WILLEMSTAD - The court of Curaçao has sentenced four Venezuelan men to eight years in prison each. They have been found guilty of attempting to import and trade 1,600 kilograms of cocaine. During their interception, a member of the Coast Guard shot and killed a fifth Venezuelan.
The Venezuelan who was shot dead was alleged to have attempted to attack the Coast Guard member with a screwdriver. This incident took place on July 25, 2022, when a Coast Guard team detained the five Venezuelans on a speedboat in Curaçao territorial waters.
The remaining four men have been identified as Gonzalez Gomez J. D., Palencia Salazar J. P., Hernandez Garcia D. J., and Malave Vargas L. Palencia Salazar, Hernandez Garcia, and Malave Vargas are also accused of possessing a deadly weapon, in this case, a screwdriver.
During yesterday's verdict, the judge agreed with lawyer Sulvaran that the surveillance footage did not show the men carrying automatic weapons or any indication that one of the men intended to attack the military personnel with a screwdriver.
However, the judge took into consideration that when the military personnel ordered the Venezuelans to stop the speedboat, they continued at high speed, despite warning shots and the sounding of a siren by the Coast Guard to compel them to stop. The men ignored these signals.
A large quantity of cocaine was found on the boat. The four individuals claimed to have no involvement in the case and stated that they were kidnapped against their will and forced onto the boat to transport drugs.