The captain of a boat that reportedly sank on a trip from Güiria in Venezuela to T&T last April 24 is among nine people charged for operating a human trafficking ring between the two countries.
Adrián Pacheco, 33, was reportedly rescued from the vessel Jhonnaly Jose which overturned in the Gulf of Paria. He was held on Thursday along a member of his crew, Carlos Laffont.
Also arrested were seven people who were held at hotels in Güiria. They have been identified as Beatriz Alcalá, 46, Deyson Alleyne, 28, Daniela Luces, 19, Ornella Martínez, 26, Yaritza Morales, 22, Dignora Romero, 40, and Ingrid Martínez, 28.
According to a statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Venezuela, young women who were being sent to T&T as sex slaves were rescued during the exercise.
These developments came even as members of a Special Commission appointed by Venezuela’s Opposition-controlled National Assembly to investigate the disappearance of two vessels en route from Güiria to T&T claimed port and law enforcement officials are facilitating the activities of human traffickers.
At a news briefing earlier this week, National Assembly member Robert Alcalá said many of the passengers on the vessels which were reported missing in the waters being Venezuela and T&T were lured by promises of good jobs to make the short but risky trip across the Gulf of Paria.
Alcalá said the Special Commission is seeking more information on the captain of another vessel, the Ana María which disappeared earlier this month. A man identified as Alberto Abreu was rescued in waters 30 miles off Chaguaramas and taken to Grenada where he being treated at hospital when he went missing.
At least 60 Venezuelans remain unaccounted for from the two vessels.
Alcalá human traffickers in T&T and Venezuela have formed a network, targeting mostly low-income women.
He said: “They are deceived by pimps and then they are kidnapped.”
Venezuelan authorities estimate that approximately 60,000 nationals of that country are now living in T&T.
According to the UNHCR, more than 3 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2015. The UN expects the number to reach 5.3 million by the end of this year.