2 Warao in custody, says First People's chief

Ricardo Hernandez, Chief of the Santa Rosa First People's Community, today said that two Warao are being detained after illegally entering TT. "We are now making attempts to see how much help we can get to them," said Hernandez in his remarks at the opening of a training workshop on indigenous intellectual property at UWI, St Augustine.

The workshop was hosted by the Faculty of Law. Dean Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine opened the workshop at the Social Sciences Conference Lounge, followed by remarks from Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus.

Hernandez said he had been informed of the Warao detainees in a call from a media house, on Friday, asking him for comment.

The two Warao who are being detained likely came without papers, he said in a short interview with Newsday. He said he would try to visit them on Monday.

He also condemned the loss of Warao lives in Venezuela, on Friday, near the Brazil border. He said he was not taking sides in the Venezuela issue but prayed for the Great Spirit to bring it to a peaceful resolution.

Representatives from several indigenous groups spoke at the workshop, which was designed to discuss harnessing traditional knowledge, protecting it and preserving it.