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Venezuelan boat en route to Guyana missing with passengers, one found dead
By Shervin Belgrave
Kaieteur News – The body of Orvin Persaud, a 25-year-old dual citizen of Guyana and Venezuela was found floating in the Tucupita River, Venezuela two days after he departed for Guyana.
Dead: Orvin Persaud
Venezuelan police have reportedly found Persaud’s body while in search of a boat en-route to Charity, Essequibo Coast, Region Two. The boat occupied by several passengers has since disappeared.
Persaud had reportedly boarded the boat described as a small wooden ‘ballahoo’ with at least six other passengers from a port in Barrancas, Venezuela.
He was expected to arrive in Guyana the following day but the boat never reached its destination.
Persaud’s relatives, who were anticipating his arrival in Guyana, became worried and raised an alarm. The man was reported missing and his family posted his photograph across the various social media platforms.
It was after seeing the missing person post, that persons in Venezuela began suspecting that the boat might have encountered some difficulties on its way to Guyana.
Kaieteur News understands that relatives of two more passengers have since come forward and reported them missing.
The Venezuelan authorities are unable to provide clarity on what transpired causing Persaud’s death and the disappearance of the boat with the passengers and captain. However, it is believed that the boat may have capsized in the Orinoco River.
An investigation has since been launched and the Venezuelan lawmen are on the look-out for possible survivors and the missing boat.
However, Persaud’s relatives believe that even if there were any survivors, it would be difficult to find them because travelling through the Orinoco River to Guyana, is an illegal route. Persons who traverse the ‘back track’ route usually hide from lawmen.
Nevertheless, his relatives are calling for a full investigation into the matter, because the route is not only illegal but also very dangerous.
The area where Persaud’s floating body was found.
Meanwhile, speaking with Kaieteur News on Tuesday, President of the Representantes de la Comunidad Guyanesa en Venezuela (RCVG – an organisation in Venezuela that represents Guyanese living in the country), Director Hamraj Antonio said that the illegal route is unsafe. He said that apart from boat mishaps and the dangers that the river and the sea pose, Antonio explained that “Many have suffered (traveling through the illegal Route), being detained, mistreated and unfairly extorted by some police forces in the national territory.
He called on the Government of Guyana to clamp down on the use of the route for those desirous of entering Guyana. Further, Antonio called on the relevant authorities of Guyana to establish a flight route from Puerto Ordaz, a City in Venezuela, to the Euguene Correria International Airport in Guyana so that Venezuelans and Guyanese returning home can legally and safely enter the country.
Travelling through the Orinoco River to get to Guyana is one of the “most dangerous back track Routes” that Venezuelans use to enter Trinidad and Guyana.
It continues to be a route used for smuggling contraband in and out of Venezuela. However, the recent economic crisis brought the neighbouring country to its knees, and this resulted in an increase in the smuggling of Venezuelan refugees through the dangerous waters.
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