Murdered Venezuelan cremated

Venezuelans bade final farewell virtually to their fellow countryman Jesus Alexander Alvarez on Monday.

Alvarez, 33, also known as "El Chino," was shot and killed in an ambush on June 8 at La Lune Village in Moruga.

Fr Gutemberg Tosca Barahona, a missionary RC priest from the Diocese of Carúpano in Venezuela, officiated at the service at a funeral home in Diego Martin.

Owing to covid19 regulations, only a handful of people attended. Some of the mourners livedstreamed the funeral, allowing relatives and friends in Venezuela to watch.

Many social media users offered condolences to the bereaved family.

Police said Alvarez was among a group of Venezuelans at a beach at La Lune where a group of armed men attacked them. The gunmen robbed the Venezuelans of cash, jewellery and cellphones.

There was a struggle, and one of the gunmen shot and killed Alvarez.

He last lived at Boodoo Trace in Debe. He was from the town of Agua Negra in Tucupita, Delta Amacuro State.

Newsday learnt that he and other Venezuelans were waiting for a boat near a beach to make an illegal trip to their homeland.

There are also reports that females, including children, were sexually assaulted during the attack.

On June 16, police arrested and later charged Anderson Hill, 25, with Alvarez’s murder.

Hill, of La Lune Village, has been remanded into police custody. He is expected to reappear in the Princes Town Magistrates’ Court on July 19.