According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, the 12 men currently detained in Venezuela are not being mistreated.
“Our conversation with relatives here in Guyana does not give us any concern or worry that they are not being treated fairly. As far we are aware they are in good shape we know that some of them may need help if they are held longer,” Todd told a public briefing.
He added that during a virtual conference with his counterpart Jorge Arreaza, he offered assurance that the all Human Rights guidelines will be followed and that the men would be remain on the boat.
According to their family members the men just want to come home.
“He say they ok. They on the boat and they getting food to eat but they really want to come home,” Anneisa Fredricks told Sunday Stabroek last evening.
Fredricks, whose husband Toney Garraway is Captain of the Sea Wolf explained that she and their three children are patiently waiting on the matter to be resolved and hoping that he and the other crew members return home safely.
Seeta Ramnarine, wife of Richard Ramnarine the Captain of the Lady Nayera shared a similar concern.
“I just want them to come home safe. I am praying for their safe return,” she told this newspaper.
According to Ramnarine, her husband has been a seaman for the entire 23 years of their relationship and never had a problem.
“He is not a careless man so I know he wasn’t fishing illegally anywhere,” she maintained.
The two women have been in constant contact with their husbands and expressed gratitude for the efforts being made by government to have their family members returned to them safely.
Beverly Ross, the mother of Christopher Shaw told Sunday Stabroek that when she spoke with her son on Friday he was physically well but worried about when he would be able to return home.
“He wants to come home. He’s in a place where he doesn’t know the language so it’s hard. I just want him home,” the woman explained.
Unlike Ramnarine and Fredricks, Ross is not receiving updates from government or Shaw’s employers. Her only contact with her son is through social media so her worries are multiplied.
“Last Sunday I just get a call from somebody who I don’t know saying he was detained in Venezuela. That’s all…nothing before or after til he message me yesterday [Friday],” she shared.
Lady Nayera and Sea Wolf, were intercepted by Venezuelan naval vessel, Commandante Hugo Chavez GC 24 on January 21 off the coast of Waini Point well within Guyana’s territory.
The crew and both vessels were illegally detained by the Venezuelan Government and are currently still in detention at Port Guiria.
Stabroek News has previously reported that the men appeared in Court last Monday. During this appearance the Venezuelan authorities were granted 45 days to conclude investigations and possibly lay charges.
Following an intense lobby by the Guyana Foreign Service, individual Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Community as a whole, have denounced the action taken by Venezuela calling upon them to release the crew and vessels.
The Organisation of American States has also issued a statement in which it stressed that “resolution of the territorial (controversy) between Venezuela and Guyana is a matter that lies under international jurisdiction, and cannot be settled by unilateral action. Any attempt to derail this international legal process such as the decree, issued by the Maduro regime is contrary to international law and standards, and has no legal bearing on significance.”
