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Victim’s relatives claim army backtracked on promise to take body to Venezuela
Marlyn Karina Carvasera
Relatives of the Venezuelan national who was killed at the border last week are upset that the Guyana Defence Force has backtracked on its promise to take the victim’s remains back to his homeland for burial.
Arturo Castilla Balcazar, called “Colombian” was shot dead around 09:00 hours on Saturday last during what appeared to be a dispute over raw gold.
Twenty-three year-old Guyana Defence Force Lance Corporal, Curt Belgrave, has since been charged with manslaughter and is on remand at the Georgetown Prison.
Joyann Williams, a close family friend, yesterday told the media that immediately after the shooting the army had undertaken to get the body back to Venezuela.
The woman explained that they had met with one Colonel Morrison from the Army’s Welfare Department to discuss the burial arrangements.
She further told this publication that relatives were told by Morrison that the Chief of Staff needed to get an update on the matter and after that they would determine what will happen. Kaieteur News understands that a substantial part of the money for transporting the body to Georgetown and for storage at the Funeral Parlour has been paid by Balcazar business partners and wife Marlyn Karina Carvasera.
Relatives now want the government to help them with the chartered flight back to Balcazar’s homeland. The flight, according to relatives, costs some $500,000.
Williams said that she kept making calls back and forth to the Army and it was only yesterday that she and the dead man’s wife were informed that they will have to stand all the expenses.
“His wife can’t speak proper English so I have to do all the arrangements and translate it back to her,” Williams said.
She further disclosed that they had even gone to the Venezuelan Embassy here in Guyana for help, and received ‘little’ assistance.
Williams said that the family really doesn’t have the finances to pay for the funeral and is pleading with the army to help them.
Through a translator yesterday the man’s wife said that she was dissatisfied with the treatment she is receiving from the army.
According to the woman, the issue needs to be properly addressed before the situation gets out of control.
Efforts yesterday to contact any official from the army proved futile.
According to an army source, Balcazar, who operated a shop at a location called Arau, located on the Guyana side of the border, was transporting two other Venezuelans and a Brazilian and his wife in a boat when the shooting occurred.
The source explained that from reports received, security forces on both sides of the border are in the habit of harassing persons using the river that separates the two countries, sometimes extorting cash and/or gold from them in the process.
The source said that Balcazar, was sailing from the Venezuelan side of the border when the Guyanese soldiers called upon him to stop. Sensing that the men would have demanded valuables from him and his passengers, Balcazar continued on his journey, causing the soldier to open fire.
The surviving Venezuelans told investigators that they first heard two explosions, which were followed by another, after which Balcazar collapsed with blood staining his shirt.
They subsequently took the vessel to shore where they reported the matter to local police stationed in the area.
“This was utter recklessness,” the source told this newspaper.
The weapons of all the ranks involved have been seized by the police while the body of the Venezuelan man was brought to the city.
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