Dr Rowley: Traffickers, imps and do-gooders criminally liable for illegal Venezuelan migrants!


“[…] We advise all, including local do-gooders and the international press and agencies, to cease and desist from encouraging and exposing ordinary Venezuelans to risk their lives in the waters between our two nations.

“It might appear to some to be a short journey but these waters are very dangerous…”

The following is a press statement by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on the illegal migration of Venezuelans to Trinidad and Tobago:

Photo: Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
(via Office of the Prime Minister)

We continue to receive updated news of the tragic loss of many lives off the coast in Venezuela.

Have you seen the agents of the OAS, our Opposition and other Trinidadian and Venezuelan imps and agents are lying in the face of the available information and evidence that we have?

These imps have now been pushing a narrative that these illegals and their criminal traffickers reached Trinidad but our authorities here turned them back and that is why they drowned in waters off the coast of Venezuela at Guiria. This is their lie!

Our Coast Guard never saw or interacted with these traffickers and their cargo. These liars who operate in Venezuela and in Trinidad and Tobago now know that they are now to be held criminally accountable—not only for encouraging Venezuelans to break the law in trying to penetrate our borders but actually, physically arranging their dangerous transport and illegal reception in Trinidad.

The law will take its course in every instance in Trinidad and Tobago but in the meantime we advise all, including local do-gooders and the international press and agencies, to cease and desist from encouraging and exposing ordinary Venezuelans to risk their lives in the waters between our two nations.

Photo: Venezuelans have streamed into Trinidad by boat.

It might appear to some to be a short journey but these waters are very dangerous and they should not risk their lives nor their children’s future to come to Trinidad and Tobago, illegally, where currently the borders are closed in a pandemic and the only legal way to enter is by way of an application through a visa.

Currently we, the people of the tiny nation of Trinidad and Tobago, located in the mouth of the Orinoco River of Venezuela, are hosting just over 16,000 registered Venezuelan migrants who are protected in neighbourliness, under the authority of the government and the laws of Trinidad and Tobago.

We, the government, receive no help from any agency to look after these migrants, many of whom are relatively recent arrivals who entered or were trafficked to our country illegally, Nonetheless, last year, in empathy, we registered them all and allow them to try and make an honest living within our borders.

Most of them pursue this path offered to them.

However, regardless of the political or economic affairs in Venezuela, or any other territory, all persons interacting with Trinidad and Tobago must do so under an understanding that we all do so in strict accordance with the laws of Trinidad and Tobago.

More from Wired868
Dear editor: Farewell to a true Gens de Arime—everybody loved Raymond Morris

    “[…] A true Gens de Arime, Raymond was loved and appreciated for his kind and generous spirit. “He Read more

Orin: The potential cost of UNC’s civil war

“[…] Ever since she ran in 2015 on a leader-centric election marketing campaign that sold the virtues of Kamla The Read more

Daly Bread: Government extends blame game while crime rampages on

For some weeks this column had been focused on the good, the bad and the ugly of Carnival and its Read more

Dear Editor: Calypso Fiesta should be only road to Big Yard—not Tobago Monarch!

“[…] It is totally unfair to all semi-finalists that a calypsonian who won a competition in Tobago months before, under Read more

Dear Editor: Why was Thomas-Felix moved? Industrial Court owes T&T transparency

From the onset I wish to indicate that I hold no brief for either the outgoing office holder or the Read more

Dear Editor: Senator Richards must prove allegations against Alexander, or apologise!

“[…] Dr Paul Richards is not only an independent senator, but also a very experienced journalist. He ought to know Read more

About Letters to the Editor

Want to share your thoughts with Wired868? Email us at editor@wired868.com. Please keep your letter between 300 to 600 words and be sure to read it over first for typos and punctuation. We don't publish anonymously unless there is a good reason, such as an obvious threat of harassment or job loss.

Check Also

Dear editor: Farewell to a true Gens de Arime—everybody loved Raymond Morris

    “[…] A true Gens de Arime, Raymond was loved and appreciated for his …

2 comments

  1. The next time the UNC is in power we will do what the US is doing to Venezuela now we don`t recognize Kamla if it is her that is power. We will leave the Red house cross the street to Woodford Sq and the first vagrant we see we will say we recognize him/her as the next PM of T&T because that is what the US and those other Jackass countries are doing by saying that Guaido is the President of Venezuela . The UNC and the current ruling party in Guyana is part of this US/OAS regime change spared headed by Elliot Abrams/Luis Alamargo and the spooks. Their are people in the UNC that are on the C.I.A payroll, they donate to them overtly and covertly; and they like to complain about Russian interference in their internal affairs . In June 2018 CIA donated to Sipara/Penal constituency 2 water crafts , when the were called out, this year a few days before the General Election they donate 40 Laptops to Diego Martin constituency “smoke screen” . After the election the US government gave 2 SUV to the National Disaster Preparedness Agency which is the proper protocol by the way . Government to Government not parish and constituency then clearly you are choosing sides and meddling in the internal affairs of other countries. Just remember the UNC were the ones lobbying the US to put sanctions on T&T this what they did is the ultimate betray of the country not matter want you political grievance maybe but a lot of people are sleep walking in Trini because for them to win some many seats still is unbelievable and clearly we are a racially divided country .

  2. The PM was misunderstood. TT is at the spear tipp of US foreign policy vs our neighbour Venezuela, as such we are subject to political and possibly other pressures to tow the US line. One can only imagine what is going on in secret (scheming, bribery, threats, sabotage, murder). Our countries’ position is the right one, we are not a superpower, we didn’t like the 1990 coup and we must never support coups otherwise don’t complain if a future US leader decides to declare who is Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago in clear violation of our constitution.
    Maduro could be good, bad or ugly or a bit of all but he is the President of Venezuela, to support Guaido is to support a war in latin America within eyesight of Trinidad. What is this obsession of the USA to smash weaker nations, Venezuela never did anything to the USA. The interesting thing is that the USA stands firmly behind the Saudi dictator Crown Prince Salman, a nation where you can’t even drink a beer without facing prison, a country where women still have male guardians telling them what to do yet Venezuela which is very much western is the big bad boogeyman. The US has made it so that companies refuse to do business with Venezuela or risk sanctions, the very threat of sanctions creates something called sanctions over compliance where even perfectly legal trades are avoided because of the what if. If you attack an economy you damage a people’s lives. Nothing that anybody can say or do will change the US attitude towards Venezuela, for them this is like a sport, like some sick hobby, let’s ruffle some feathers and see how the other side responds, let’s see if this action works etc., and US leaders use this game of empire to self aggrandize themselves as great leaders. TT is in a very dangerous position as we do not support the US position, it is predictable that the USA may try to exert pressure on Venezuelan neighbours either with promises of gifts, outright bribes or threats. Personally I have always been suspicious of the UNC’s support for the US position which obviously is not in TT’s best interest, I wonder what could the US have said to the UNC to engineer their full support in such a way, strange indeed. God forbid the UNC ever reaches the halls of Gov again we will immediately have an enemy in Venezuela because the UNC has made it clear that they are declaring Guiado as the President of Venezuela. In the mean time we continue to get the immigrants, drugs and weapons trafficking.
    How can little TT deal with this now in these difficult economic times, time will tell.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.