Trinidad grants extension of stay to registered Venezuelans

(Trinidad Express) Registered Venezuelans will get another extension of their stay in Trinidad and Tobago, this time to June 3, 2021, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced yesterday.
The current registration cards expire on December 30. There was a previous extension from June to December, 2020.
The Prime Minister said in the extension period the 16,000-plus registered Venezuelans will have to re-register. He said during that period, the Government would also sort out the issue of who will obtain visas but he stressed: “One of the things we can’t expect and which we won’t do is mass deportation.”
“During the six month period there would be new and firm laws for persons who encourage the illegal trade (of human smuggling) and stiffer penalties for human trafficking,” he said.
The Prime Minister also announced the policy which currently allows the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights (UNCHR) and Living Waters the right to register people who come into Trinidad and Tobago as migrants and other parties (refugees) “will have to change”.
“The Government is in a position now to do it itself,” he said.
During the post-Cabinet news conference held at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, the Prime Minister quoted “not my favourite (Twitter) writer”, US President Donald Trump.
“It is so apt that I must quote it—‘America is a sovereign nation and our first priority is always the safety and security of our citizens’.”
The Prime Minister said: “I couldn’t agree more. Trinidad and Tobago has that same position.”
Rowley said the international media were being used to carry a “false narrative” about Trinidad and Tobago and “unfortunately that would have come from public servants at the OAS (Organisation of American States). So if I take issue with them (OAS public servants), I am simply doing my job,” he said.
PM: We are a low fence
Rowley said Trinidad and Tobago’s membership in the OAS was “not in danger…We are a member and our record can stand scrutiny anytime and anywhere”. He asked rhetorically whether these OAS persons have ever asked questions about what has been happening on the Mexican border. “We are a low fence, anybody could jump over, but sometimes hibiscus grows,” he said.
Turning to the issue of human trafficking and human smuggling, the Prime Minister referred extensively to an ACP (Association of Caribbean and Pacific States) Report dated 2013 on human trafficking in 12 countries, of which Trinidad and Tobago was one.
“What we do know is that there are people in Venezuela organising people to go to Trinidad and many of those persons are doing so for profit and they are called traffickers. And we do know that there are people in Trinidad, integrated with that, receiving them and protecting them and assisting them in Trinidad. And the laws that we are going to upgrade will make it less attractive for our citizens in Trinidad and Tobago to do that. Because this is a matter which has grown in size and stature and complexity and we just have to evolve with it,” the Prime Minister said.
“If you have people (registered migrants) staying here and encouraging illegals to come here, then you are at the head of the line to go back home,” he stressed.
PM to Venezuelans: Don’t risk your lives
The Prime Minister said a drowning in Venezuela by people who attempt to leave Venezuela has nothing to do with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. He said however there were those who would try to turn this issue on its head in an attempt to involve the Government. He said the Government hoped there would be no recurrence of such a tragic incident. Saying that there were legal channels for entry in which a visa may or may not be granted for a period of time, the Prime Minister made a plea to Venezuelans: “Don’t risk your lives trying to come in illegally in the dead of night on an open boat, unsafe….And don’t encourage people to do that…You may lose family members and of course you are breaking the law, our borders are closed…You are acting as a criminal, breaking the law and risking people’s lives and when they get killed, you have the temerity to turn around and blame the Government of Trinidad and Tobago,” the Prime Minister stated.
The Prime Minister said Trinidad and Tobago had taken on “into its bosom” more Venezuelan migrants on a per capita basis and a per square kilometre basis than any other country. He said the UNCHR would never say that because it doesn’t suit their agenda.