Latest update August 29th, 2026 10:20 AM
Jan 18, 2023 News
Kaieteur News – A Guyanese man recently spent 45 days in a Venezuelan jail after he was caught using a false identification card in that country.
The man identified as Chandricka Persaud, 47, is presently being represented by an organisation called “The Representative of the Guyanese Community in Venezuela” (RCGV).
According to the President of RCGV, Antonio Hamraj, Persaud was detained at a checkpoint in Venezuela after the Venezuelan National Guards stationed there found that the identification number of his Venezuelan ID Card was not registered in the country’s legal system.
The RCGV plans to report the issue to the Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana because Persaud reportedly received the Venezuelan ID card from a SAIME (A legal Administration Service for Immigration in the country) located in the City of Tucapita, Delta Amacuro.

Chandricka Persaud (left) and the RCGV president, Antonio Hamraj (right) having a discussion about his situation at the office of a Venezuelan media company.
“…Persaud had to spend more than 45 days in prison for the crime of document falsification, when the same Administrative Service for Immigration and Alien Identification issued the said document,” Hamraj said.
The RCGV President said that Persaud entered Venezuela with a Guyanese passport and a legal visa and has been living in San Felix, Venezuela for 36 years. He is a father of four Venezuelan born children.
Hamraj said it is unclear why Persaud is unable to obtain citizenship in Venezuela. Nonetheless, he is hopeful that after reporting the matter to the Venezuelan Embassy in Guyana, his client’s problem will be resolved in the shortest possible time.
Meanwhile, the RCGV President said that Persaud is not the first Guyanese with an ‘identity problem’ in Venezuela and related that he currently has 178 clients with similar cases.
Hamraj assured that his legal organisation is available “to listen to the difficulties Guyanese may face in Venezuela and is willing to work with them in finding solutions”.
Contact can be made with the RCGV in Venezuela on telephone numbers +58 412 1801770 and +58 286 9727695.
A census of Guyanese persons living in Venezuela stood at 51, 640. However, in recent time a significant number of Guyanese have migrated to other countries due to the economic crisis in Venezuela.
The RCGV is pleading with the Venezuelan authorities to assist all Guyanese living in the county with “identity problems” to resolve the issue and grant them citizenship.
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Aug 29, 2026
Kaieteur Sports – The Limacol WCPL yesterday confirmed the overseas players who will represent franchises in the upcoming season, with a host of international stars from South Africa, Australia,...Aug 29, 2026
(Kaieteur News) – Christopher Ram is quite entitled to be unimpressed by the pace of the present Constitutional Reform Commission. In a recent letter, he compared the performance of the Carl Singh-led Commission with that of the 1999 Commission and concluded that the present body, after more...Aug 23, 2026
By Sir Ronald Sanders (Kaieteur News) – I have been an advocate of the Caribbean Court of Justice from its conception. In 2015, on the Court’s tenth anniversary, I described its creation as arguably the most significant institutional achievement of the English-speaking Caribbean since the...Aug 29, 2026
(Kaieteur News) – My position on Hon Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill relative to the MV Barima tragedy is well known. Calls for his resignation or termination is mistaking a sardine for a shark. The tragedy is bigger than a minister (or two), bigger than the Cabinet. It reaches to...Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: glennlall2000@gmail.com / kaieteurnews@yahoo.com