Venezuelan boatmen to wait a little longer

Frustration was evident at the Kingstown Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday when Valentine Dominguez, 52, Teddoro Dominguez, 39, Andreas Jose Maraeo, 39, and 26-year-old Merchor Sanchez, the four Venezuelans who were set to stand trial on a shooting charge learnt that they would be spending a further two weeks on remand due to the unavailability of an interpreter.{{more}}

Making matters worse, Leading Seaman 289 Bramgurgon Glasgow of the Coast Guard, at whom the shots were allegedly fired, was absent because he was on sick leave, and the prosecution was unsure when he would return to work. The men waited over five hours before Senior Magistrate Donald Browne, with the aid of a calendar, showed them the November 5 date, the new date for the trial.

Magistrate Browne said that he was surprised that the Venezuelan Embassy had not made any representation for the men at all. “It is unfair to the defendants to be sitting there and not knowing what is going on,” Browne said.

The Senior Magistrate added that it appeared the lines of communication were broken down along the way.

Information received stated at around 10:55 p.m. on September 23, the men were arrested when Coast Guard officers were patrolling the coast off Union Island, along with police officers of the Rapid Response Unit and the Narcotics Division.

The police officers also said that they intercepted two vessels: a pirogue and a speedboat. According to the police, the occupants of the pirogue then fired on the lawmen, and they returned fire. (KW)