Young: Cedros Port open, fully staffed

THE Cedros Port is fully staffed and open for business, but TT Coast Guard patrols are intercepting boats with migrants from Venezuela, said Minister of National Security Stuart Young at yesterday’s post-Cabinet briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s. Newsday had sought an update in light of his previous closure of the port for upgrade work and in light of claims in the media yesterday by a local councillor that the port was essentially shut down.

“The port at Cedros is completely functional. There are immigration officers there, customs officers there, Coast Guard officers there.

“What you may not be seeing is boats that were accustomed to coming in, coming into that port. You would recall that I said not too long ago that we have taken a decision that we need to secure our borders. Securing our borders out on the maritime means that you secure your borders and that’s exactly what is happening.”

He said one couldn't "pick and choose who is coming in and who is not coming in.

“We said we would lock down the borders. We gave certain instructions to our men and women in the TT Coast Guard.”

He said citizens couldn't have it both ways.

“One minute you are hearing ‘Look! There are streams of Venezuelans coming in all over the place.’

We had to take a decision, and we have taken it, to implement and we have bolstered it, using as much resources as we have to ensure our maritime borders are properly manned and patrolled.”

Young said that as a realist, he saw that Trinidad and Tobago were islands surrounded by bodies of water, and so it would be impossible to lock down every square inch.

“We are doing the best we can.”

Young said the Coast Guard was mandated to prevent incursions into TT waters. He said in a recent case they had intercepted a boat from Venezuela but had taken aboard those passengers who were TT nationals, while turning back the Venezuelan nationals. Regarding his plan to register those Venezuelans already in TT for up to a year, he said he had not yet got a cost for that exercise, although he had set up a committee comprised of officials from his ministry, the Immigration Division, Police Service, Defence Force and Ministry of Health. Young reckoned the registration would be done by a blanket order, rather than on an individual basis for each relevant Venezuelan.