Maduro, Guaido demand probe into death of Venezuelan baby at sea

THE two main political leaders in Venezuela are both demanding a full investigation into the shooting death of a Venezuelan child when Coast Guard officers tried to intercept a vessel carrying people suspected of being illegal immigrants from that country in Trinidad and Tobago waters on the weekend.

In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro extended condolences to the relatives of the nine-month-old boy who died after being shot while in a boat with his mother and other people.

The statement urged TT to, "Carry out an exhaustive investigation to clarify the facts surrounding this fatal incident in which, unfortunately, a Venezuelan child lost his life."

The statement added that Maduro has instructed the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry to activate diplomatic mechanisms in order to clarify this situation and establish the necessary bi-national protocols to consolidate cross-border security dynamics to, "preserve the good understanding between our countries."

On Sunday night, the Office of the Prime Minister issued a statement on behalf of Dr Rowley.

“I have just spoken with the Vice President of the Government of Venezuela (Delcy Rodríguez). I conveyed our deepest condolences to the family and the Venezuelan community in general in this moment of pain for the loss of the life of the little boy, at sea, during the security operations that involved the TT Coast Guard and the traffickers who were transporting illicit persons."

Juan Guaido, the Opposition Leader in Venezuela, also asked questions of the TT government.

In his official Twitter account, Guaido said: “The death of a Venezuelan child, who along with his mother fled from the dictatorship, hurts our soul as a country. The shots fired by the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard have no justification, they killed him (...) we ask for justice."

He said the "dictatorship of Maduro," caused the exodus of more than six million Venezuelans, many ending up taking dangerous routes.

“We claim the right of our people to receive protection and seek refuge, as they flee a complex humanitarian emergency and human rights violation.”

Guaido asked the TT government to: “Establish responsibilities and do justice. Venezuelans on that island have been victims of shootings, deportations and shipwrecks. Enough of the mistreatment of our migrants and refugees by an ally of Maduro!”

David Smolansky, commissioner of the Organization of American States (OAS) for migrants, shared a statement via Twitter, saying, "Enough of shootings, shipwrecks and deportations."

The TT Coast Guard, in a statement on Sunday claimed its officers were attempting to intercept a boat entering the country illegally on Saturday night. In so doing, the officers fired shots at the engines of the Venezuelan boat, claiming that they were doing so in self-defence as the boat had attempted to ram them. The statement said the coast guard officers were not aware that civilians were on board.

The baby's mother was also shot and is now warded at the Sangre Grande hospital.