Lawyers want cops to delay interview of Venezuelan woman

Attorneys representing the family of Yaelvis Jose Santoyo, the one year-old Venezuelan boy shot dead at sea, are "in the process" of writing to acting Commissioner of Police (CoP) McDonald Jacob asking his officers to hold off interviewing the baby’s mother until she feels better.

The mother, Darielvis Sarabia, was returned to Sangre Grande hospital on Friday night hours after she was taken away by police to be interviewed by immigration authorities. She had surgery on Thursday where a metal plate was inserted to stabilise a fracture she got after being shot by the coast guard.

Up to midday on Saturday, neither Sarabia’s attorneys, Donnette Julien and Sterling John, nor her husband, Yermi Santoyo, had spoken directly with her since her return to the facility.

Julien said, "The police want to question her. We do not feel she is well enough to be questioned at this point. We are asking that the police allow her to be stronger. What would be the validity of the statement she gives, if any at all?"

"We are still awaiting word as to why she is to be questioned any at all. She is stable but is in a lot of pain and discomfort."

From what the attorneys learnt, police from south Trinidad were expected to interview the woman. Julien said they don’t know the lead investigators or which police station would lead the investigations.

Sarabia was holding her son in her arms on February 5 when Coast Guard officers shot at the vessel carrying migrants in south Trinidad near Guayaguayare. The Coast Guard intercepted the boat after it allegedly rammed their vessel.

The mother was shot and injured while the baby took his last breath in her arms. No one else was injured.

There were a total of 39 people, including Sarabia’s two-year-old daughter Donna and a TT national.

Four days after the shooting death, the girl was reunited with her father as police and coast guard investigated the matter. The father and daughter were given provisional permits to stay on the island while the investigation continues. The other boat occupants were detained at the Heliport in Chaguaramas, and on February 11, the State deported 35 migrants.

On Friday, the lone local was released without charge after his attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus.

The baby’s funeral took place on Friday at the Church of Nazarene in Arima and was buried at D’Abadie public cemetery. Neither the mother nor her daughter attended.

While the funeral was in progress, the mother was discharged from the hospital and taken into custody at the nearby police station.

"I had a conversation with her yesterday (Friday) before she was taken back to the hospital. We (people) need to be compassionate. She buried her son yesterday and had surgery the day before, so mentally and physically, she is in a lot of pain and discomfort," Julien said.

"It was very difficult watching her being led out of the police station, bawling in pain. She was nauseous and really couldn’t hold herself up."

Owing to her health condition, the grieving mother had not seen video footage of the funeral.

The attorney added, "When she is well enough, we are going to show her the recording. But at the moment, no, because she is not in the right frame of mind, mentally and physically."

Sunday Newsday also spoke to Sarabia’s husband, Santoyo, who together with other relatives were waiting outside the hospital on Saturday, hoping to see her in-person.

"We are outside the hospital right now. We are trying to get information and to see her. We do not know much but we heard she is stable," he said in Spanish.

Andreina Briceno Brown, founder of the NGO, La Casita Hispanic Cultural Centre in Arima, said she continues to liaise with the family. The latest information she got was that the injured mother has returned at the hospital.

Repeated calls to Jacob seeking comment went unanswered.