Police Commissioner: Cops coming after illegal migrants

COMMISSIONER of Police (CoP) Erla Harewood-Christopher said the police will target any "migrants" involved in illegal activities, while denying she was specifically referring to Venezuelans.

She spoke at a briefing at the Ministry of National Security in Port of Spain on September 6.

The CoP also complained of a "proliferation of females involved in gang activities" and vowed to hold parents accountable for their children's activities.

"We also have – whether legal or illegal – migrants involved in criminal activities.

"So we want to speak to the illegal migrants to let them know that we will be coming after them.

"In our bars, with all the illicit activities, we'll be coming after them."

The CoP did not name the "activities" in bars for which the police would apprehend migrants.

Neither did she say what proportion of crimes in Trinidad and Tobago were done by migrants.

A reporter asked how the police would come for migrants, such as whether by working with immigration officers.

She replied, "Yes, we have a collaboration with immigration.

"But I want you to be clear on what I said. I said that we have legal and illegal immigrants involved in criminal activities. Right? And, yes we will be."

Asked if focus was on areas such as south west Trinidad, she said, "Illegal immigrants operate throughout the country. So each division will be focusing on the illegal immigrants."

Newsday asked for some specifics of her plans to handle any criminality among migrants. Would she accede to a priests's recent call for Venezuelans in the police service, have communication with the authorities in Venezuela and launch a Spanish-speaking hotline given the Newsday reporter's recent experience of finding no Spanish-speaking officers in a major police station to talk to an alleged human-trafficking victim nor any referral by officers to any Spanish-speaking hotline. Could all police stations refer people to a centralised Spanish-speaking hotline?

Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds stepped in to field the question.

"We have the Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU) established under the laws of TT and their purpose is to deal with reports and investigate and treat with matters of human trafficking.

"And, yes, they do have the facility of Spanish-speaking interpreters and there are hot-lines and their messages are sent out bilingually in that sense. "Therefore the answer to your question is yes and I'd like to suggest you direct that person to the Counter Trafficking Unit and I assure you all will flow smoothly from there."

Newsday suggested front-line police officers needed to be aware of the CTU.

Harewood-Christopher said the suggestion was "a very good one."

"First, I want to clarify when I speak (of) illegal immigrants I did not say Venezuelans."

Newsday asked what country had she meant.

She replied, "I was not specific to say Venezuelans. I said illegal immigrants. I want to get that clear."

The CoP addressed the language issue.

"In terms of Spanish, we have implemented Spanish language courses for officers. Right now we cannot say we have 25 per cent or ten per cent of our officers with the ability to speak or comprehend Spanish. But we are working on it.

"In terms of your hotline, I think that is something we can put in place because we do have officers who are fluent in Spanish."

Newsday asked if we could look forward to such hotline.

Harewood-Christopher replied, "But you have to understand that learning a language takes time."

Venezuelan migrant registration had taken place in May 31-June 14, 2019.

Chief of Defence Staff Air Vice Marshall Darryl Daniel said the Coast Guard had challenges but it's fleet was going to be expanded and upgraded soon.

"Approval has been received and is being actioned for the immediate repair of some smaller vessels and the acquisition of immediately available vessels of appropriate size and functionality for use by the Coast Guard. Otherwise, he said on a phased basis over 18 months, all of the Coast Guard's eight larger vessels would be back in service.

"Additionally a process has commenced for the acquisition of additional new naval assets to address the identified gaps in our maritime domain awareness and control."

However he said the new acquisitions and the old refits were delayed by global shipping challenges.

Daniel later said one ship had just returned from dry-docking in Suriname and was undergoing further work at Staubles Bay, as part of the larger vessels getting back on stream on a phased basis. He said funding had been received to service smaller interceptors, starting by month-end.

Daniel detailed the expansion of the Coast Guard fleet.

"There should be an increase of approximately 30 vessels – smaller interceptors and mid-size launches – to complement the larger vessels." This was based on the gap identified by the Coast Guard to get domain awareness and control.

"You will appreciate as an island, it is impossible to be everywhere."

He said operations would be intelligence-led, using the coastal radar now under upgrade.

"So we are using technology and intelligence to drive our operations to bring success to bear."

He said 30 vessels to be acquired in the medium/long term were 15 interceptors and 15 launches.

"Within 18 months, we should have the larger assets we have, the six Damen and two Austals back in service, in addition to the interceptors that work along with those."

He said, meanwhile, the Coast Guard had the authority to immediately acquire appropriate vessels for its operational capabilities.

On September 4, a Newsday story – Venezuelan gangs muscling in on TT crime – said Venezuelan criminal groups were operating in TT both in collaboration and competition with TT gangs. The story was based on a recent UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report titled Caribbean Gangs: Drugs, Firearms and Gangs (sic) Networks in Jamaica, St Lucia, Guyana and TT.

It said Venezuelan gangs were involved in extortion, human trafficking and the smuggling of illegal drugs and guns.

"Strong cultural ties in southern Trinidad with Venezuela have ensured that the coastal region, including Icacos, Cedros, and Moruga, are sites of extensive trafficking of drugs, guns and migrants. The country has long been affected by drug transshipment and trafficking and high rates of violent crime.

"The primary supply route for drugs to TT is Venezuela and to a lesser extent Guyana and Suriname, with drugs travelling by commercial freight, private go-fast boats and fishing vessels."

However, the report lamented limited interdiction owing to limited co-operation by the TT Coast Guard with Venezuela's Guardia Nacional.

The report said per capita, TT had the most Venezuelan migrants in the world, estimated at 60,000 and exceeding the 16,523 legally registered in TT.

"While studies suggest that migrants are no more likely to commit crime than locals, the capture of a high-level gang member in 2019 set off alarm bells.

"Authorities arrested Darwin 'El Culón' García Gibori, the leader of the Evander gang, along with seven other Venezuelans and a Trinidadian fisherman, in Port (sic) Fortin, in southern Trinidad. The gang is involved in both extortion of boats carrying Venezuelan migrants as well as ferrying drugs and arms."

García Gibori was later jailed for five years by a Point Fortin magistrate after pleading guilty to gun charges.

Evander – the Deltano Liberation Front – has embedded its members in TT gangs, the report said, citing police and immigration sources.

The report, like the CoP, did not quantify the involvement of Venezuelans in criminal activities in TT.