Venezuelan Embassy officials regret death of Vincentian

Officials at the Venezuelan Embassy in St Vincent and the Grenadines have expressed regret in the death of Vincentian Customs Guard Othneil Whyte.{{more}}

In a statement released by the Embassy on Wednesday, June 6, from its Richmond Hill offices in Kingstown, the Embassy indicated that it sent to Whyte’s family ‘heartfelt words of sympathy and offer respect and consideration in this painful time’.

Whyte’s post mortem revealed that the 55-year-old public servant died as a result of drowning, which took place at some point during what is believed to be a shootout between a local police officer and foreigners on Sunday, June 3, just off the Union Island coast.

During that incident, three Venezuelans were killed, with one other hospitalized at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, and five more in police custody.

The Embassy, with Yoel Perez Marcano as Ambassador, said in the statement that it had complied with international protocols on consular proceedings, concerning foreigners detained as part of a criminal investigation.

“There were several telephone conversations with the Office of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Keith Miller, and the Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, in order to cooperate with investigations of the event and to receive information on the identification of those arrested, injured and dead, so that the relevant authorities and families in Venezuela can be informed,” the statement said.

The statement went on to say that a Consular visit was made to the injured person, as well as the captain of the boat ‘El Amigo Fay’ and the four others detained at the police station on Union Island, and that they were awaiting authorization from the authorities to collect fingerprint information to be sent to Venezuela in order to confirm the men’s identity.

“We share with the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the police authorities, the fight to combat all forms of criminality, including fuel smuggling, illegal fishing and drug trafficking, under the existing agreement between the Republic of Venezuela and the State of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on the Prevention, Control and Suppression of Illicit Traffic and Consumption of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, signed on February 03, 1993.”

The statement said that the Embassy is in support of all inquiries from local authorities that would clarify the event, which it considered unfortunate, and that the detained men get an internationally recognized fair trial ‘with absolute respect for the right to humane treatment and other human rights.’

St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Venezuela will mark 30 years of diplomatic relations and cooperation this year.