Trinidad and Tobago repatriates more than 700 Venezuelans

Trinidad and Tobago repatriated more than 700 Venezuelans to their homeland on Sunday.

Monday, 19th July 2021

Trinidad and Tobago: Trinidad and Tobago repatriated more than 700 Venezuelans to their homeland on Sunday. Notably, on the eastern coast of Venezuela, on the port of Guanta, some 330 km east from Caracas, a Venezuelan commercial ferry moved hundreds of Venezuelans who left Trinidad & Tobago for lack of employment because of the coronavirus pandemic. "I didn't have the capacity to take care of my son," said Valentina Itriago, a repatriated Venezuelan who worked cleaning houses in Trinidad and Tobago. "I had already been out of work for 3 months; rents were super expensive. It was time to go back." The Venezuelan government began a repatriation plan called "Return to the Fatherland" in 2018, and since then, more than 25,000 Venezuelans have been repatriated from other countries in the region such as Peru, Ecuador and Chile. This return of Venezuelans from Trinidad and Tobago is the first voluntary repatriation to be done by sea. Additionally, the crisis intensified under the Maduro government, growing more severe as a result of low oil prices in early 2015 also a drop in Venezuela's oil production from lack of maintenance and investment. Most critics cite anti-democratic governance, corruption and mismanagement of the economy as causes of the crisis. Even T&T have harshly affected by this coronavirus, and people in that country are facing a lot of problems. Opposition continually attacking the current government on economic policies. Relations between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago : Trinidad and Tobago–Venezuela ties refer to the bilateral relations between the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Trinidad and Tobago have an Embassy in Caracas, and Venezuela has an embassy in Port of Spain. Trade relations : CARICOM-Venezuela agreement on trade & investment eliminates tariffs on certain goods between Trinidad and other Caribbean nations and Venezuela. This includes duty-free access to specific products and the elimination of tariffs for certain exports to Venezuela.

Source : Associated Press