The Government of Venezuela on Monday urged the authorities of Trinidad and Tobago to carry out an “exhaustive investigation” to clarify the death of a child who migrated to that island country with his mother and that he died after allegedly being shot at the boat in which he was traveling by the Coast Guard.
“The Venezuelan Government extends its most sincere condolences to the infant’s relatives, while urges the Trinidad and Tobago authorities to carry out a thorough investigation that allows clarifying the facts surrounding this fatal incident in which, unfortunately, a Venezuelan child lost his life,” the Foreign Ministry of the oil country said in a statement.
Likewise, he indicated that President Nicolás Maduro ordered the activation of all diplomatic mechanisms in order to clarify the fact and establish “the necessary binational protocols to consolidate the cross-border security dynamics that preserve good understanding” between the countries.
Ship with 43 migrants
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry explained that, on Saturday night, in the territorial waters of Trinidad and Tobago, the Coast Guard “would have opened fire” against a boat in which 43 people were traveling“leaving the tragic balance of a deceased child, while his mother was injured.”
The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Keith Rowley, also expressed his condolences on Monday for the death of the minor.
“I want to express my condolences on behalf of all the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, regarding the unfortunate loss of a child during a security operation,” Rowley said in a press release posted on his official Facebook page.
According to Rowley, after speaking with the executive vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, she promised to speed up the process of presenting credentials for the Trinidadian ambassador, Edmund Dillon, so that he can meet as early as possible with high-ranking officials of the Coast Guard of your country.
Given this, Rowley said that said meeting will help to have better communication and collaboration with the Venezuelan government related to migrant smuggling trips, drug trafficking and illegal arms trafficking.
On Sunday, the Venezuelan opposition denounced the death of the minor on social networks and demanded justice from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
“The death of a Venezuelan boy, who along with his mother fled from the dictatorship, hurts our soul as a country. The shots fired by the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard have no justification, they killed him (…) we ask for justice Opposition leader Juan Guaidó wrote on his Twitter account.
For his part, David Smolansky, also an opponent, shared on the same network a statement from the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard in which they explain that they shot at the boat’s engine in an attempt to stop them and in “self-defense,” alleging that the migrants had tried to “ram” them.
The officials argued, according to the statement released by Smolansky, that, after inspecting the boat, they “discovered” that there were “illegal migrants” on board, who had remained “hidden” and had not been seen before.
“Further checks detected an illegal migrant woman holding a child and indicating that it was bleeding. The boat was brought alongside the TTS Scarborough (law enforcement boat) and the injured woman was stabilized and taken to a local health facility. Unfortunately, the child was unresponsive,” the information added. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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