The need of those fleeing the country to Curaçao feeds the human trafficking mafias
On Monday, March 8 at 10:30 in the morning, a group made up of 17 Venezuelans from the western states of Lara, Zulia and Falcón left clandestinely from Cayo Los Pescadores, in the Morrocoy National Park, heading for Bonaire. The final destination of the crossing was Curaçao, but they included that stop to try to evade the coast guard that protects the Dutch Caribbean.
This trip, which was originally planned for December 2020, was postponed three times. The first departure was scheduled for December 12, but was postponed for reasons unknown to passengers.
Then, they agreed to move in January and another unforeseen event arose: Curaçao announced that from the 15th of that month, Venezuelans would need a visa to enter the island. The measure imposed by Willemstad forced to change the plans of the organizers, who decided to go out at the carnival.
“When the end of the 2020 year came, I decide that I am not going to travel. My partner, who is a Dutch citizen and resides in Curaçao, recommended that I process all the documents to avoid problems on the island, but the visa issue discouraged me,” says Sofía Oviol, a fictitious name used to protect the identity of the source.
“It is difficult to meet the requirements to opt for the Curaçao visa. Apostille the papers costs more than 100 dollars in Venezuela. The appointments and the travel trip to Caracas demand a lot of money. In addition, my passport is about to expire and I also have to process the extension,” Oviol told the Spanish news site Crónicas del Caribe.
She emigrated from Venezuela to Colombia in 2019 and at the end of that year she traveled to Curaçao. She says that she left with the Venezuelan passport and an empty suitcase. During her first stay in Curaçao, she worked for eight months in a private company, then as a nanny and finally cared for elderly people with Alzheimer's. Oviol earned between 500 and 1,300 florins (280 and 728 dollars at the exchange rate). “She worked from 6 in the afternoon until 5 in the morning,” she comments.
Clandestine
Despite her initial doubts, Oviol embarked on the adventure. To get on the island, the organizers of the trip charged her $ 1,500. "We wanted to travel on Carnival Friday and take advantage of the festivities on the island so as not to generate suspicion," says Oviol, who confesses that the organizers feared being detained by officials of the Special Actions Forces (FAES).
On the first of March, she moved to Tucacas from La Vela de Coro, where she waited for her instructions along with her mother and her three children. A week later, she and 16 other people jumped into the sea for Curaçao. Few knew the intentions of the 17 migrants. Basically, her confidants were relatives residing in Curaçao, who had sent them money to pay the 1,500 dollars for the trip.
The captain warned that the boat's engines were in poor condition, recalls Oviol. However, none stayed ashore and they set sail in broad daylight. After two in the afternoon on March 8, the boat was adrift in Venezuelan waters.
Without notifying the crew, the captain modified the route for unknown reasons. The captain's determination saved them from dying on the high seas. The wind dragged the boat 7 nautical miles from Puerto Cumarebo, -a town in Falcón state- which allowed them to send an alert message thanks to the mobile phone signal.
"Mama we are adrift, move it for me," wrote one of the crew by text message. After surviving 24 hours at sea, they were rescued by the Venezuelan authorities. Local media reviews highlight that all were treated at the Cumarebo hospital and presented mild dehydration.
Where are they?
Clandestine trips from Venezuela to the islands of the Dutch Caribbean have doubled after the closure of the border imposed by the Nicolás Maduro regime in February 2019, according to data from the NGO FundaRedes.
The National Committee of Victims of Forced Disappearance in Altamar estimates that 57 people who left the coast of Falcón are missing. The ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Robert Schuddeboom, recognized in a recent visit to the city of Coro, the problems caused by illegal migration.
For many Venezuelan migrants, the need is greater than the fear of losing their life. Sofía Oviol affirms that one of the reasons why she decided to set sail clandestinely on March 8 is her aunt, who is a cancer patient.
“I pay for my aunt's treatment. What they send me from Curaçao is no longer enough for me, my three children, my grandmother's house, and my aunt's treatment, which costs $ 3,000 plus medical exams. I no longer give myself luxuries like before the closing of borders and the pandemic,” she says with tears in her eyes.
The crisis of public services also motivated her to leave her country. “I couldn't bear the blackouts, the long hours without light were a torment. I managed to settle in Curaçao and returned to Falcón for my aunt, but here the pandemic caught me. Now I tried to get out and almost lost my life. My partner continues to help me from there,” she details.
Detained
The organizers of the trip were not improvising at all. Oviol reveals that in a first stage, while the date of the trip was being defined, they were kept for 15 days in a penthouse in Tucacas.
“They put us up in a penthouse. The organizers paid for the stay. They made us food and guided us. I got sick and they paid for everything, including the medicines. Then the organizers took us to Chichiriviche and put us up in a house for three days. In reality, we were practically kidnapped because there were delays in paying the rooms. We had to pawn tablets and cell phones,” Oviol explains.
They were scheduled to go to Bonaire to avoid the Curaçao coast guard and then reach Klein Curaçao Island, which administratively belongs to Curaçao. There the migrants would pass into the hands of other people to reach their final destination. The failure of the boat's engines thwarted the plan.
The Falcón State Secretariat for Citizen Security reported on Saturday, March 13, the arrest of two women, Betty Jiménez Rico and Yennifer Colina, allegedly involved in the incident.
According to the official report, Jiménez Rico and Colinas "held the 17 immigrants in captivity for four days in a house located in Tucacas until they were transferred to Curaçao." The plot is investigated for the crimes of illegal immigration and illegal human trafficking.
Reported by Jhonattam Petit
Crónicas del Caribe