Kidnapped Venezuelan rescued

A Venezuelan man who was snatched from a Curepe bar on Saturday night and kept for over 72 hours in bushes near the Arima Race Course, was rescued early yesterday by police.

The rescue of Jason Guerra, 33, took place following intense investigations led by Port of Spain CID head Ag Snr Supt Ajith Persad. When Guerra was found early yesterday, he had been badly beaten, covered in mosquito bites and was dehydrated. Disoriented, Guerra was still able to tell the officers, “gracias amigos” (thanks friends).

According to reports, Guerra arrived in Trinidad from Venezuela in December 2016 and was staying with friends at L’Anse Mitan, Carenage.

On Saturday at 6 pm, Guerra was liming with friends at Caps Bar in Curepe when a white Nissan Tiida with several occupants pulled up in front of the bar and Guerra was bundled into the vehicle while shocked patrons looked on.

Guerra’s friends later received a telephone call from a person who demanded a $100,000 ransom for his safe return. The matter was reported to officers of the Anti Kidnapping Unit and Ag Snr Supt Persad led officers including Inspector Thomas, Sgts Harvey and Pitt in the investigations.

After receiving certain information, officers locked down the Carapo area, searching several houses. At 3 am yesterday, officers went to a bushy areas near the race course where they found Guerra. He was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope for treatment.

Guerra is expected to be interviewed today. Police investigators are continuing their investigations and believe several arrests will be made soon. The same team of officers led by Ag Snr Supt Persad was successful in rescuing two other kidnap victims this year. The first was Zhang Si Jiu, the driver of the Chinese Ambassador and the second was bakery owner Gregory Laing who operates Puff n’ Stuff.