700 Venezuelans to return home by ferry on Saturday

About 700 Venezuelans will return to their country on Saturday on a repatriation trip organised by their government.

Officials from the Venezuelan embassy in Port of Spain told Newsday on Friday the trip will be made on a commercial ferry that covers internal routes in Venezuela. The ferry belongs to the Paraguaná company. This will be the first time it has made an international trip.

The ferry is expected to arrive in TT waters at 6 am on Saturday and will take on passengers at the Cruise Ship Complex, Port of Spain.

An official said, "We are calling on the people who have already confirmed they will leave on this trip to arrive at the port starting at 8.30 am in groups of 50, according to a timetable already in place under health measures against covid19."

Departure time has not been confirmed, pending boarding of all passengers and complying with health regulations.

The return trip to Venezuela will take approximately ten hours. The ferry will arrive at the port of Guanta, Anzoátegui.

"A medical team will come on the ferry to do a preliminary check on each passenger, and when they arrive in Venezuela," said the official, adding that all passengers will be given PCR tests for covid19.

All the registered and confirmed passengers are leaving voluntarily and for free. Each passenger will only have to pay the $75 departure tax at the port, according to TT regulations.

The logistics of the trip were arranged jointly by the Venezuelan embassy and TT authorities.

The official said, "We are calling on travellers to go to the port alone and to avoid taking family members for farewells, because we are facing a pandemic, and health measures must be strict."

Up to Friday Venezuelans were still calling the embassy for tickets to return to their country.

Including those on this trip, more than 1,200 Venezuelans will have returned home so far for 2021.

Officials told Newsday they still do not know if there will be a third repatriation trip, after the one on Saturday and the one in February via a flight to Caracas.

"Everything will depend on the requests made by our compatriots, because the borders will already be open from Saturday, and several shipping companies are already promoting their trips between the two countries."