Venezuelan women, children land again at Los Iros

Police went to the Los Iros beach in Erin on Tuesday afternoon after a group of Venezuelans, including 16 children, came ashore by boat shortly before 1 pm.

The group was deported on Sunday for entering the country illegally.

Wet and worried about their next move, the Venezuelans told Newsday they had not slept since Sunday, when they left in two boats from the port at Cedros.

The youngest child is four months old.

Keren Gobin, 17, said, “It rained last night. We hovered over the children and tried to shield them with over bodies. We did not have plenty food with us. Last night, mosquitoes bit all of us. The children were crying and we could not do much to help.

“The waves were rough. We could have drowned.’

Although they left in two boats, one had mechanical problems. Two of the men on board tied them together so that the working vessel could tow the other.

They said the rope kept bursting, while they were still in Trinidad and Tobago waters, so the occupants in the faulty vessel moved to the other.

They said they were told, though they did not say how, about the court ruling on their deportation and decided to turn back toward Trinidad. The second, faulty vessel continued to Venezuela.

The Venezuelans wept as they recalled their ordeal.

“Some of the children have fevers. Look at me, I am trembling.

“We came looking for betterment,” another of the passengers said.

“The captain dropped us off here and left. We are happy that a judge decided she wanted us to meet with her about the deportation.”

She was referring to Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams’ ruling on a writ of habeas corpus on Sunday requiring the Chief of Defence Staff to bring the women and children to court.

• Judge powerless to order return of Venezuelan children, women to TT