt track until she made it to the road, where she collapsed, gasping for breath.
Police said a passing driver saw her and took her to the San Fernando General Hospital where she had emergency surgery.
A police report said the young woman’s father had put her in a "PH" car near their Fyzabad home on Tuesday to be taken to San Fernando along with a container of empanadas.
Reports said as the car approached La Romaine, one of the two male passengers covered her face and tied her up. The driver then went to an isolated area off the road and she was assaulted and thrown out of the car.
She was also robbed of an undisclosed sum of money.
The teen is still in a serious condition under police guard at the San Fernando General Hospital.
The incident has generated an outcry on social media as users commended the police for their quick response and others describing the attack as demonic.
“This is so shameful,” one user said.
“We Trinidadians should feel ashamed. Nobody, especially outsiders, supposed to be treated in such a horrible manner.”
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Womantra: Venezuelan women under attack in T&T
BY STACY MOORE (NEWSDAY).
THE NGO Womantra says Venezuelan women are under attack in this country.
Womantra said statistics from a recent joint select committee hearing showed there were 484 complaints of sexual assault by immigrants over a six-year period. For these assaults, no one was arrested.
The group is now questioning why the Police Commissioner has not spoken on the issue.
“Where is Gary Griffith? Why hasn’t he come out and addressed the public in light of these ghastly crimes against the Venezuelan community living in T&T? We continue to demand that the police be held accountable for their silence in times of great significance.”
Members said they cannot remain silent when Venezuelan women are being sexually assaulted, kidnapped, and exploited.
In a media release, Womantra said it was standing in solidarity with all the victims, as there now needs to be a shift in consciousness among the local population that not only acknowledges the crimes as a legitimate threat to T&T's national security but must also demand justice for these women and their families.
“From misogynistic discourse encoded in soca music to physical acts of violence and the exploit of their labour due to immigrants' status, we recognise and grimace at the ways these women suffer.” the release said.
“In June a Venezuelan woman was kidnapped at a fake job interview and taken to a location where she was sexually assaulted. In May, another woman was at home with her partner when they were robbed and she was sexually assaulted.”
The most recent attack occurred last Tuesday against an 18-year-old Venezuelan woman. The teen got into a "PH" taxi from Fyzabad to be taken to San Fernando where she was abducted and sexually assaulted, stabbed and beaten. She is now at the San Fernando General Hospital.
A policeman was detained in connection with this crime and is expected to be charged.
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Police find 2 Venezuelan quarantine escapees
ELIZABETH GONZALES (NEWSDAY).
Two of the three Venezuelan teenagers who escaped from the quarantine facility at Canada Hall, UWI, St Augustine campus have been found. They were found in Santa Cruz last Friday, ACP Wendell Williams told Newsday on Wednesday. The girls, aged 14, 15 and 17, did not show up for breakfast and could not be found on August 25. A nurse reported them missing to St Joseph police.
There has also been an increased police presence at the quarantine facility since the escape, Newsday was told. Police said the search was “based on information; it’s like a needle in a haystack,” and several areas have already been searched and more will be searched during this week for the third girl who escaped.
They reminded the public that anyone sheltering her could be charged with aiding and abetting. The girls breached the quarantine order, but when asked if they would be charged, Williams said no, “because of their circumstance.”
Asked to clarify the circumstances, he preferred not to go into details as to why they will not be charged or where they are being held now. He said they had completed their state quarantine and would not have to return to the facility they escaped from.
Investigations are ongoing.
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No influx of Venezuelan crabs in Trinidad
LAUREL V WILLIAMS (NEWSDAY).
The economic crises in Venezuela, coupled with the pandemic, seem to have decreased the illegal importation of crabs for sale in T&T.
As of Wednesday, chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation Dinesh Sankersingh said the corporation had no reports about the neighbouring country's crabs being sold on the local market.
Sankersingh told Newsday in a telephone interview that the corporation is more concerned about the growing Venezuelan migrant population. He said, considering the pandemic, the incoming illegal migrants are not screened or tested on arrival.
"We have not heard about any crabs coming in at this time. What we are concerned about is the porous borders. The issue is the number of people entering illegally and the threat and fear of the virus coming in."
Cedros, which falls under the corporation, is one the closest communities to Venezuela.
Contacted for comment, Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat said: "Illegal activities between T&T and Venezuela are going on for a long time. It is something that I have spoken about a lot and, in particular, the illegal trade in wildlife."
He said he was unable to pinpoint a specific case.
"But, we deal with reports and support law enforcement on a daily basis. The security of the border and the enforcement of the law is handled by the Ministry of National Security."
Crab season is generally year-round, and many people catch crab as a form of recreation.
Vendor Narie Mahase, who lives in Cunupia, explained that the best time to catch crabs in TT is in July to September, "about three days after the full moons." Like the chairman, he said he has not heard about any influx of the Venezuelan crabs.
But, unconfirmed reports of the illegal trade "in the south side" suggest a few on the market, he said.
"People have to be in this business for many years to know the difference. It is hard to tell them apart. The tastes are different too. Crabs in Venezuela are bigger," Mahase said.
"The local crabs are sweeter. People from many of the other Caribbean islands do not eat crabs, so those countries have a larger population of these animals."
Mahase previously sold crabs at the Tunapuna market for more than ten years and has been selling at the Caroni bridge at the Southern Main Road for the same period.
At the Caroni bird sanctuary, he said, about 95 per cent of the area is prohibited from catching crabs. People are allowed to catch crabs in the remaining five per cent area, but they must get a pass to enter the prohibited area to get to and from the designated crab-catching area.
He complained that he and others have had problems getting the passes which is renewed for six months.
"They do not like to renew it for us. I do not know why. Once, I did not get it renewed in over two years. This is challenging for us. It is easier to pass through the sanctuary than to take a longer route by sea to get to the mangroves.
"Throughout the year, I have workers who catch crabs. We also catch them in Waterloo, Carli Bay, Mayaro, Woodland."
He said the blue crabs, hairy crabs (found in the mangroves), and sea crabs are T&T's main species.
Mahase said, "Blue crabs are the most expensive. It sells for five for $100. Hairy crabs cost about $50 for five. People are buying crabs."
Another crab catcher / vendor who asked to remain anonymous had the same views.
"All or crabs are legal and safe to eat."
In July 2018, Rambharat had warned the public to desist from buying fresh crabs from Venezuela. The warning came in the wake an advisory from the US Food and Drug Agency that the seafood may be contaminated with "vibrio parahaemolyticus – a bacterium in the same family as those that cause cholera."
The advisory had warned that people infected with vibrio parahaemolyticus experience diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, nausea, fever, and stomach pain. Diarrhoea tends to be watery and occasionally bloody.
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Crabs for sale along the Southern Main Road, Caroni. - Lincoln Holder
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Venezuelan baby abducted
GREVIC ALVARADO (NEWSDAY).
An unidentified woman abducted a nine-month-old baby girl from her mother in Chaguanas on Tuesday.
The mother, Valentina Hernández said a "thin woman" had taken her daughter Sofia Rivas at about 7.30 am.
"The woman – she looks Indian to me – she came to the place where we are renting. She greeted me and after we spoke for a little while, the woman – she was very friendly and she told me she wanted to take my baby to buy a juice for her in the supermarket that is downstairs from the apartment where we live," said a shaken Hernández.
CCTV cameras at the supermarket later recorded the woman walking the aisles with baby Sofia in her arms before leaving with the child in a grey Nissan car with the licence plates PCU 642, which was parked nearby and driven by a man.
Realising that the woman had left with her child, Hernandez reported the abduction to the Chaguanas police. The desperate mother is begging anyone who has seen her baby or knows of her whereabouts to call the nearest police station.
Up to the time this article was published, baby Sofia remained unaccounted for.
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Nine-month-old Sofia Rivas was found by police in Curepe -
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Cops rescue baby Sofia in Curepe
By Rhondor Dowlat-Rostant (Guardian).
Police officers from the Central Division and Anti-Kidnapping Squad have rescued baby Sofia Rivas in Curepe.
According to police reports, after receiving intelligence, officers went to an apartment at Mc Inroy Street in Curepe just after 11 pm, where they recovered the nine-month-old baby girl, who had been abducted from her mother Valentina Hernandez earlier on Tuesday.
Baby Sofia was still in the hands of the woman who had reportedly abducted her earlier.
Baby Sofia was said to be in good health but was taken to the nearby Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex for a medical check before being taken to her mother.
The woman was arrested and is now assisting officers with their investigations.
Earlier in the day, officers had been searching for an East Indian woman and the driver of a silver-grey station wagon, whom they said could have assisted in the alleged abduction of the child.
Sofia’s mother, Valentina Hernandez, who is a Venezuelan national, had her worst nightmare on Tuesday, when her baby was taken from her by a woman who approached her under the pretense that she was “taking her (Sofia) for a walk to the supermarket to purchase a juice for her.”
However, while the woman did go to the supermarket, which is on the same property as the apartment complex in which Hernandez lives, she soon got into the vehicle with the baby and was never seen again.
The distraught mother told police that at about 7.30 am, she was at the apartment complex at Pokhor Road, Longdenville, Chagauanas, when she was approached by the woman, whom she knew as a tenant from the said building.
Police said after conversing with the mother, the woman asked her if she could carry the baby with her for a walk to the nearby 6to9 Convenience Store and Ice Cream shop, which is located in an annex of the three-storey apartment building.
However, Hernandez said she found it strange when the woman did not return with her child and she got worried. After three hours there was still no sign of her child and the woman made her way to the Longdenville Police Post where she reported her baby missing.
Police officers who responded went to the supermarket where they recovered CCTV footage which showed the baby in the woman’s arms as she walked through the various aisles of the establishment. The footage also showed the woman leaving with the baby girl and entering a Nissan AD station wagon, licensed PCU 6452, which was parked a few meters away from the supermarket. The driver, a man, then drove off with the woman and child. It is believed the man works “PH” along the Longdenville to Chaguanas route.
The officers later spoke to several tenants from the apartment complex as part of their investigation.
Speaking with the Guardian Media yesterday evening, a male relative of Hernandez said the family came from Venezuela seeking a “better life” and now their future plans had been ruined with Sofia’s abduction. He, however, said they strongly believe they will get back baby Sofia.
“This is very bad. You can’t trust nobody but we will get back the baby. We are very sad,” the male relative, who did not want to be named, said.
A worker in the convenience store, who was on duty when the woman entered with the child, said he did not find anything strange and was shocked to hear from the mother that the baby had been abducted.
“Apparently, the woman was staying at an apartment with someone for a week or just a few days. We didn’t really know her but she didn’t act strange. She did not even purchase anything. She just left after walking around a bit,” the worker, who also did not want to be named, said.
Asked if the vehicle the woman entered was known in the area, the worker replied, “No, we don’t know.”
The owner of the store and apartment building was on the compound during Guardian’s Media’s visit but refused to comment about the situation.
Police sources said preliminary investigations have revealed that the woman who took the child lives in the same apartment complex as Hernandez.
“From what we are being told, it’s that the mother knew the woman as they are from the same building and she was accustomed to talking to her (the mother) in the past few days. The mother said she didn’t expect the woman to take her baby but we have several leads and we are hopeful to find the woman and the baby safe and sound,” the police source said.
A resident from the area, who wished not to disclose his name, said he was in shock to hear what took place.
“I saw the police there as I was leaving home to go to work and I really saw it all over Facebook and I realised that it happened right here. It now click to me but it always have people in that yard so this is real shocking and sad.”
Anyone with information on the woman and baby’s whereabouts is asked to call the police at 999, 555, 800-TIPS, 482-GARY or the Chaguanas Police Station at 665-5271.
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Three charged with baby's kidnapping
T&T Guardian Reports.
One woman and two men have been charged with the kidnapping of nine-month-old Sophia Rivas which occurred on September 15, 2020.
Anjali De Gannes, 19, of Longdenville Old Road, Chaguanas, Judah Taitt, 58 and Jdan Taitt, 24, both of McInroy Street, Curepe, were jointly charged Monday with kidnapping for ransom based on advice received from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard SC.
JDan Taitt was also charged with negotiating a ransom.
Two other suspects were released following investigations.
On the morning of the incident, a report was received from the child’s mother, a Venezuelan national, that while at her home on Longdenville Old Road, Longdenville, Chaguanas, the child was taken by a woman without her permission.
Sometime later, she received a telephone call from the suspect demanding $20,000 in cash for the safe release of her daughter.
Later that day around 10:50 pm, acting on intelligence, officers proceeded to McInroy Street, Curepe, where they found and safely rescued the baby.
The exercise was spearheaded by Ag Snr Supt Curtis Simon and included officers of the Central Division Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Operations Unit, Chaguanas CID, Couva CID, Central Division Gang Unit, the Central Division Task Force, the Longdenville Police Post, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, the Special Members of the public are asked to like and follow the TTPS via our Facebook and Twitter pages for the latest news and information on matters of interest to the general public. Investigations Unit, the Cybercrime Unit, and the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service.
(https://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.2818625.119022.20200921233749.fafa689307?size=1024)
Judah Taitt, keft, and Anjali De Gannes.
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Young: No truth US deported Venezuelans through T&T
By Gail Alexander (Guardian).
National Security Minister Stuart Young has dismissed claims by US Senator Robert Menendez that the US conducted “stealth” deportations of Venezuelans back to their homeland through T&T over January to March.
“As far as I’m aware there is no truth to the allegations that the US deported Venezuelans through T&T,” Young said yesterday when contacted.
International media reported last Friday on statements by Democrats Representative Menendez, member of the US Senate Foreign Relations team.
Menendez called T&T’s name when he sought details on the “stealth deportations.”
This was in a letter written to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and the Department of Homeland Security.
Menendez’s letter stated: “New documents provided to my office confirm that US deportations to Venezuela continued via third countries at least until March 2020, while the Trump administration has offered little assurance that it will not continue to forcibly return Venezuelans to a regime the United Nations recently stated has committed crimes against humanity.”
Menendez accused the Trump administration of “surreptitiously deporting Venezuelans through third countries,” though US law prohibits forced repatriation of refugees to places where their lives or their freedom could be threatened.
Menendez said the State Department “in recent weeks” had confirmed to his office in writing that the deportations occurred via T&T between January and March 2020. It wasn’t clear how many indirect deportations occurred. Menendez said the deportations appeared to violate a 2019 US travel ban prohibiting air travel to Venezuela.
Menendez asked for more information on countries which served as third country transit points.
He also sought details of US consultations on Venezuelan deportations with each government facilitating their transfer “including Trinidad and Tobago, Panama and any other countries involved.”
He noted Elliot Abrams (State department representative for Venezuela and Iran) said in March there wasn’t a complete freeze on deportations of Venezuelans but the number was “extremely low—data showed over 100 were deported up to February. In August Abrams said deportations weren’t being done as it was unsafe to deport Venezuelans home.
However, Young said of Menendez’s claim, “It’s a strange proposition. We never agreed to any such operations. I’ve confirmed with Immigration that we have no knowledge of any such incident.
“The T&T Government knows of no such instance and certainly didn’t agree to any such exercises,” he added
Asked about Menendez’s claim that the State Department had confirmed deportations occurred via T&T earlier this year, Young maintained the deportations didn’t happen:
“It would have to have the Government’s approval and it did not. Neither Immigration nor me are aware of any such incident,” Young stressed.
Foreign Affairs wasn’t aware of the situation. Previous Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses—in office earlier this year—didn’t answer calls. Nor did the US Embassy Public Affairs spokesperson.
Menendez’s claims arose when the aspect of Venezuelans in the US is among immigration issues is featuring in the current US Presidential election campaign.
Democrats contender Joe Biden has promised to grant Venezuelan migrants temporary protected status.
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Minutes before court hearing: Children packed on pirogues, deported
By Anna Ramdass (T&T Express).
Mere minutes before an emergency court hearing today at 12.30 p.m. some 16 Venezuelan children were forced to board two pirogues to take them back to Venezuela.
Attorney Nafessa Mohammed said it is an inhumane act to place these children in an uncovered pirogue and speedily shuttle them back to Venezuela in full knowledge that an application had been made to the court on their behalf.
She said this is an abuse of power, authority and total disrespect for the court process.
On Saturday Mohammed appealed to the authorities to not deport 16 Venezuelan children including a four month old baby on a boat from Cedros.
She made an emergency habeus corpus application to the court today to stop the deportation.
The matter is to be heard today at 12.30 p.m.
Despite this, orders were given to bring in the pirogues and the children were taken from the Cedros police station to the treacherous seas and rainy weather.
Mohammed said there is need for an investigation on who gave the orders for the children to be shipped back to Venezuela mere minutes before the court matter.
The 16 children came to Trinidad a week ago and were held by police in Chatham.
They were taking to the Erin police station where they have been for the past week.
Yesterday, they were transported to the Cedros police station where arrangements are being made to put them on a boat and send them back to Venezuela.
Mohammed said these children have relatives in Trinidad who are registered and have Trinidad and Tobago registration cards.
She said they were all tested for Covid-19 at the police station and the results were negative.
She pleaded for authorities to have a heart as these children have already endured the trauma of surviving a treacherous sea journey to Trinidad and then detained at a police station for days.
Mohammed's plea fell on deaf ears as the children are currently on the pirogues.
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They're back! Venezuelans deported on Sunday return to T&T
T&T Guardian Reports.
After three days on the rough seas, 16 Venezuelan children, the youngest a four-month-old baby and the eldest child 14 years, along with 11 adults, mostly women, returned to the shores of Trinidad.
Hungry and trembling from the cold, they arrived shortly before 1 pm in two pirogues at the Los Iros beach in Erin.
They were deported on Sunday, after being detained at a police station for five days, just hours before the start of court proceedings regarding their status. Justice Avason Quilans-Williams subsequently ordered the state to return the migrants to the country.
Daniel, a Venezuelan national who is legally registered in Trinidad and who came to greet his cousins, said they had engine problems out at sea and never arrived in Venezuela. He told Guardian Media he was happy that they were back here.
Fyzabad resident Torrence Farrier was at the beach when he saw the boats coming in.
“We just notice that this boat was coming in with these people and what really hurt me is the fact that there is a three-month-old child on the boat, and they had to pick up that child to bring that child here,” he told Guardian Media.
Torrence Farrier said he felt sad about how the migrants were treated by the local authorities.
“They were cold and hungry… It hurt me. That’s why I say ‘Mom, what it have to eat?’ and I take the food and give them.” He gave them a meal of chicken, rice, and peas.
The migrants were taken away in a police bus.
(https://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.2927172.127624.20201124214454.a5b3b82d83?size=1024)
The Venezuelan refugees had spent days on the water, before being brought back to Trinidad, after their deportation on Sunday 22 November 2020, before their court case could be heard.
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PM on Venezuelan migrants again: They’re here for good
DARREN BAHAW (NEWSDAY).
The temporary registration of 16, 523 Venezuelan nationals, which allowed them to work and live in Trinidad and Tobago legally, will invariably result in their permanent relocation, according to the Prime Minister.
In his second statement, in just over two and a half hours, Dr Rowley lashed out at critics, including Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal, who described his initial statement condemning the Organisation of American States and the US administration as being too angry and condemnatory.
He described Moonilal as an "opportunistic carbuncle" in his latest missive.
Rowley said, "If we appear to be a "soft-touch flexible-border neighbour," this country would be overrun by tens of thousands of illegal migrants in a "jiffy."
Pointing directly at Moonilal, the PM said: "The fact is that as you and others decry and bemoan our own circumstances here our life and living opportunities are still very attractive to many Venezuelans and others."
He accused the UN Human Rights Committee of exploiting the migrant crisis "to inflate and sustain their own operational budgets" as he dismissed their estimates of 60,000 Venezuelans living in T&T.
The Prime Minister said those who have benefited from the registration process do not have the right to "import all their families and trafficked customers into T&T," since all Venezuelans seeking to enter the country must obtain a visa. That requirement went into effect at the close of the registration process last June.
"Clearly it will not be acceptable for them to remain as people at the margins of our society, eking out a living with children not able to be properly schooled or even being born here as new citizens of T&T," Rowley said, offering a glimpse of how Cabinet will handle the expiration of their work permits on December 31.
He said the "wholesale deportation of forced repatriation" was not a feasible option.
"It is against this background that protection of all persons within our borders need to have their present and future circumstances protected by our suite of laws enacted specifically for this purpose," he said.
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Deportations stopped too late for 18 of 19 Venezuelans
JADA LOUTOO (T&T NEWSDAY).
EIGHTEEN of the 19 Venezuelans whose deportations were stopped by a High Court judge on Saturday were sent back to their homeland the same day.
Newsday understands that the 18 were among a total of 180 who were sent back on Saturday on two Coast Guard vessels which two trips which left at 9.44 am and 10.40 am. One man was transferred to prison where he has to serve one month simple imprisonment for illegally entering T&T.
Newsday also understands that by the time Coast Guard officials received the order of Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams on Saturday, none of the Venezuelans were in T&T’s territorial waters after having already been handed over to Venezuela’s Guardia Nacional.
The matters, which were filed by attorneys Criston J Williams, Kerrina Samdeo and Jerome Riley, were expected to come up for hearing at 7.30 pm on Monday night before Quinlan-Williams who ordered the State to account for the Venezuelans who were all previously detained at the State’s quarantine facility at the heliport in Chaguaramas.
Since they are no longer in T&T, and since the State has responded to the court’s directive to say where they are, the substantive issues raised in the judicial review applications filed by the attorneys were transferred to Justice Devindra Rampersad on Monday. The State has asked for an adjournment to Tuesday and the request was granted. It has also said the judge’s orders stopping the deportation of the 19 were served after they had already left T&T’s jurisdiction.
Also on Monday, attorneys for the 26 Venezuelans who returned to Trinidad last week Tuesday, after they were “escorted” out of T&T’s territorial waters two Sundays ago, filed individual applications which have been docketed to a series of judges. Hearing for one set of applications is expected to come up on Tuesday before Justice Frank Seepersad, while some have gone to Justice Carol Gobin and Justice Joan Charles.
Charles has been assigned the cases of three children – ages 11 years, 17 months and four months – who were unaccompanied on the pirogue. Those applications were heard at 8.30 pm on Monday.
Also Monday, the attorneys reappeared virtually before Justice Quinlan-Williams for two sets of Venezuelan families who were part of the group of 26. They are represented by attorneys Gerald Ramdeen, Nafeesa Mohammed, Dayadai Harripaul and Umesh Maharaj and were asking for access to their attorneys as well as for their families to bring supplies and toys while they serve their 14 day quarantine at the heliport facility.
The 26 Venezuelans were removed from the Erin police station and taken to the heliport last week.
At the hearing on Monday, Quinlan-Williams allowed the father of a four-year-old boy, the child’s mother and sister permission to carry supplies and toys at the heliport. After their quarantine, they will be released in the custody of the father who is a UNHCR asylum seeker and applied for a ministerial permit. That family has since been registered with the UNHCR and their deportation stayed until the case is determined.
In the case involving another family – a mother and her three children who received orders on Sunday preventing their removal from T&T – the State has argued that nothing is stopping their deportations and their matter is expected to come up again later this week.
On Sunday, attorneys were told that the 26 Venezuelans who came in on Tuesday, were still at the facility and were not among the 160 deported on Saturday morning.
In a release sent by national security ministry on Saturday night, the deportation of 160 Venezuelans was announced. Since children are not "deported” it is not certain if the additional 20 accounted for by the Coast Guard were children.
The release reminded of the government’s “unprecedented humanitarian exercise” of a migrant registration exercise, in 2019, done out of concern for Venezuelans. The release said the result of this exercise was that 16,523 Venezuelans were registered and permitted to be legally in T&T.
The release also mentioned the court matter involving the 19, saying the minister learned about it in a media report that an application had been filed and the judge made certain orders for “some Venezuelans who are in Trinidad and Tobago illegally.
“While the Government acknowledges that there may be personal views surrounding the illegal entry into Trinidad and Tobago by persons, the Government, through the Ministry of National Security and other arms of the state, will continue to apply the laws and do all that it reasonably can to secure the borders and prevent illegal entry into Trinidad and Tobago. The measures being taken including the closure of our borders are to protect the health and safety of our citizens and those legally in Trinidad and Tobago,” the release said.
On Friday, immigration officials released 17 Venezuelan – 11 children and six adults, two of whom are in their 80s – from the state quarantine facility at the heliport in Chaguaramas and earlier this week, ten children and four mothers were also ordered released from the facility.
They were placed on orders of supervision but attorneys for the State could not say why they were released.
Earlier last week, Charles released ten children and four mothers pending the hearing and determination of their cases.
The Venezuelans, in their separate court actions, are seeking immediate relief, ordering the chief immigration officer to put them on orders of supervision as well as quashing any order of deportation pending their applications with the Living Water Community for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for asylum-seeker status.
They are also challenging the failure of the Minister of National Security to make a decision to quash their orders of deportation in keeping with the national policy for refugees and asylum-seekers affects them.
They also intend to ask for a declaration that the draft national policy to address refugees and asylum-seekers was illegal and irrational to the 1951 UN convention on the status of refugees and its 1967 protocols. They intend to argue that the failure to make a decision to quash an order of deportation against them was ultra vires Article 33 of the Refugee Convention 1951 which prohibits the refoulement of refugees and that the failure by the chief immigration officer to hold a special inquiry hearing was illegal.
Attorneys have asked for disclosure of any policy, written or unwritten, to address refugee/asylum matters in Trinidad and Tobago; any policy relating to the detention of those deemed vulnerable; and any declaration or notification by the Government that it has denounced the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees.
But, National Security Minister Stuart Young told the Parliament on Friday, there was a policy but he could not disclose it since it was subject to court action.
RELATED NEWS
Young's statements on Venezuelan migrants worry Law Association
JADA LOUTOO (T&T NEWSDAY).
File photo: Venezuelans including 16 children on board a pirogue that made its way to Los Iros beach after a high court judge ordered the authorities to produce them following a deportation order. - Lincoln Holder
File photo: Venezuelans including 16 children on board a pirogue that made its way to Los Iros beach after a high court judge ordered the authorities to produce them following a deportation order. - Lincoln Holder
RECENT statements by National Security Minister Stuart Young on court proceedings involving illegal Venezuelan migrants have concerned the Law Association.
In a release on Monday, the association said it was concerned by aspects of the press conference at which the minister questioned the role played by lawyers in the court proceedings which seek to prevent the deportation of Venezuelan migrants.
The association said it was laso concerned by "his criticism of the court for not applying the law but 'the policy that it wants, ' and his lament about the 'upsurge in habeas corpus proceedings' the use of which he described as “very dangerous.'"
The association reminded that the courts were bound to uphold all the laws of Trinidad and Tobago and to hear and determine all applications brought before the court.
“For their part, attorneys-at-law are duty-bound to represent their clients fearlessly in order to ensure that the law is followed and the State is held to account.
“The pandemic poses a danger to all of us, but the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution to all who happen to be on our shores, including especially the rights of the child, the independence of the Judiciary and the rule of law must not be disregarded even in these trying times,” the association said in its statement on Monday.
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(https://acleddata.com/acleddatanew/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Venezuela_Elections_Final-1084x1536.png)
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https://www.youtube.com/v/_FwyO99-XBI
https://www.youtube.com/v/XMe3-2dUeSY
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Maduro just minutes ago showed off a watch he says he received from Maradona. He says he's wearing it today for good luck. :)
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Venezuelan migrant believes wife, son among 23 drowned in attempt to reach Trinidad
LAUREL V WILLIAMS (T&T NEWSDAY).
Longing to see his family, a 51-year-old Venezuelan migrant was elated on December 6 when his wife and ten-year-old son boarded a boat from Guiria, Venezuela, to make the treacherous voyage to Trinidad.
He believes his wife, Christa Linda, 36, and their son, Christian Jose (last names withheld) were among the group of Venezuelans who died in a shipwreck off the coast of Guiria last week.
"I know Christa protected our son to the end! She was a good woman," the man said as he tried to hold back tears.
Venezuelan media reported that 21 of the 23 bodies recovered between Saturday evening and Wednesday afternoon have been identified. According to checks by Newsday, neither Christa Linda nor Christian Jose was among the 21 identified.
Newsday learned that relatives identified the victims through tattoos and DNA testing. Parts of some of the bodies are missing.
The search was ongoing up to Wednesday and the number of missing people remains unknown. Some media outlets estimated the final number of deaths at more than 40.
The migrant spoke to Newsday at a friend’s home in Couva on Wednesday. He recalled that he last spoke with his wife at about 8 pm on December 6.
After that he lost contact and, from what he heard, the boat arrived in Trinidad and Tobago waters the next day. He claims that, somehow, the passengers did not disembark and returned to Venezuela.
Unverified reports have since surfaced on social media suggesting that the T&T Coast Guard turned the group away, reports that government officials, including the Prime Minister and National Security Minister Stuart Young, have repeatedly denied.
On Wednesday, the migrant said he had planned for his wife and son to join him in Trinidad as he had made the island his home for the past year. He was looking forward to spending Christmas with them.
The man said he had registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency in Port of Spain.
"I do odd work here (in Trinidad) and get very little pay. I now have to help my family with funeral expenses. I have no money. Christa Linda’s mother is looking after the children. I have to provide for my daughters.
"A proper funeral can cost up to US$300. The country (Venezuela) is in a crisis."
Looking at photos on his cell, the bereaved man said his son loved baseball and played for a local team in Guiria. The boy was the youngest of the couple’s four children.
He said his wife worked as a teacher at Escuela Alejandro Villanueva but, owing to the crisis, she decided to come to Trinidad for a better life.
"My little boy was buried yesterday (Tuesday) at La Salina cemetery. He was my only son. I could not even attend his funeral in person. This is a tough tragedy. The wooden box was closed because his condition was terrible. I watched the funeral on my phone and the (internet) connection was not good."
The tearful man continued, "My wife was a good mother and wife. She was a professional woman. She was not getting a lot of money teaching. Her body will be buried next to his."
Newsday contacted the RC bishop of Carupano, Jaime José Villarroel Rodríguez, who was unable to confirm whether Christa Linda or Christian Jose was among the dead. He said, earlier in the day, he had officiated at the funerals of seven victims of the shipwreck.
"One was a pregnant woman. There were three children, and the rest were males. I will confirm the list for you tomorrow (Thursday)," the bishop said in Spanish by phone.
Since March 22, T&T’s borders have been officially closed as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of covid19. Venezuelans continue to make treacherous journeys by boat, mainly from Delta Amacuro State (Tucupita/Pedernales) and Sucre State (Guiria).
Local authorities have repatriated hundreds of Venezuelans who entered T&T illegally since last year’s historic amnesty that allowed Venezuelan migrants to register, live, work and access government and health services in T&T.
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So sad on both sides of the border.
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Human rights group: Let Caricom help Trinidad and Tobago with Venezuelan migrants
SEAN DOUGLAS (T&T NEWSDAY).
THE Caribbean Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), in a Facebook statement on Friday, urged T&T to ask its Caricom neighbours to help with the influx of Venezuelan migrants.
The CCHR said despite the economic crisis due to covid19, T&T still has a duty to protect human rights as set out in the T&T Constitution and laws, plus its obligations as a member of the Organisation of American States (OAS.)
“It is possible to secure our borders, protect our national security, mitigate the strain on our economy and preserve relationships with our international partners whilst honouring our obligations under international law," it pointed out. “Protecting vulnerable people fleeing a desperate humanitarian crisis does not have to be a zero-sum game.”
The centre said the Refuge Convention in its preamble says any state too burdened to provide asylum can seek international help.
“The Refugee Convention places expectations on its signatories to protect asylum seekers' and refugee rights. However it also offers avenues to a state that is struggling to honour its obligations under the convention and provide international protection.
“Based on this principle we urge the Government of T&T to seek the help of its Caricom brothers and sisters and the wider international community to manage the crisis.”
The centre said T&T sits next door to one of the worst human rights and humanitarian crises in modern history.
“Basic necessities are out of reach for many Venezuelans and the healthcare system is almost non-existent.
“The Venezuelan government continues to engage in systematic human rights atrocities against its own people as has been graphically detailed in the UN Human Rights Council report.”
The statement said Reuters had reported on the alleged victimisation of Venezuelan dissenters by "hate laws" aimed at stifling critics of the regime. The centre said after investigations, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has concluded a reasonable basis to prosecute Venezuelan government officials, including President Maduro, of crimes against humanity.
“T&T must do all that it can, taking into consideration the guidance and support that is at our disposal, to protect vulnerable persons seeking international protection, engage in efforts to eradicate the scourges of human trafficking and smuggling and save lives. All options have not been exhausted.
“And so we reiterate our call to the Government of T&T to consider exploring the option of a burden sharing agreement with other Caricom members and the wider international community.”
"To do so would create a proper response to the humanitarian crisis which seems too much for T&T to bear alone and let T&T show its commitment to honour its international obligations and protect human rights.
“We also call on Caricom leadership to recognise there needs to be a regional approach to this crisis and support the efforts of the T&T Government to prevent tragedies like the one that occurred last Sunday with the drownings of Venezuelan migrants.”
Deporting people back to the risky situation from which they fled is inhumane and breaches T&T’s obligations under international human rights law, the centre said.
“It is not the solution to deal with the humanitarian crisis. Criminalisation of the asylum process, where persons are deported based on irregular entry, places vulnerable persons at further risk.”
The protection of human rights must be the foundation of the Government's response in managing this crisis.
“And so as we commemorate International Migrants Day, we encourage the Government to reaffirm its commitment to allow safe, dignified and humane routes to seek protection.”
Contacted for comment Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne said he could not comment without seeing the media release and referred Newsday to the Prime Minister's comments during a post-Cabinet media briefing on Thursday.
"These issues related to the migration matters, the OAS and it's treatment of the Venezuelan-Caricom-T&T situation will be much on the agenda during T&T's tenure as head of Caricom."
Newsday also contacted Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Caricom chairman Dr Ralph Gonsalves, but was told by his assistant that he was in a meeting at the time.
(With reporting by Shane Superville)
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'Trini businessmen trafficking Venezuelans for bodies, organs'
Anna Ramdass (T&T EXPRESS).
Trinidadian businessmen are involved in the illegal trade of Venezuelans to this country for the sale of their bodies through prostitution and also sale of their organs.
This statement was made by president of the Latin Association of Trinidad and Tobago, David Edghill.
“We have a next issue which is the exploitation, human trafficking, organ harvesting, narco and ammunitions trafficking involving the migrants supported by citizens and businessmen of Trinidad and Tobago,” Edghill said yesterday at a news conference at the Anchorage, Chaguaramas.
Edghill said Venezuelans are entering the country illegally and rings of illegal activities are happening without consequence.
“The illegal migrants coming into Trinidad is due to the non interest of authorities in our country to put under the law those who are bringing in through our borders migrants illegally,” he said.
“We have human trafficking going on in Trinidad and nobody has been locked up,” he added.
The Latin Association, he said, is willing to work with authorities to make things better.
“The quality of people coming into Trinidad and Tobago is certainly not qualified professional workers; we are having bandits, narcos, vagabonds running away from Venezuela just to come in here...it is scary, you don’t know who is coming in that boat,” he said.
Edghill said things must be put in order to treat with the criminals and assist the economic migrants who may be in need.
He said there must be a process to know what they are here for.
“Are they here to kill? Are they here to sell drugs or are they here to work?” he asked, adding that if they are here to work then welcome them and a way will be found to assist.
He said there are economic migrants who are fleeing Venezuela because of the crisis and lack of food.
He said action must be taken against the boat captains and owners who are charging innocent families to come into Trinidad for work, food and housing.
Edghill said the asylum seeking and resettling process is not being properly done.
He said the United Nations has to involve itself in relocating these people.
Also speaking at the news conference, the Association’s communications director, Eve George said there is an additional issue with nationals wanting to return to Trinidad.
She referred to a Trinidad and Tobago citizen who has been stranded in Grenada since earlier this year.
The woman, who preferred not to be named said she is facing hardship in Grenada and claims she is being exploited in order to survive on that island.
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Rowley wants to know who got US money for aid
By Renuka Singh (T&T Guardian)
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is asking where did the money go when it comes to aid from the US to assist with Venezuelan migrants.
That’s in response to a statement issued over the weekend by the US Embassy in Port-of-Spain in which it defended its sanctions against Venezuela, saying it was against the Nicolas Maduro regime and not the people.
In the statement, the US Embassy also touched on the fact that the US is the single largest donor of humanitarian assistance for Venezuela including some $11 million to T&T for Venezuelans living in this country.
That comment from the Embassy came just after Prime Minister Rowley said that this country got no assistance from anybody to assist with the migrant situation and Venezuelans living in the country.
When asked about his thoughts on the US Embassy’s statement Prime Minister Rowley said: “just bear in mind that somebody or bodies are getting and have received $77 million for this purpose.
“It is certainly not the Government. It explains a lot,” he said.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne said it is “not unusual” for the US missions to make statements about their policy and perspectives.
The US Embassy explained said that the Venezuela sanctions programme was designed to “limit the Maduro regime’s sources of revenue and promote accountability for those who stand in the way of restoring democracy in Venezuela, while also ensuring the flow of humanitarian goods and services to the Venezuelan people”.
“With the incoming (President-elect Joe) Biden/ (Vice-President elect Kamala) Harris administration, and with Prime Minister (Dr Keith) Rowley becoming chairman of Caricom in January, the region can look forward to an even stronger focus on diplomatic solutions to the difficult challenges that exist,” Browne said.
“We anticipate 2021 to be a year of peace and progress even as the world confronts unprecedented threats such as the current pandemic, that demand a multi-lateral approach to nations,” he said.
The US Embassy also clarified that there are no restrictions on the importation of food and medicine but that Maduro used Venezuela’s revenues to buy Russian weaponry instead.
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“Acá en Güiria la cosa está fea y todo el mundo está buscando cómo irse. No tenemos ni gas para cocinar y todo es diez veces más caro acá. Como todos tenemos familia en Trinidad, ellos se iban a pasar las Navidades allá con una hermana. Mis dos sobrinos iban ahí y uno de ellos se iba a quedar, porque acá no hay nada que hacer”, relata a EL PAÍS la mujer, cuya hija también emigró hace dos años cuando se vio sin recursos para pagar una carrera universitaria. “¿Cómo van a acusar al señor Martínez si él mandó a toda su familia en ese bote?”, se pregunta López.
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En este último naufragio, todos los que viajaban eran de Güiria, con familias establecidas en Trinidad y Tobago.
https://elpais.com/internacional/2020-12-23/los-32-ahogados-que-evidencian-el-drama-venezolano-en-la-guiria.html
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The 32 drowned people of Güiria that show the Venezuelan drama
FLORANTONIA SINGER - Caracas (elpais.com)
The Venezuelan town buries more than thirty people on a journey to Trinidad and Tobago. There are still missing
Last Wednesday night, with the duel in tow, the inhabitants of Güiria, in the coastal Venezuelan state of Sucre, protested. The day before they had already held a vigil. The next day they called a march through the town, which has buried 32 people. They drowned in a new shipwreck in the waters between Sucre, in the northeast of the country, and Trinidad and Tobago, one of the migration corridors of the Caribbean whose traffic has intensified with the deterioration of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Hunger has already driven 5.4 million people out of the country. Now, Güiria (40,000 inhabitants) cries and protests as he searches for his dead.
“Justice, justice!” Shouted a group of people in front of the headquarters of a military installation. It was a multiple demand. They asked for gasoline so that the fishermen could continue the search for the disappeared at sea, that what had happened be thoroughly investigated and more support from the Government to address the emergency. And they also demand from the Chavista leader, Nicolás Maduro, the freedom of Luis Martínez, the man who used to drive the ship that was shipwrecked, called My memory . He is the only one arrested in the case. Prosecutor Tarek William Saab accuses him of human trafficking and conspiracy.
Last Sunday the 6th, at 5:30 in the afternoon, it was not Luis Martínez —now under house arrest— who was at the helm of the ship. But eight of his relatives traveled there, including three children and a granddaughter, says Mary López, the fisherman's sister-in-law. “Here in Güiria things are ugly and everyone is looking for a way to leave. We don't even have gas to cook and everything is ten times more expensive here. Since we all have family in Trinidad, they were going to spend Christmas there with a sister. My two nephews used to go there and one of them was going to stay, because there is nothing to do here ”, tells EL PAÍS the woman, whose daughter also emigrated two years ago when she was unable to pay for a university degree. "How are they going to accuse Mr. Martínez if he sent his whole family in that boat?" Asks López.
There are several versions of what happened, a tragedy that has been reconstructed with imprecise data and information sailing from one coast to the other. And so far no survivors or witnesses have appeared who can clarify the doubts. The boat My memory left that Sunday,while Venezuela held a questioned parliamentary elections, with 19 people from the port of Güiria. On the way, these barges often pick up more passengers on the beaches before entering the open sea, that is, the precise number of passengers is not known. Some of the relatives who were waiting for them in Trinidad and Tobago say that the boat reached a beach on the Caribbean islands, where the migrants were first detained and then forced to return. According to this version, the shipwreck occurred during the voyage back to Venezuela.
In the last two years, the Trinidadian police have dealt with a heavy hand against Venezuelans. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) revealed this week that in November alone Trinidad and Tobago deported at least 200 people. Migrants are often detained and then deported in the same boat in which they arrived. That happened, for example, on November 22 with a group in which there were 16 children. And that was the hope of the relatives of the deceased of Güiria. That is, that they appeared at some point. "Everyone swore they were in prison, until the dead appeared," says Xioglimar Mata, who had neighbors and friends on the boat.
Seven days after setting sail, three bodies were found on a beach near Güiria. Throughout that day they found 11 others. The shipwreck was already a certainty. Then, five more corpses washed ashore; then nine more, and on Thursday afternoon, another. Between Friday and Saturday, three more. A total of 32 bodies buried last week. Two have not been identified yet, as they await the results of DNA tests. At least a dozen people are still missing. Another boat called My Refuge left that same night on December 6 with another group. In Güiria, some point out that the passengers of both rafts were returned from Trinidad and Tobago in a single ship, despite the excess of passengers, and with little fuel, which caused it to wreck. Others believe that those who traveled in one of the boats and are listed as missing are being held on the islands. But the Trinidadian authorities have denied that any of those ships reached their lands.
No wake
The Venezuelan Prosecutor's Office affirms that the ship sank halfway, in the country's waters, and has also issued an arrest warrant for Mary López's two nephews, who are still missing. A commission of forensic doctors has been installed since Monday at the Güiria Coast Guard dock. In a tent they work on the analysis of the bodies. No one has had a wake. Every family has prayed for them at home.
Among the last corpses that the sea has brought, relatives say, some have appeared that are mutilated and others with a lower degree of decomposition than the first, which has unleashed speculation about the times of the shipwreck. Five days after the discovery of the first bodies, a police helicopter joined the search operation, which has been left in the hands of the fishermen themselves. “That night the sea was lonely because almost no one goes fishing because of the lack of gasoline. If a fisherman had been able to go out, he might have found them, ”adds López. Meanwhile, the family members only have a cry of pain, which is mixed with the protest.
"We feel without support"
Since 2019 there have been 114 missing persons from five boats that left the coasts of Sucre and Nueva Esparta, in the northeast of Venezuela, and Falcón, in the northwest, according to Johnny Romero, spokesman for an organization that groups together the families of the victims . In those cases, not as many bodies were recovered and the disappeared came from different areas of the country. His relatives denounce trafficking networks that allegedly operate in complicity with officials. In this last shipwreck, all those who traveled were from Güiria, with families established in Trinidad and Tobago. “We are very saddened by what happened and because we feel without support. What Trinidad does is harassment, ”says Anyelith Sanvicente, who is still waiting for a cousin of hers who is among the missing travelers to appear alive.
(https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/EvcWtlFKlX-gcAnIJbEteuD8YDA=/1500x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/O25EE6HFO2JAGFBGI5NMOEMCYI.jpg)
A man in a cemetery where a shipwreck victim was buried in Trinidad and Tobago. YURI CORTEZ / AFP
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Venezuelan drownings: 41 in a boat for eight
SEAN DOUGLAS (T&T NEWSDAY).
THIRTY ONE Venezuelans drowned off the coast of Guiria, Sucre after being crammed into a small boat designed for eight people, which capsized on December 6. The boat, My Memory, did not have proper safety equipment yet set out in rough seas with waves two to three metres high, amid bad weather including strong northwesterly tradewinds.
These were the findings of an investigation announced by Venezuelan Minister of Internal Relations (MRI), Admiral-in-Chief Carmen Meléndez, as reported in a Venezuelan economics magazine, Banca y Negocios (Banking and Business.) The online publication on Friday carried an article headlined – MRI determines causes of Güiria tragedy and rejects 'political manipulation' that affects relations with Trinidad.
The article revealed that on top of those who had drowned the boat had been carrying in total some 41 people. It lamented, "The causes of the maritime accident in which more than 30 Venezuelan migrants died en route to Trinidad and Tobago, were due to the overloading of the boat and that the passengers were sailing without the minimum security (safety) conditions, in the midst of strong waves."
The article said it provided the Venezuelan government's summary of the police and forensic investigations undertaken so as to explain a tragedy which had grieved not just the people of Guiria, but all Venezuela. It said the incident revealed in the extreme, the daily tragedy experienced by millions of Venezuelans, forced to leave the country by the economic and social crisis.
The article said the MRI head said the 41 travellers were going to "spend the Christmas holidays with their families and others were going to work in previously arranged positions." The story said the MRI did not state the travellers' conditions of immigration, in light of recent deportations.
"The main cause of the wreck was the overloading of the fiberglass rock-type vessel, which, having a capacity for eight people and a maximum weight of two tonnes, was carrying 41 people and weighing approximately four tonnes," Meléndez said.
"Additionally, they did not have life jackets or the necessary implements for navigation."
She said the trip was made in the middle of waves between two to three metres high.
"It is important to point out that the boat left an illegal place and at night, with the intention of evading the maritime controls established by the security agencies of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela," she added.
Meléndez said the Venezuelan government has since strengthened maritime controls so that this type of event does not repeat itself. Further, that government has promised comprehensive social assistance for local families, to support them in their pain over their irreparable loss in this regrettable accident. The Venezuelan government sympathised with the communities where the victims had lived, and pledged its solidarity to the people of Guiria.
The minister criticised an alleged political manipulation by extremist elements which, without considering the pain of the Venezuelan families which had lost loved ones, had used the image and memory of the deceased to affect the stability of the country and the relations between the governments of Venezuela and T&T.
T&T's prime minister Dr Rowley has accused Venezuelan and local opposition of politicising the drownings, saying his government did the best it could to help migrants legally through the 2019 registration exercise which allowed an estimated 16,000 to work. Dr Rowley also recently announced the legal migrants would have a six-month extension of the amnesty. He urged Venezuelans in their homeland to not risk their lives by trying to sail to Trinidad.
On Christmas Day, National Security Minister Stuart Young again warned that transporting migrants was illegal and qualified as human trafficking.
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This scenario plays out on any given day, on any location on the planet, on which people's expectations of how they should live coincide with any floating vessel and a body of water on the other side of a river bank or sea shore that gives them HOPE.
And there's the hope that 40 human beings getting into a vessel designed for fewer than 10 human beings won't sink.
When Trinidad and Tobago totally absorbs the no-brainer decisions that accompany not living with hope, maybe the statements made in public office will be tweaked ... especially by those with ambitions to become Prime Minister.
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This scenario plays out on any given day, on any location on the planet, on which people's expectations of how they should live coincide with any floating vessel and a body of water on the other side of a river bank or sea shore that gives them HOPE.
And there's the hope that 40 human beings getting into a vessel designed for fewer than 10 human beings won't sink.
When Trinidad and Tobago totally absorbs the no-brainer decisions that accompany not living with hope, maybe the statements made in public office will be tweaked ... especially by those with ambitions to become Prime Minister.
So are You blaming Rowley and Young ?
-
This scenario plays out on any given day, on any location on the planet, on which people's expectations of how they should live coincide with any floating vessel and a body of water on the other side of a river bank or sea shore that gives them HOPE.
And there's the hope that 40 human beings getting into a vessel designed for fewer than 10 human beings won't sink.
When Trinidad and Tobago totally absorbs the no-brainer decisions that accompany not living with hope, maybe the statements made in public office will be tweaked ... especially by those with ambitions to become Prime Minister.
So are You blaming Rowley and Young ?
Not "blaming", but I think the junior partner's stewardship of the matter will attach to the legacy of the senior partner. On the face of it, one of the partners has a longer political future than the other. As such, the legacy will survive its scars, but the stewardship has a longer shelf life for scrutiny. Unless the approach preferred is to treat with the matter as the Hungarians do.
-
This scenario plays out on any given day, on any location on the planet, on which people's expectations of how they should live coincide with any floating vessel and a body of water on the other side of a river bank or sea shore that gives them HOPE.
And there's the hope that 40 human beings getting into a vessel designed for fewer than 10 human beings won't sink.
When Trinidad and Tobago totally absorbs the no-brainer decisions that accompany not living with hope, maybe the statements made in public office will be tweaked ... especially by those with ambitions to become Prime Minister.
So are You blaming Rowley and Young ?
Not "blaming", but I think the junior partner's stewardship of the matter will attach to the legacy of the senior partner. On the face of it, one of the partners has a longer political future than the other. As such, the legacy will survive its scars, but the stewardship has a longer shelf life for scrutiny. Unless the approach preferred is to treat with the matter as the Hungarians do.
Well If Young has aspiration to remain in politics and as you suggesting has ambition to be PM, he should think about resolving the present situation. Not thinking that if I do this or that, it will hurt my political future. What I would like to see done is that they secure the southern western borders. I think we should help the Ven. but we definitely need to work on issue in TT, especially east of the dry to lady young road.
This is a powder keg that could explode again. I see local Trinis being ruthless. They complaining about all the Ven. coming in. But there is an entity who welcomes there prescence. Cheap labours. The locals who would hold out for a higher wages are in for a rude awaking. And then the opportunity to use vulnerable women for the sex business. There are Trinis who are knowingly breaking the laws to make money of the current situation. Taxi drivers rendez-vous in spots where illegals come and transport them to "safe" house. Not to forget the illegal guns and heavy drugs that are comin in with these activities.
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This scenario plays out on any given day, on any location on the planet, on which people's expectations of how they should live coincide with any floating vessel and a body of water on the other side of a river bank or sea shore that gives them HOPE.
And there's the hope that 40 human beings getting into a vessel designed for fewer than 10 human beings won't sink.
When Trinidad and Tobago totally absorbs the no-brainer decisions that accompany not living with hope, maybe the statements made in public office will be tweaked ... especially by those with ambitions to become Prime Minister.
So are You blaming Rowley and Young ?
Not "blaming", but I think the junior partner's stewardship of the matter will attach to the legacy of the senior partner. On the face of it, one of the partners has a longer political future than the other. As such, the legacy will survive its scars, but the stewardship has a longer shelf life for scrutiny. Unless the approach preferred is to treat with the matter as the Hungarians do.
Well If Young has aspiration to remain in politics and as you suggesting has ambition to be PM, he should think about resolving the present situation. Not thinking that if I do this or that, it will hurt my political future. What I would like to see done is that they secure the southern western borders. I think we should help the Ven. but we definitely need to work on issue in TT, especially east of the dry to lady young road.
This is a powder keg that could explode again. I see local Trinis being ruthless. They complaining about all the Ven. coming in. But there is an entity who welcomes there prescence. Cheap labours. The locals who would hold out for a higher wages are in for a rude awaking. And then the opportunity to use vulnerable women for the sex business. There are Trinis who are knowingly breaking the laws to make money of the current situation. Taxi drivers rendez-vous in spots where illegals come and transport them to "safe" house. Not to forget the illegal guns and heavy drugs that are comin in with these activities.
The real tragedy is that the international community has not taken a stronger stance aganice alleged I'll treatment by the Venezuela government against its citizens. This mass exodus of displaced and those fleeing from alleged horrid conditions is a human tragedy.
Unlike many Trinidad and Tobago residents who migrated to Venezuela to find jobs- or many island brethren who migrated to our shores for a better life.
One of the issues is our economy and infrastructure is not in place to handle the mass exodus arriving on our shores - especially during the COVID crisis.
Where is the UNrole in this? How can the UN mobilize NGO's to provide mobile camps, mobile health facilities and establish a refugeee facility to help process and stabilize the processing?
The government under these circumstances is not the be all and end all.
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This scenario plays out on any given day, on any location on the planet, on which people's expectations of how they should live coincide with any floating vessel and a body of water on the other side of a river bank or sea shore that gives them HOPE.
And there's the hope that 40 human beings getting into a vessel designed for fewer than 10 human beings won't sink.
When Trinidad and Tobago totally absorbs the no-brainer decisions that accompany not living with hope, maybe the statements made in public office will be tweaked ... especially by those with ambitions to become Prime Minister.
So are You blaming Rowley and Young ?
Not "blaming", but I think the junior partner's stewardship of the matter will attach to the legacy of the senior partner. On the face of it, one of the partners has a longer political future than the other. As such, the legacy will survive its scars, but the stewardship has a longer shelf life for scrutiny. Unless the approach preferred is to treat with the matter as the Hungarians do.
Well If Young has aspiration to remain in politics and as you suggesting has ambition to be PM, he should think about resolving the present situation. Not thinking that if I do this or that, it will hurt my political future. What I would like to see done is that they secure the southern western borders. I think we should help the Ven. but we definitely need to work on issue in TT, especially east of the dry to lady young road.
This is a powder keg that could explode again. I see local Trinis being ruthless. They complaining about all the Ven. coming in. But there is an entity who welcomes there prescence. Cheap labours. The locals who would hold out for a higher wages are in for a rude awaking. And then the opportunity to use vulnerable women for the sex business. There are Trinis who are knowingly breaking the laws to make money of the current situation. Taxi drivers rendez-vous in spots where illegals come and transport them to "safe" house. Not to forget the illegal guns and heavy drugs that are comin in with these activities.
The real tragedy is that the international community has not taken a stronger stance aganice alleged I'll treatment by the Venezuela government against its citizens. This mass exodus of displaced and those fleeing from alleged horrid conditions is a human tragedy.
Unlike many Trinidad and Tobago residents who migrated to Venezuela to find jobs- or many island brethren who migrated to our shores for a better life.
One of the issues is our economy and infrastructure is not in place to handle the mass exodus arriving on our shores - especially during the COVID crisis.
Where is the UNrole in this? How can the UN mobilize NGO's to provide mobile camps, mobile health facilities and establish a refugeee facility to help process and stabilize the processing?
The government under these circumstances is not the be all and end all.
I think the UN and the US are willing to assist or are assisting. But Rowley and Young do not want to be dictated by the conditions of getting relief money. They don't want that influx to be so huge that it become unmanageable, and when is time for them to return, they don't want to. TT right now is between a rock and a hard place.
-
This scenario plays out on any given day, on any location on the planet, on which people's expectations of how they should live coincide with any floating vessel and a body of water on the other side of a river bank or sea shore that gives them HOPE.
And there's the hope that 40 human beings getting into a vessel designed for fewer than 10 human beings won't sink.
When Trinidad and Tobago totally absorbs the no-brainer decisions that accompany not living with hope, maybe the statements made in public office will be tweaked ... especially by those with ambitions to become Prime Minister.
So are You blaming Rowley and Young ?
Not "blaming", but I think the junior partner's stewardship of the matter will attach to the legacy of the senior partner. On the face of it, one of the partners has a longer political future than the other. As such, the legacy will survive its scars, but the stewardship has a longer shelf life for scrutiny. Unless the approach preferred is to treat with the matter as the Hungarians do.
Well If Young has aspiration to remain in politics and as you suggesting has ambition to be PM, he should think about resolving the present situation. Not thinking that if I do this or that, it will hurt my political future. What I would like to see done is that they secure the southern western borders. I think we should help the Ven. but we definitely need to work on issue in TT, especially east of the dry to lady young road.
This is a powder keg that could explode again. I see local Trinis being ruthless. They complaining about all the Ven. coming in. But there is an entity who welcomes there prescence. Cheap labours. The locals who would hold out for a higher wages are in for a rude awaking. And then the opportunity to use vulnerable women for the sex business. There are Trinis who are knowingly breaking the laws to make money of the current situation. Taxi drivers rendez-vous in spots where illegals come and transport them to "safe" house. Not to forget the illegal guns and heavy drugs that are comin in with these activities.
The real tragedy is that the international community has not taken a stronger stance aganice alleged I'll treatment by the Venezuela government against its citizens. This mass exodus of displaced and those fleeing from alleged horrid conditions is a human tragedy.
Unlike many Trinidad and Tobago residents who migrated to Venezuela to find jobs- or many island brethren who migrated to our shores for a better life.
One of the issues is our economy and infrastructure is not in place to handle the mass exodus arriving on our shores - especially during the COVID crisis.
Where is the UNrole in this? How can the UN mobilize NGO's to provide mobile camps, mobile health facilities and establish a refugeee facility to help process and stabilize the processing?
The government under these circumstances is not the be all and end all.
I think the UN and the US are willing to assist or are assisting. But Rowley and Young do not want to be dictated by the conditions of getting relief money. They don't want that influx to be so huge that it become unmanageable, and when is time for them to return, they don't want to. TT right now is between a rock and a hard place.
It is erroneous to make assertions without facts - to identify two individuals as barriers or hindering in this crisis is wanton scapegoating . What is occurring at such a volume and in masses is beyond our country's capacity to cope -
This issue is an international issues and it begs the question where is the UN in enacting their mission insituations like this.
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PM sides with Guyana in Venezuela dispute
By Gail Alexander (T&T Guardian).
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has returned to work and has immediately addressed regional issues, including defending Guyana against Venezuela on a land issue, as chairman of Caricom.
Yesterday was his first day of duties following cardiac problems and angioplasty over the weekend.
Caricom under his chairmanship took issue with Venezuela’s position against Guyana on a maritime border issue.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist administration has set alarm bells ringing by rejecting a recent jurisdictional ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning his country’s territorial claims over oil-rich neighbour Guyana.
Maduro issued a new decree last week claiming sovereignty over areas claimed by Guyana, while Venezuela’s national assembly established a special committee for the defence of disputed territory.
The claim covers more than half of Guyana’s land mass and much of Guyana’s Atlantic maritime territory, including most of the prolific ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek block, where a raft of huge oil discoveries have been unearthed in recent years.
Guyana’s modern argument for ICJ jurisdiction was based on the 1966 Geneva Agreement — signed by the UK, Venezuela and colonial British Guiana — which stipulates that the parties will agree to find a practical, peaceful and satisfactory solution to the dispute.
Guyana has argued, successfully, that the Geneva Agreement also establishes jurisdiction for an ICJ ruling, and diplomats now expect that ruling to come within a timeframe of two to four years.
Anxious to stave off unrest in a country where living standards have plummeted, Maduro has seized on the jurisdictional ruling in an attempt to galvanise popular support.
“It is ours! It belongs to the Venezuelans and we are going to retake it in peace and with national unity,” Maduro said of the Essequibo territories.
Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali called Maduro’s actions and words “deeply disturbing” and argued that any attempt to “unilaterally” fix boundaries between the two countries would be a legal nullity in the eyes of international law.
The Caricom statement said the community was deeply disappointed and concerned “at the decree and subsequent statements by Venezuela with respect to that country’s border controversy with Guyana, including intimations of the creation of a strategic area of national development called ‘Territory for the Development of the Atlantic Façade’”.
It said Caricom was “in full support of the judicial process underway at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which is intended to bring a peaceful and definitive end to the long-standing controversy between the two countries.
“CARICOM reiterates in the strongest possible terms, its firm and unswerving support for the maintenance and preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana. CARICOM firmly repudiates any acts of aggression by Venezuela against Guyana.”
Browne said it was a “strong, very timely statement of solidarity which is fully consistent with the established Caricom position on how the border dispute should be properly treated and resolved at the ICJ.”
“As chair of this special emergency meeting, the Prime Minister led the drafting and finalisation of the statement as one of his first official functions as current Caricom chairman,” Browne added.
Canada has also expressed concern over Venezuela’s claim.
In a statement, Ottawa said “Venezuela’s recent claim that it has sovereignty over the area adjacent to Guyana’s Essequibo coast is concerning. The decision is in the hands of the International Court of Justice and this judicial process must be respected.”
The United States on Sunday also weighed in on the matter. It declared support for the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling that it has jurisdiction to hear Guyana’s case for a juridical settlement of the long-running border controversy with Venezuela.
Dealing with Venezuela is among several issues that remain on Caricom’s agenda.
Trinidad and Tobago did not vote at a recent meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) which condemned the recent Venezuelan elections.
Recently Jamaica’s Opposition took its government to task for participating in the OAS vote. That Opposition called on Prime Minister Andrew Holness to explain the breaking of respected traditions at the OAS Council.
It was deemed a reversal of Jamaica’s longstanding foreign policy commitments which broke Jamaica’s image regionally and internationally.
Jamaica’s Opposition stated handling of the circumstances between T&T and Venezuela was disturbing and Jamaica, which chaired the OAS Council, could have handled the situation more responsibly.
Their Opposition said Jamaica and two other states, “irresponsibly and in an unprecedented” way allowed Venezuelan Opposition supporters to attack T&T’s Government and other Caricom states.
Jamaica’s Opposition said their Government had forfeited Jamaica’s role as a fair honest broker and seemed intent on isolating regional sister nations which sought alternatives to US President Donald Trump’s agenda and Venezuela’s crisis.
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Venezuelan police officer builds better life for family in Trinidad
KALIFA SARAH CLYNE (T&T NEWSDAY).
When Venezuelan migrant Darilis Martinez, 27, left her country she was working as a police officer in Tucupita. She had also recently completed a university degree in systems engineering at la Universidad Nacional Experimental de las Fuerzas Armadas in Tucupita.
In 2019, she paid a boat captain US$300 to transport her and her then six-year-old daughter to Trinidad, a desperate attempt to search for a life that seemed better than the hunger, unemployment and illness that surrounded her in Tucupita.
The decision was not an easy one to make. She was a police officer. She knew she was breaking the law.
She also knew the monthly food quota she was allowed was not enough for her aged parents as well as her husband, daughter and herself. Her father had cardiac issues and could not work and though healthy, she couldn't work either. There were no jobs.
In her village, people talked about escaping to Trinidad. Some, who had already left, sent food and money back to relatives. In Martinez' mind, Venezuela presented an impossible situation and Trinidad showed possibility.
She discussed it with her husband and they decided that they would move to Trinidad in order to make a better life and better care for their elderly relatives.
The trip to Trinidad from Venezuela takes approximately three hours by boat but avoiding detection by authorities adds hours to the trip and Martinez left Venezuela at 2 pm and arrived in Trinidad at 4 am. She was nervous, after hearing stories about the rough waters and people becoming ill. For Martinez, the trip was calm as she clung to her daughter with one hand and a small bag, containing two pairs of shoes and a shirt for each of them, with the other.
She does not know where she landed in Trinidad, but the majority of Venezuelans who enter Trinidad and Tobago illegally, do so through Cedros and other parts of the southwestern peninsula, jumping from boats and running toward empty shorelines while captains make a hasty retreat.
Her husband, Xavier Garcia, made the trip 20 days later.
When the Government announced that they would register Venezuelans and allow them to stay in the country for a period of time, Martinez and her family went on the first day at 3 am, they spent the night in Port of Spain, eating food given to them by local volunteers, and finished the process at 5 pm the next day.
A few days after entering Trinidad, Martinez took her daughter with her to a construction site in Cunupia, where a friend told her she could find work. While her daughter played on her mobile phone, Martinez moved cement blocks around a construction yard.
"I couldn't do it anymore after three days. At the end of the third day my boss said see you tomorrow and I said no. It was just too painful," Martinez said.
Her boss was kind and referred her to a friend who needed painters. There, she got paid $160 per day and her new job provided lunch.
After that job ended, she got a job cleaning a boat in Port of Spain before getting another job cleaning a bar in Arima. She would go to work at the bar at 8 pm and leave at 4 am, then she would wake up to go to work at 8 am, selling laundry detergent in a carpark near a supermarket.
Soon she started cleaning houses on weekends so they could have enough money to pay rent and still send food for their relatives in Venezuela.
Her husband got a job at a food truck, working with a friend he knew from Venezuela.
Martinez worked job after job until she, her husband and his friend Eduardo Rivas decided to open their own business. They decided on a food truck near where they lived in Arima.
They saved for months until they could pay someone to construct the food truck. When it was finished, they called it Davier's Grill, after her son who was born in Trinidad six months ago.
When they opened on November 30, it represented a new beginning for them.
About a week later, two men, one with a gun, the other with a knife robbed them an undisclosed sum of cash.
While the ordeal was scary for them, Martinez said they are still committed to running the business.
"I have to help my parents in Venezuela. I work and I send money and food for them. I am their only child and they depend on me completely," Martinez said.
Once per week, a friend in Venezuela goes to her parents house so they can video chat. Martinez said while she is happy for the opportunities in Trinidad, she thinks about the day she can be with her parents again.
"I am happy in Trinidad but I miss my family."
(https://newsday.co.tt/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/12893659-1024x768.jpg)
Darilis Martinez stands in front of the food truck Davier's Grill in Arima. Photo by Kalifa Sarah Clyne
(https://newsday.co.tt/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/12893645-1024x576.jpg)
Darilis Martinez and her son Davier. The food truck Davier's Grill is named after her son who was born six months ago. Photo by Kalifa Sarah Clyne
(https://newsday.co.tt/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/12893646-1024x768.jpg)
Eduardo Rivas, who runs Davier's Grill with his friends Darilis Martinez and Xavier Garcia, prepares a hot dog for a customer. -
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Yuh just knew that article would include an attack on their business.
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In 2019, she paid a boat captain US$300 to transport her and her then six-year-old daughter to Trinidad, a desperate attempt to search for a life that seemed better than the hunger, unemployment and illness that surrounded her in Tucupita.
Bargain pricing.
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Venezuelans stranded: Govt denies sanctioned repatriation aircraft
By Akash Samaroo (T&T Guardian).
Scores of Venezuelan nationals were stranded at the Piarco International Airport last night after a repatriation flight that was due to arrive in T&T from Venezuela was blocked from coming.
The aircraft belonged to Conviasa, a Venezuelan State airline that has been sanctioned by the United States.
The 97 Venezuelan nationals were forced to sleep at the airport as a result.
“What is the problem? Ninety-seven people are here, people with cancer, elderly people, children. They sold all their things and now people have nowhere to go,” said one of the few English-speaking members of the group at the airport.
The group said that for months they had been liaising with this country’s National Security Ministry to return home.
“(Minister of National Security) Stuart (Young) say yes, everything is in order. Why use today, the day the flight was supposed to go to Venezuela to say we can’t go?” another English-speaking Venezuelan national shouted.
A statement by the Ministry of National Security said that the Government of Venezuela had made the request for the repatriation flight and that preliminary approval was granted by the National Security Ministry as the flight was seen as a humanitarian effort.
The statement said when the details were provided by the Venezuelan Government it was discovered that the airline, Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos (Conviasa), was under a US sanction.
“Unfortunately in those circumstances, the Ministry of National Security could not grant approval for the aircraft to come to Trinidad and Tobago,” the release said.
The ministry said the request from Venezuela came in the “past week.”
However, the Venezuelan nationals claim the ministry knew that it was a Conviasa flight all along.
“The Government always said it was a Conviasa flight. All flights to Venezuela is Conviasa.”
The National Security Ministry said it has reached out to the US Embassy in Port-of-Spain “to seek guidance”.
The ministry said it will work with the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs “with respect to the possibility of a future repatriation exercise by the Venezuelan Government”.
One Venezuelan national has claimed that many in the group gave up their apartments and jobs in anticipation of returning home and that some even sold their mobile phones to pay for their PCR COVID-19 tests.
“I am now in the street. I am pregnant with two kids I gave up my job and now I don’t know what to do, what is being put in place for us?”
US sanction against Conviasa
On February 7, 2020, the US Department of Treasury issued the following statement regarding the sanction against Venezuela’s State airline.
“The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today identified the Venezuelan state-owned airline Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronauticas y Servicios Aereos, S.A. (Conviasa) as subject to sanctions as part of the Government of Venezuela, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13884.
Today’s action also identifies the Conviasa fleet of aircraft as blocked property of the Government of Venezuela pursuant to E.O. 13884. Conviasa and its fleet have been blocked since the issuance of E.O. 13884 of August 5, 2019, and today they have been added to the OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals List to ensure strengthened compliance with US sanctions.
“The illegitimate Maduro regime relies on the Venezuelan state-owned airline Conviasa to shuttle corrupt regime officials around the world to fuel support for its anti-democratic efforts,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.
“The Trump Administration will not allow Maduro and his proxies to continue stealing from the Venezuelan people and abusing state-owned assets to advance their own corrupt and destabilising activities.”
Conviasa operates as a commercial airline based in Caracas, Venezuela, flying both domestic routes as well as providing service to select international locations.
This action does not prevent the ability of the Venezuelan people to travel, as they can continue to travel on various other carriers not subject to OFAC sanctions. Rather, this action is intended to curtail the Maduro regime’s misuse of the airline.
For instance, the Maduro regime has commandeered Conviasa’s aircraft to promote its own political agenda, including shuttling regime officials to countries such as North Korea, Cuba, and Iran.”
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US Embassy: We're willing to assist humanitarian effort to get Venezuelans home
SEAN DOUGLAS (T&T NEWSDAY).
After a request from the National Security Ministry for guidance on how to proceed after dozens of Venezuelans waiting for a flight home were stranded at Piarco Airport, the United States Embassy has said it is willing to assist in the repatriation.
The flight was refused permission to land on Thursday because the plane had sanctioned by the US.
In a statement, the ministry said, “Within the past week the Venezuelan Government made a request of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to facilitate their provision of a repatriation flight from Trinidad to Venezuela. This request was made via the normal diplomatic channels to the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs.”
The Ministry of National Security granted preliminary approval for this repatriation as a humanitarian effort by the Government of Venezuela. “All arrangements were made by Venezuela.”
But when details were provided of the aircraft that the Venezuelan Government was proposing to use to repatriate about 100 Venezuelans, it was discovered that the aircraft was amongst those sanctioned by the US. So, the ministry said, “Unfortunately in those circumstances, the Ministry of National Security could not grant approval for the aircraft to come to T&T.
It said it had contacted the US Embassy in Port of Spain for guidance "and will work with the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs, with respect to the possibility of a future repatriation exercise by the Venezuelan Government.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Amery Browne took time out from attending the Caricom leaders’ intersessional meeting to reply by text message to Newsday’s queries, ahead of the Ministry of National Security statement.
Browne wrote, “The flight was deemed not to be possible as planned by the Venezuelan authorities, as the aircraft they were seeking to use is one that is on a sanctioned list.”
Asked for details of the Venezuelans' welfare as they awaited an approved plane, Browne replied, “The Embassy of Venezuela in Port of Spain is fully informed and engaged in resolving the situation and addressing the immediate needs of their citizens.
“It is anticipated that suitable arrangements would be put in place in the near future to transport the prospective passengers via an aircraft that is not sanctioned.”
Newsday could not contact Minister of National Security Stuart Young, but he forwarded his ministry’s statement.
The US Embassy in a texted response to questions sent by Newsday, said it was aware of the ministry's request concerning the use of a sanctioned aircraft for a repatriation flight.
It said, "US sanctions targeting (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro, his allies, and those who support them are designed to permit the continued provision of assistance to the Venezuelan people. The US maintains broad exemptions and authorisations that allow for the provision of humanitarian assistance, including related to repatriation.
"US Embassy, Port of Spain, will work closely with the ministry to provide any necessary information to facilitate the safe and lawful repatriation of Venezuelans."
Renewed calls for Young to go over Venezuelan plane faux pas
YVONNE WEBB (T&T NEWSDAY).
Barataria/ San Juan MP Saddam Hosein has said the incompetence of National Security Minister Stuart Young, in having a US-sanctioned plane involved in repatriating Venezuelans, is a national embarrassment and he must go.
On the United National Congress (UNC) Pavement Report on Thursday night, Hosein asked how Young could have missed that sensitive and important detail in what he called Young’s arrangements to have approximately 100 Venezuelans repatriated earlier in the day.
He read from a National Security release which said the Venezuelan Government had asked the Trinidad and Tobago Government to facilitate its repatriation flight from Trinidad to Venezuela some time before.
In the release Young said the request was made via the normal diplomatic channels to the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs and his ministry granted preliminary approval, as it was seen as a humanitarian effort by the Venezuelan Government.
All the arrangements were made by Venezuela but the National Security Ministry said when the details of the proposed flight were provided, it was discovered that the airline was amongst those sanctioned by the US.
The aircraft was therefore denied permission to land at Piarco. The TT Government has since contacted the US Embassy in Port of Spain for guidance.
“Is the blind leading the blind?” Hosein asked. “How embarrassing! The incompetence is glaring. Stuart Young, you must go.”
The UNC recently moved a no-confidence motion against Young in Parliament, which failed.
Hosein also predicted “a collapse and crisis at the Immigration Department at the airport, all because of one man called Stuart Young.”
He referred to nine immigration officers at the Piarco Airport testing positive for covid19, which has resulted in shifts being reduced from five to two.
He again cast blame on Young for the shortage of proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for these officers.
He referred to an internal memo which said the airport authority was yet to supply a schedule for cleaning for the regular supply of PPE. It said the sanitising was done and misting machines used approximately 30 minutes after the change of the 6 am and 2 pm shifts, and as of February 24, there were no surgical masks.
“There were 25 gowns in the last three months, three packs of surgical masks and no protective screens – for 90 members of staff.
“They have to go to private entities to solicit sanitisers, and only oversized gloves were provided for them.
“Imagine, they (the Government)withdrew $6.3 billion from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) and not one surgical mask for the Immigration.
“This man has put the lives of immigration officers at risk,” Hosein said.
(https://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.3042160.138911.20210226032452.a3c742a67a?size=1024)
Venezuelan nationals wait at the check-in area at the Piarco International Airport after the repatriation flight was stopped yesterday.
(https://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.3042352.138911.20210226032452.b872a85730?size=1024)
Some of the Venezuelan nationals and members of the media at the Piarco International Airport.
(https://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.3042104.138911.20210226032452.301fb4e3f7?size=1024)
Venezuelan nationals who were to return home yesterday, listen to information about their flight which was cancelled.
ALL PHOTOS - BY ABRAHAM DIAZ
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Foreseeable problem.
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Venezuelans repatriated on second attempt as aircraft allowed to land in Trinidad
GREVIC ALVARADO (T&T NEWSDAY).
Finally 96 Venezuelans who were refugees in T&T, returned to their country on Friday on a repatriation flight.
At 7.30 pm yesterday, the plane of the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa took off from the Piarco International Airport after getting permission to land in Trinidad.
Ultimately, 82 adults and 14 children returned to Venezuela, the vast majority selected by officials from the Venezuelan Embassy in T&T according to their degree of vulnerability.
The repatriation flight was organised by the Venezuelan government and should have left on Thursday afternoon to fly to Caracas, but the T&T government denied the Conviasa plane permission to land.
A release from the Ministry of National Security on Thursday confirmed that permission for the Venezuelan aircraft to land in T&T had been denied as the airline had been sanctioned by the United States.
The release said, "The Ministry of National Security has reached out to the US Embassy in Port of Spain to seek guidance and will work with the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs, with respect to the possibility of a future repatriation exercise by the Venezuelan Government."
United States Embassy, in its own release later Thursday, said it was willing to assist in the repatriation.
"US Embassy, Port of Spain, will work closely with the ministry to provide any necessary information to facilitate the safe and lawful repatriation of Venezuelans."
On Friday morning, the Venezuelan Embassy confirmed that the flight had received the relevant authorisation from T&T authorities.
Officials from the embassy, in turn, called each of the approved passengers to inform them of the development.
Some of the passengers had already returned to the airport with their family and friends to awaiting news of the rescheduling of the trip.
Twenty others, including a pregnant woman and three children registered for the trip, had slept at the airport on Thursday night hoping the flight would be rescheduled.
The group was given empanadas for dinner by staff from the Venezuelan Embassy.
"We slept in the chairs in the counters area and the airport security guards were attentive to us," said Carlos Benitez, one of the travellers.
At around 3 pm on Friday, workers from the Swissport company – hired by the Venezuelan authorities to receive luggage and board passengers – began checking the 96 people registered for the flight.
An hour later, the Conviasa plane from Venezuela landed in Piarco.
Eduardo Ávila and his wife Celia de Ávila, two elderly Venezuelans who were here with their children and grandchildren, told Newsday that they still had a long way to go after arriving in Caracas, but that they were happy.
Celia said, "We are calm. We already saw the plane land and, although we know it will be several hours to get to our house, we already know that we are going back."
Officials from the Venezuelan embassy here said the cost of the flight was being covered by its government and therefore free to passengers. Airport departure taxes were also waived. Passengers were, however, required to pay for a covid19 PCR test before qualifying for the flight.
"This is the first repatriation flight from T&T, a door opens for future air or sea travel. We hope to continue counting on the support of the authorities because there are still many Venezuelans who want to return home."
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PM urges US to lift sanctions on Venezuela
CLINT CHAN TACK (T&T NEWSDAY).
THE Prime Minister on Friday appealed to United States President Joe Biden's administration to use its influence to help achieve a negotiated solution to the crisis in Venezuela and lift sanctions imposed on that country by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Dr Rowley, who is also Caricom chairman, made this appeal to the US during a virtual interview with the Atlantic Council.
The council is a US-based, non-partisan organisation founded in 1961 to provide a forum for international political, business and intellectual leaders.
Rowley said he would like to see an "early review of the US' scorched earth policy in this area, since the United Nations assessment confirmed what we always knew and that is, the ineffective harsh policies, unilateral sanctions, are contributing immensely to widespread, additional indiscriminate human suffering in this Caribbean nation."
Venezuela, he continued, needs help "which is not beyond the US leadership." Rowley recalled that since 2019, Mexico, Norway and Caricom have been advocating dialogue between opposing political factions in Venezuela to solve "seemingly intractable political problem".
He said, "I will ask the (Biden) administration not to be over-influenced by the dogmas of the recent past and the hawks of the recent flyings but to look at this with a clean table top." The US, he said, "once again has the stature and the influence, to bring the Venezuelan parties to a table, with the support of Caricom and other nations, read the riot act to everybody and agree, as they all agreed, that Venezuelans must solve Venezuela's problems, not only in the interest of Venezuela but the interest of all of us who are co-dependents."
He added, "We are convinced that it is possible that some solutions can be had, so that sanctions can be removed."
Rowley described Venezuela's relationship with Caricom and the US as "so fundamental to our comfort and prosperity."
Recalling steps taken by TT to sign the Dragon gas deal with Venezuela in 2018, Rowley said his government was able "to get Venezuela to agree to do something that not been done before, which is to export its gas.
"Everything was in place to have TT tap, for the international market and for its own development, gas supplies close to our border. But the sanctions on Venezuela have brought a halt to all of this."
He also said Caricom was very disappointed with the recent announcement of "the unconvincing designation of Cuba as a terrorist sponsoring state.
"We believe that this is one place that climate change would be welcome. We could all benefit from a significant thaw in the relationship between Cuba and the US."
Rowley said "continued close collaboration and partnership on regional and international issues" was the best way to advance US-Caricom relations for everyone's benefit
In a statement issued earlier in the day, Caricom said it was seeking close collaboration with the US on issues such as combating illegal firearms in the region; blacklisting and correspondent banking; energy and trade.
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Repatriated Venezuelans lose all T&T rights
RYAN HAMILTON-DAVIS (T&T NEWSDAY).
ANY Venezuelan who is repatriated, even if they were registered with Government, will have to apply for a visa and get exemptions and permissions if they wish to return to this country, National Security Minister Stuart Young said on Tuesday.
Young at a press conference reminded reporters that after Venezuelans were registered in June 2018, government approved a policy that would require any Venezuelan entering T&T to have a VISA. “That is the applicable law,” he said.
He also highlighted the decision on March 22 last year, to close T&T’s borders due to the pandemic. “I put that contextual background to let it be known at the outset that this re-registration exercise is not an opportunity for any people who illegally entered into T&T or people who don’t have visas to be here in T&T, to come forth and register now,” Young said. The re-registration process would allow Venezuelan migrants to work and live in T&T legally for another six months.
Asked whether there was any thought toward extending the time in which they were allowed to stay in the country legally or making these registered Venezuelans permanent, Young said only in special circumstances would the registration process lead to a permanent status.
“There may be independent circumstances, where some Venezuelans go on to get married and put in an application for permanent residency but that too is a process.
And it’s not just cause you applied you are given the permanent residency.
“Anyone who came in under this registration scheme, the time won’t allow you to fall into any categories which would trigger that (permanent residence).
“At this time this is the government’s policy we are doing it (registering Venezuelans) in a six month cycle. Maybe later we will take a different position but at this stage we continue to maintain a six month cycle. It is what we are going with.”
Young said several Venezuelans have opted to leave the country. Last Friday, 96 Venezuelans – 82 adults and 14 children – left for their homeland on a flight organised by the Venezuelan government. Some other Venezuelans had their cards cancelled, either because they committed a crime and would have to be deported or because they requested to return home.
While he could not give an exact figure of how many people were either repatriated or deported, he said the number was in the hundreds.
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Venezuelan refugee living in T&T among athletes on Tokyo 2020 Refugee Olympic Team. (https://www.cnc3.co.tt/venezuelan-refugee-living-in-tt-among-athletes-on-tokyo-2020-refugee-olympic-team/)
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124 Venezuelans deported on Sunday
GREVIC ALVARADO (T&T NEWSDAY).
THE Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuelan authorities deported 124 Venezuelans to their country on Sunday.
Vice Admiral Euclides Brito, commander of the 61 Integral Defence Zone in Delta Amacuro, Venezuela (Zodi), announced this on Monday through a Venezuelan radio station.
Brito was speaking with the governor of Delta Amacuro Liseta Hernández when he said the group of 124 Venezuelans is travelling on a Venezuelan navy ship.
"We are waiting for our compatriots who come back to Venezuela through the Plan Vuelta a la Patria (Return to the Homeland Plan). We await them with open arms," he said.
The Twitter account of the Guiria Military Hospital said doctors travelled from there in the AB Margarita71 boat to deal with the deportees, whom they tested for covid19. They will all be sent into home quarantine when they arrive in Venezuela.
Of the 124 deportees, 44 were detained at the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC), Aripo, while another group was at the Heliport in Chaguaramas. They were joined by humanitarian cases.
This is the first of two trips that will take Venezuelans home this week from TT. The next voyage will be a repatriation trip this weekend.
Officials from the Venezuelan embassy in Port of Spain told Newsday last week they were completing the details of the repatriation of 700 Venezuelans on a ferry.
These 700 decided to go home voluntarily after being unemployed here owing to restrictions against covid19, or because of illness.
Although the date and time are not confirmed, several of the travellers selected by the embassy told Newsday the trip will be this Saturday, July 17. A ferry is scheduled to leave Port of Spain and arrive at a port in the state of Anzoátegui, Venezuela.
These two shipments of Venezuelan nationals this week will add more than 1,000 people who have returned to their country in 2021.
Two of the trips have been deportations, taking home 172 people in April and 124 this Sunday.
In February, 95 Venezuelans left on a Piarco-Caracas flight.