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Venezuelan child shot dead by Trinidad and Tobago coast guard

Trinidad Coast Guard

The reports of Venezuelan migration are more heartbreaking every day. The numbers of the diaspora increase as the population tries to have a better quality of life in other countries. Previously, stories of fleeing in rafts, swimming across rivers or crossing deserts and jungles were absent in Venezuela. Now, it is common to hear about these dangerous crossings, which increase the number of tragedies.

On February 5, a boat from Venezuela, attempting to illegally enter Trinidad and Tobago, was intercepted by the island’s Coast Guard. When they did not stop, the officers allegedly felt threatened and opened fire. When they reached the boat, a young mother was bleeding while holding the body of her one-year-old son in her arms.

Both the child and the mother were shot. On the island, the father was waiting for them after weeks separated by the sea. The attempt to have a better life was cut short.

The mother remained in the hospital until February 18, recovering from wounds to her chest and collarbone. The day she was discharged, the police arrested her outside the hospital, while elsewhere on the island, the father buried his son. Videos of the transfer reveal how the mother could not stand the stress and collapsed in the street, according to witnesses, due to her physical and mental wounds.

Efforts to avoid deportation

It is assumed that the detention is related to deportation. The rest of the passengers were returned to Venezuela after the incident. The authorities announced that all persons on the boat would be processed following immigration protocols.

According to local media reports, the affected family is requesting permits to prevent deportation. The family’s lawyer, Blaine Sobrien, indicated that these people are at risk in Venezuela, “there are relatives of the baby in Trinidad and Tobago that cannot return to Venezuela as some of them were members of the armed forces and if they return, they can face jail time or be killed”.

They hope that the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago, through the United Nations Refugee Agency, will facilitate permits for them to remain in the country, where other family members already live, so they expect to obtain assistance for family reunification.

Authorities in Trinidad and Tobago

The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Keith Rowley, and the country’s Coast Guard issued a statement to express their condolences and give the Coast Guard’s version of events. They noted that the Coast Guard initiated a protocol, using all “available methods”.

Members of the political opposition in Trinidad and Tobago qualified the act as murder

According to them, the Venezuelan pirogue rammed the patrol boat, “this caused the crew to fear for their lives and, in self-defense, they fired at the engines of the suspect vessel in an attempt to bring it to a stop”. For their part, members of the political opposition in Trinidad and Tobago qualified the act as murder.

The position of international organizations

The story has shaken the international community. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have deplored the tragedy.

In a joint statement, the organizations highlighted that these events reveal the dangers faced by migrants. “Nobody should have to lose their life in their search for safety, protection and new opportunities”, said Eduardo Stein, Joint Special Representative of UNHCR and IOM.

No mother wants to put the lives of her children at risk on a small ship in the deep sea, unless she has no other option

Unicef Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jean Gough, remarked that “no migrant child should ever die, whether traveling with their parents or alone. No mother wants to put the lives of her children at risk on a small ship in the deep sea, unless she has no other option”.

The representatives of these organizations urged the launch of investigations into the incident, furthermore they pointed out that measures must be taken to guarantee the right to life, “to prevent these tragedies from happening again, safer pathways for refugees and migrants are needed”, added Stein.

The tragedy is not the first to occur on the open sea between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. In 2020 more than 20 people died when a boat attempting to enter the island was shipwrecked. Every day an increasing number of Venezuelans are crossing dangerous routes to flee the serious political, social and economic situation that has been affecting Venezuela for years.

Image credit: Mark Morgan