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Venez. ‘syndicate’ executed Guyanese dredge boss for causing unrest in area
– relatives reportedly had to seek gang’s permission to collect body for burial
Executed Guyanese, Davinda Saywack
A ruthless Venezuela gang that demands a cut of the earnings from miners, and is the only ‘law’ in some areas, executed Guyanese Davinda Saywack over his brutal beating of another man.
This was disclosed by sources who knew the victim and have knowledge of the gang’s operations.
Saywack, a 25-year-old dredge owner, was shot dead last Tuesday in his camp in an area called Mondo, which is reportedly so lawless that even the Venezuelan military steers clear from it.
The only ‘law’ is imposed by the ‘sindicato’ (syndicate) which regulates the number and calibre of firearms that dredge owners should have, collects a ‘tax’ from them, and punishes individuals who refuse to pay or who are troublemakers.
A relative of Saywack’s had told Kaieteur News that the gunmen made off with an undisclosed quantity of gold from his camp after killing and burying him. The relative reportedly received this account of the attack from a survivor.
Refuting this report, the sources said that the young dredge owner had repeatedly caused trouble among other miners. The ‘sindicato’ had reportedly warned him twice before about his behaviour, which was aggravated by heavy drinking.
It is alleged that the night before he was killed, Saywack inflicted a brutal beating on a ‘half-Spanish’ miner.
“He beat the guy severely and the guy brought back the ‘sindicato’, and the boss put out an order that he be executed,” a source said. “They had received lots of complaints and he had been warned before that he would be executed if he couldn’t desist from drinking.”
Kaieteur News was told that after killing Saywack, the gunmen remained in the camp. They were reportedly still there up to yesterday, and the slain man’s relatives reportedly had to make a request to the leaders in order to collect his body.
The remains were returned to Port Kaituma yesterday.
From reports Kaieteur News has received, another individual close to the Saywack clan had also come under the scrutiny of this faction of the ‘sindicato’ some four months ago, after a miner known as ‘African’ was killed and his camp burnt.
The individual who was blamed for the killing reportedly fled to Guyana and Saywack took over the operations of the dredge.
THE LAW OF THE ‘SINDICATO’
Miners in the Mondo area reportedly pay the ‘sindicato’ 60 grammes of gold on the 16th of every month for permission to work there.
The ‘sindicato’ ensures that order remains in the backdams.
“They would visit the backdams and check to see if everything is okay. No high-powered weapons are allowed (to be in the possession of miners); only handguns or shotguns for hunting. The Mondo faction of the ‘sindicato’ reportedly consists of over 40 heavily-armed men.
The sources blamed members of another faction of the ‘sindicato’ for the slaughter of Guyanese miners Vernon Eudoxie, 51, Cologne Solomon, 23, and Samuel Moses, 19, storming a mining camp at Imataka Mining Backdam, Venezuela. Two others were wounded.
The miners were part of a team employed by a Brazilian, operating a land dredge at Imataka Mining Backdam, Venezuela, when four armed men “with foreign accents,” entered the camp and began shooting indiscriminately.
Sources who know of the attack alleged that the killings stemmed from a clash between the dredge owner and the ‘sindicato’. It is alleged that the Brazilian miner was annoyed that the gang had visited the camp when he was away and taken some of his gold, while handing over the rest to the camp’s general manager.
He reportedly then hired several heavily armed security personnel to protect the camp and prevent the ‘sindicato’ from collecting their ‘taxes.’
“The ‘sindicato’ were very upset and they warned him that he was being disrespectful and had violated his agreement.”
Two days before the attack, the gunmen reportedly visited the Brazilian’s camp and held a prayer service for their intended victim, who was away. They attacked the camp the following day, reportedly targeting the dredge owner’s security personnel.
The Brazilian has reportedly fled to Guyana.
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