Senior Reporter
annalisa.paul
@guardian.co.tt
The 27 foreign nationals who were detained by Coast Guard officials as they crossed the seas from Venezuela to Trinidad on Wednesday, were sent back on the same day.
Meanwhile, three Venezuelan men including the boat captain were arrested and charged by the Guardia Nacional for human trafficking.
The Venezuelan authorities were informed of the attempted illegal entry into Trinidad and acted after the immigrants arrived back in Venezuela.
The group was detained by the T&T Coast Guard (TTCG) on January 31, following a chase on the open seas.
The unregistered vessel was initially observed around 9.43 am, southeast of Islote Point, which is off the south coast of Trinidad—as they crossed the Trinidad/Venezuela International Maritime Border.
Allegedly engaging in evasive manoeuvres to escape the TTCG, the boat which contained 16 adult males; eight adult females; and three male minors—was pursued and eventually detained.
The boat along with its occupants were taken to the TTCG’s Headquarters at Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas—where the Immigration Division and the T&T Police Service (TTPS) were informed.
News of the group’s return was not initially known yesterday and it was only confirmed after a Venezuelan woman residing in south Trinidad made contact with the relatives of a woman who had been aboard the vessel and they confirmed her safe return.
The local transplant said it was nerve-wracking for people here in Trinidad, to keep wondering what had happened to the group as no further information had been released by the authorities.
A relative of a second person on board the boat, yesterday went to the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC), Aripo, hoping to get some news on his loved ones after being told they were not being detained at the Heliport, Chaguaramas.
He later learnt of the group’s return to Venezuela via information from the local woman.