Venezuelan activist fears for safety after threats

Yesenia González, a Venezuelan activist who claims to be a defender of human rights in TT, said that she is receiving serious threats and that she is working to clarify the charges brought by the Minister of National Security, Stuart Young, against her. González, was accused on Sunday of trying to cause confusion and mischief among TT citizens stranded in Margarita.

Speaking at a media briefing at the Ministry of Health on Sunday, Young said he received information from the TT Embassy in Venezuela that Gonzalez and her family were calling stranded nationals in Margarita, claiming to be officials from TT, organising a repatriation flight back to TT for a group of holidaymakers.

Young dismissed these claims and said it was an act of mischief. “After those statements by Minister Young, I have received many threats through my social networks. The Minister endangered me and my family with an unjust accusation,” she told Newsday via a telephone interview from Margarita.

“Many Trinidadians have written with insults, asking them to put me in jail, but they don’t know how things have happened, I only tried to help,” added González. The activist, who has lived in TT for several years, is married to a local and has two children born in TT.

“It has never crossed my mind to be a representative of the TT government, on the contrary, I do not agree with the way the current TT government acts with Venezuelans who are on the island,” she acknowledged. On Minister Young’s accusation, González considers it to be “slanderous and a lie.”

“I have the evidence in which the same TT consul in Venezuela, Dayne-Marc Chin Slick, asked me for help with the names of the people who are stranded in Margarita. I know Margarita very well and I travelled to Venezuela together with these people who are stranded here,” said González.

She emphasized that her job was only to try to help the consul with the names of the people and that as a result of the transportation problems in Venezuela, due to the lack of gasoline and also because of quarantine restrictions, she tried to communicate with Trinidadians by telephone.

“I am working to clarify this whole situation, I sent an email to Minister Young and I hope he will answer me,” she said. Young also said that he asked Venezuelan authorities to launch an investigation into these reports and reminded the public that it was illegal to pose as a government official. The minister did not clarify if the TT government has taken or plans to take legal measures against González.