[UPDATED] Kamla vows to deport Venezuelan criminals 'by any means necessary'

ENRAGED by the murder of one of her constituents at the hands of “Spanish-speaking men,” Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has vowed to take aggressive action against all illegal Venezuelan migrants and deport them “by any means necessary.”

In a statement on November 26, Persad-Bissessar referred to the murder of Winston Thomas, 69, who was found dead in his car on the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway in Golconda.

Witnesses said Spanish-speaking men entered Thomas’s home and beat, robbed and kidnapped him.

He was found with his hands tied behind his back and stab wounds to his head.

Persad-Bissessar said citizens have been generous in accepting Venezuelan migrants, and called on migrants to "get their act in order.”

“Every day for the last year, there were reports of violent crimes being committed by illegal Venezuelan migrants against our citizens.

“Enough is enough, the time has come to take action against Venezuelan migrants who are committing crimes daily against our citizens. The Venezuelan migrant community must also take action and assist the TTPS (TT Police Service) in rooting out violent Venezuelan criminals who are terrorising our citizens.”

Persad-Bissessar said she would not stand idly by as migrants engaged in criminal activity.

“Illegal Venezuelan migrants have a clear choice to make, either peaceful, law-abiding habitation in our country or deportation, there is no middle ground. Their future within our country rests solely in the decisions they make in the coming months.”

DCP Junior Benjamin described Persad-Bissessar’s claim as "drastic" and said he did not believe the facts supported it.

“I don't know if I can agree with it, and I'm not sure that could be proven, that every day that there is or there were reports of that nature.”

Benjamin said, nevertheless, the police takes all reports seriously regardless of nationality of the offender.

“Once we find any person again breaching the laws of this nation, we are going to bring them to justice and we are going to be putting the necessary infrastructure in place to ensure that a proper and holistic investigation is done.”

“We want to ensure that we use our intelligence very effectively to at least give us all opportunity to get the necessary information to turn it into intelligence and then evidence so we can catch the perpetrators.

"Once we have that evidence, it doesn't matter whether Venezuelan or local, we are going to arrest and charge accordingly.”

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Enraged by the murder of one of her constituents at the hands of “Spanish-speaking men,” Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has vowed to take aggressive action against all illegal Venezuelan migrants and deport them “by any means necessary.”

In a media release on November 26, Persad-Bissessar referred to the murder of Winston Thomas, 69, who was found dead in his car on the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway in Golconda.

Witnesses said Spanish-speaking men entered Thomas’s home and beat, robbed and kidnapped him.

He was found with his hands tied behind his back and stab wounds to his head.

Persad-Bissessar said citizens have been generous in accepting Venezuelan migrants, and called on migrants to” get their act in order.”

“Every day for the last year, there were reports of violent crimes being committed by illegal Venezuelan migrants against our citizens.

“Enough is enough, the time has come to take action against Venezuelan migrants who are committing crimes daily against our citizens. The Venezuelan migrant community must also take action and assist the TTPS in rooting out violent Venezuelan criminals who are terrorising our citizens.”

Persad-Bissessar said she will not stand idly by as migrants engage in criminal activity.

“Illegal Venezuelan migrants have a clear choice to make, either peaceful, law-abiding habitation in our country or deportation, there is no middle ground. Their future within our country rests solely in the decisions they make in the coming months.”