Otto Carrington
The family of Venezuelan teen who was left for dead along the M2 Ring Road is calling for justice.
Stefani Flores, 18, a Venezuelan beauty queen and refugee in Trinidad and Tobago was on her way to San Fernando to sell empanadas when she stopped a PH taxi with three men.
Guardian Media understands the men attempted to sexually assault Flores but she fought back and she was stabbed about the body and her face.
It was around 1.40 pm, occupants of a passing vehicle saw Flores lying on the road, covered in blood and called the police.
Flores is now warded at the San Fernando General Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery and is expected to undergo another to save one of her eyes.
The Venezuelan teen’s friends and family lined the carpark of the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday.
The family said Flores was not raped.
“Stefani came to Trinidad looking for a better life, she was talented and she has so much promise, all she does is assist her parents and she does not deserve this, Flores Uncle Richard Cedeno said.
“All we want is justice for her,” they said.
He said she had so much promise and hopes she can recover swiftly and get back to her life what she can recover from this incident.Flores was not just a food vendor in South Trinidad but she was also an upcoming budding local model on the local Trinidad and Tobago modelling scene.
Venezuelan activist and Managing Director, La Casita Hispanic and Cultural Centre, Andriena Brown told Guardian, “On behalf of the family we just want to say they are calling for justice and they appreciate totally the efforts of the police the TTPS because we are involved we are trying their best and we are here as a civil society to support you all and to stand and help in whatever we can help.”
She said this incident is not just about Stefani but the many women in Trinidad and Tobago affected by gender violence.
Brown explained,” It is not only because it is a Venezuelan citizen we are dealing with right now and not only because it affected our community or it touched our family but we are here as a family standing together right now, I think the cry from our community is to protect, preserve and deal with this issue to protect the woman of the country.”
So far in the investigation on the attack, a special reserve policeman who owns the vehicle used in the attack has been arrested.
He was detained after police stopped his car along the Foreshore in Port-of-Spain this morning.
This comes in the wake of a public outcry by Venezuelan and Trinidadian nationals on social media who are demanding justice for the 18-year-old woman.
Surveillance footage shows the woman crossing the road on Tuesday and entering a white car, which she believed to be a taxi, along the Guapo-Fyzabad Main Road.