(Trinidad Guardian) Seventeen Venezuelans have been caught hiding in an abandoned hotel infested with bats and rats at Chatham South beach.
They were picked up by the T&T Coast Guard after dawn, having been dropped off by a Venezuelan pirogue.
Among the 17 Venezuelans were nine females, one of whom is pregnant, a baby and seven men.
A source said the women were hiding in the abandoned hotel; while some were found in the bushes and on the beach.
The patrolling officers became alerted when they saw a few cars, waiting to pick up the Venezuelans.
For this week, several hundred Venezuelans have been detained by police and later released after receiving Orders of Supervision.
On Tuesday, 112 people were arrested at Beach Camp, Palo Seco.
They were hiding in the forests off Aguilera Trace. Before the police found them, more than 80 young Venezuelan women were shuttled away from the Palo Seco area in maxis.
At Fullarton Beach, 12 more Venezuelans were arrested, while at Erin, 58 were found.
Police said as the May 31 registration draws nearer, hundreds of Venezuelans are fleeing to Trinidad, desperate to escape starvation and disease in their homeland.
