Outraged by the killing of 69-year-old Winston Thomas earlier this week, opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has vowed, if returned to government, to take a stand against all illegal Venezuelan migrants who commit crimes and deport them “by any means. necessary”.

Thomas, of Penal Rock Road in Penal, was beaten, kidnapped and killed on November 21.

Police were told three Spanish-speaking men broke into his home around 2 a.m., stole several items and loaded them into his white Nissan B-15. Thomas was taken from his residence in the car.

His body was found hours later in his vehicle near the Golconda Flyover.

He appeared to have been beaten and stabbed.

In a press release yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said that over the past year, there have been several reports of violent crimes committed by Venezuelan migrants in this country.

“I will not sit idly by as this current government has done and allow more citizens like Winston Thomas to be terrorized and killed by illegal Venezuelan migrants. Today I make it clear that if the Venezuelan migrant community does not clean up and stop engaging in criminal behavior, begin assisting the TTPS in identifying Venezuelan criminals, and integrate peacefully into our society, my incoming government will take aggressive action against all of them. illegal Venezuelan migrants and deport each one to their homeland by any means necessary,” she said.

She noted that in recent years this country has welcomed migrants and has been “extremely generous” with them, allowing them access to free healthcare, acceptance in schools and subsidized rates for water, electricity and fuel.

However, these benefits are paid for by the taxpayers of this country, she emphasized.

She said UNC has repeatedly called for a clear migrant policy to be implemented by the state, but nothing has been done.

“With the killing of Mr. Thomas, I say enough is enough, the time has come to take action against the Venezuelan migrants who are committing crimes against our citizens on a daily basis. The Venezuelan migrant community must also take action and assist the TTPS in eliminating the violent Venezuelan criminals who terrorize our citizens. The welfare of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago must always come first, the generosity of our nation is now being exploited and our citizens are being terrorized… Illegal Venezuelan migrants have a clear choice to make, either peaceful residence in our country or deportation, there is no middle ground. Their future in our country rests only in the decisions they make in the coming months,” said Persad-Bissessar.

TTPS monitoring

situation

Deputy Police Commissioner Junior Benjamin confirmed yesterday that TTPS has seen an increase in reports involving Venezuelan nationals – both as victims and as suspects.

However, he criticized the opposition leader’s comment that reports of Venezuelan citizens being involved in “violent crimes” had occurred “every day for the past year”.

“What I can say is that, on the surface, there is an apparent increase in the number of reports involving Venezuelan nationals. There is an increase in the number of victims of these people in terms of homicides and there seems to be a slight increase in people involved in criminal activity this year compared to last year. And we monitor it. Personally, I have heard more of such incidents, but that may be due to the office I currently hold as DCP Operations. And in TTPS we like to be driven by data, by facts. So we’ll have to examine the incidents and see what the correlations are and what the data tells us. But to say directly that there is a correlation … we will have to examine the data and go from there,” Benjamin said in a phone interview with the Express.

He added: “What I will say in the meantime is that the killing of Mr Thomas is under investigation and we are committed to finding those responsible as quickly as possible. Not just for this incident, but for all homicides in this country and for the interventions needed to try to curb more crime in our nation.”

In September, the United Nations published a report indicating that Venezuelan criminal gangs are participating in criminal activities in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T).

The report entitled “Caribbean Gangs: Drugs, Firearms and Gangs Networks in Jamaica, St Lucia, Guyana and T&T” was published on September 2

It said the country had a “thriving drug trade” because it was a major transit point for illegal narcotics, including cocaine and marijuana.

He said Venezuelan gangs operate in the country and have been involved in several illegal activities, including extortion, human trafficking, and the smuggling of illegal drugs and weapons.

Incidents involving

Venezuelans

November 23: Two police officers detained in a sting operation related to allegations that they extorted $2,000 from a Venezuelan national.

Nov. 23: Three people, ages 69, 61 and 47, were attacked and robbed at gunpoint along Cascandee Road in Felicity by three Spanish-speaking citizens.

November 10: Three Venezuelan women were kidnapped along Hoyte Avenue in Arima.

October 25: A 23-year-old Venezuelan national was shot after he tried to chase a man who robbed him on Harris Street in San Fernando.

September 24: Ravi St Clair was fatally shot outside his home along Limehead Road in Chase Village. He was last seen having a conversation with two known Venezuelan nationals.

September 6: A Venezuelan juvenile was detained after a 13-year-old girl was stabbed at Xtra Plaza in Endeavour.