Senior Reporter
rhondor.dowlat@guardian.co.tt
The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) has launched an official investigation into claims reported to them by Venezuelan and social activist Yesenia Gonzalez, that she was assaulted and her home raided overnight on Thursday.
Guardian Media was told that four policemen allegedly went to her home in East Trinidad and announced that they were there to search her house.
It is alleged that when she asked for a warrant to be produced, a sheet of paper was waved in the air by one of the officers. The men, who claimed they were police officers, then allegedly broke the lock to the gate and entered her home, where they allegedly physically assaulted her and threatened to shoot her after she was accused of hiding girls who were being trafficked for prostitution.
Gonzalez, who is known to be outspoken against cruel treatment towards Venezuelan migrants in T&T, and who is known for rescuing young Venezuelan women from human traffickers, was said to be highly traumatised after the incident.
Guardian Media was told by PCA head David West yesterday that Gonzalez made a report to them earlier.
He also confirmed that the PCA will be investigating her claims.
Efforts to reach Gonzalez for comment were unsuccessful, as all calls to her phone went unanswered and messages were not responded to. However, sources close to Gonzalez told the Guardian Media that she preferred to go straight to the PCA instead of the T&T Police Service because she does not trust officers in the TTPS.
When contacted on the issue yesterday, Snr Supt Mervyn Edwards, head of the North Eastern Division, said he did not have any information with respect to a raid at Gonzalez’s residence.