Venezuelan Migrants Die in Shipwreck Trying to Reach Trinidad and Tobago

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Coast Guard officials found at least 19 drowned Venezuelan migrants, including two children, who were trying to flee Venezuela in a boat bound for Trinidad and Tobago in search of a better future.

“Coast Guard found 19 adults and children drowned, 6.3 nautical miles off the coast of Güiria. Another fatal shipwreck of a boat that went missing three days ago. They died in search of freedom and a better future for their families, fleeing from Venezuela unsafely,” wrote human rights defender and attorney Rocío San Miguel on Twitter.

Father Jesús Villarroel, parish priest of the city of Carúpano, in the state of Sucre, (east of Venezuela) reported that so far they have found 19 bodies in the high seas, according to El Pitazo online newspaper. The priest lamented the incident and supported the relatives in their grief.

The bodies were found floating in the sea 6.3 nautical miles off the coast of Güiria, in the state of Sucre, from where they departed for the island. The number of crew members on the boat is still unknown.

They were traveling to Trinidad and Tobago

David Smolansky, commissioner of the Organization of American States (OAS) for the crisis of Venezuelan migrants and refugees, said that relatives of these people reported that they left on Sunday, December 6th, in a small fishing boat from Guiria to Trinidad and Tobago.

The small boat returned to the island and was shipwrecked. Bodies have been found floating in the sea, very close to the Venezuelan coast,” the politician wrote on social media. He added that among the dead are women and children. “They fled the regime and Trinidad is violating the principle of non-refoulement. They have sent pictures to our office. I will not share them out of respect for the family. Pure cruelty”, added the commissioner.

The incident occurs three weeks after a group of Venezuelan migrants, including 16 children, were deported from Trinidad and Tobago, remained at sea for 48 hours, and then returned under a court order. At the time, authorities on the Caribbean island reiterated that the borders were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic and that any illegal immigrants would be undesirable.

On December 9th, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ordered precautionary measures for six Venezuelan children involved in the case.

The Nicolás Maduro regime has not directly commented on the facts.

On November 26th, the dictatorship’s Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, said that they would call Trinidad for “a much needed meeting” to review issues that included human mobility. He said they would also discuss security, the fight against crime and drug trafficking.