Fishermen still in captors’ hands

TEN days after six Trinidadian men were kidnapped and held for ransom in Venezuela, their fate remains uncertain.

Yesterday, the fathers of two of the abducted men said they had no word as to sons’ whereabouts but they believed that a miracle would happen and their sons would be brought home safely.

They men, identified as brothers Jason O’Brian, 38, Jerry O’Brian, 36, Ricky Rhambarose, 35, Brandon Arjoon, 38, Linton Manohar, 35 and Jagdish Jude Jaikaran, 17, were abducted on January 28, while fishing in a pirogue off Morne Diablo.

They were captured and taken to Venezuela by armed men who have demanded US$200,000 in exchange for their release, warning they would dismember the men if they did not get the money.

A video of the fishermen sitting with several high-powered guns being pointed at them by men whose faces cannot be seen in picture was posted on social media.

Jason O’Brian was freed last week, but the details of his release are not clear.

Yesterday, fathers Ambrose Jaikaran and Rodney Arjoon said were confident their sons would return unharmed.

Arjoon said, “We are going through a hard time. It’s nine days already and nothing new. We are just waiting and hoping and praying that God will deliver my son and his cousins.

“I know that my God works in mysterious ways and he promised that tens of thousands would be falling on the left side and on the right, but once we keep the focus, He would take us through. I am not giving up.”

Jaikaran uttered similar sentiments and said he was praying that his son, the youngest of the men, would come back to him.

“All of these boys I know as children,” he said. “They grow up right in front of me. Right now, we are just trying to get them back home.”

Minister of National Security Stuart Young, in an earlier release said the matter was ongoing and at a very sensitive stage. He said the police were managing the investigation in Trinidad but had communicated with Interpol to ask for help through diplomatic channels as they had no jurisdiction outside TT.

Young said the men were fishing in Venezuelan river tributaries within the mainland of Venezuela when they were kidnapped. He reminded nationals to be aware of the risks of leaving TT territorial waters and venturing into the territorial waters of other countries where TT had no jurisdiction.