Venezuelan gangs meddle in crime in Trinidad and Tobago – Trinidad Tribune

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Police officers collect packages of cocaine found near a BP facility in Guayaguayare in August 2023. – Photo courtesy of TTPS

Venezuelan criminal gangs are committing serious crime in Trinidad and Tobago, both in competition with and in collaboration with local gangs, according to a UN report published on September 2, titled Caribbean Gangs: Drugs, Firearms and Gangs (sic) Networks in Jamaica, St Lucia, Guyana and TT.

The report lists the types of crimes committed by Venezuelan criminals: extortion, human trafficking, and the smuggling of illegal drugs and weapons.

TT was said to have a “thriving” drug trade and served as “a major transit point for cocaine and cannabis.”

The country was highly regarded by organized crime networks due to its location just seven miles from Venezuela and outside the hurricane belt, making human trafficking possible year-round, the report said.

“In addition, the strong cultural ties in southern Trinidad with Venezuela have made the coastal region, including Icacos, Cedros and Moruga, an area of ​​high drug, weapons and migrant trafficking.

“The country has long struggled with drug trafficking and trafficking and a high rate of violent crime.”

The report said the TT Coast Guard struggles to screen maritime traffic, and that interdiction rates are also undermined by limited cooperation with its Venezuelan counterpart, the Guardia Nacional. “The primary route for drugs into TT is Venezuela and to a lesser extent Guyana and Suriname, with drugs being transported via commercial cargo, private go-fast boats and fishing vessels.”

The report found that despite perceptions that drug trafficking has increased in recent years, the number of seizures has fallen.

“While cannabis seizures increased from 2,890 kilograms in 2019 to 3,487 kilograms in 2021, they declined to 584 kilograms in 2022. Cocaine seizures also initially remained stable, from 320 kilograms in 2019 to 221 kilograms in 2021, before declining to just 20 kilograms in 2022.”

The report states that TT has reported significant seizures in the past. “It is likely that these (current) figures significantly underestimate the scale of drug trafficking and transport in TT.”

However, the report also highlights two large seizures last year, which “suggests that the drug economy is flourishing.”

Last May, police with the help of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) seized 168 kilograms of cocaine in Chaguaramas, en route to the US. In August 2023, some 46 kilograms of cocaine washed up on shore in areas including Manzanilla and Mayaro after a boat capsized that was said to be carrying three tons of cocaine.

“Police also discovered cocaine packaged in car parts going from TT to Antigua.”

The report states that weapons from Venezuela have crossed the border into Venezuela. According to the report, the vast majority of weapons used by criminal groups and gangs come from the US.

“Some handguns and assault rifles were suspected of being exchanged in the ‘guns for drugs’ and ‘guns for food’ trade with Venezuelans, although the extent of the trade is unclear.”

Firearms from the US come to TT directly or via countries such as Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

“Assault rifles are also becoming increasingly common due to high local demand, low cost and the ease with which products can be moved through customs and excise.”

The report noted that there were “very limited prosecutions of high-level dealers, brokers and transporters” who facilitated the illicit firearms trade.

It noted that police estimate there are 8,154 illegal firearms in circulation in Trinidad, of which approximately 600 are seized each year. Approximately 4,376 firearms were seized from 2017-2021.

Claiming that TT’s drug trade in the 1980s/1990s was run by a few drug barons, it named the late Nankissoon “Dole Chadee” Boodram.

“There were reports at the time of high-level cooperation between drug traffickers and senior police officials.

“There have also been reports of possible involvement of Jamaican criminal groups operating from TT since the 1990s.”

A growing concern in TT was the increasing presence of Venezuelan gangs, some of whom were reportedly smuggling firearms.

Focusing on Venezuelan gangs, the report said TT had the highest number of Venezuelan migrants per capita in the world. TT has taken in 60,000 Venezuelans since 2015, which is more than the 16,523 legally registered in TT.

“While studies suggest that migrants are no more likely to commit crimes than locals, the arrest of a high-level gang member in 2019 raised alarm bells.” Authorities arrested Darwin ‘El Culón’ García Gibori, the leader of the Evander gang, along with seven other Venezuelans and a Trinidadian fisherman, in Port (sic) Fortin, in southern Trinidad. The gang is involved in both extortion of boats carrying Venezuelan migrants and in transporting drugs and weapons.”

García Gibori was later sentenced to five years in prison by a Point Fortin magistrate after pleading guilty to weapons charges. Evander – the Deltano Liberation Front – has placed members in TT gangs, the report said, citing police and immigration sources.

“There are also concerns that some former gang members are providing services to various gangs, including Muslim in Port-of-Spain, but also to gangs in Port Fortin and Chaguanas.

“Gangs can be involved in drugs and weapons, but also in prostitution.

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“Evidence is also emerging of tensions between local gangs and Venezuelan groups as Trinidadian middlemen who previously facilitated the drug and arms trade are sidelined.”

The report said TT had 186 local gangs with 1,700 members last year, compared with 211 gangs with 2,450 members in 2019. Most street gangs were linked to an umbrella gang, a top-level gang that imposes conditions on involvement on the streets and in prison, such as the Muslim and Rasta City (Seven) gangs. In the East-West Corridor, smaller gangs were challenging dominant gangs.

“A relatively small number of larger gangs are heavily involved in drug and arms trafficking, and have also diversified into criminal activities such as human trafficking from Venezuela, contract killings (in TT and abroad, including neighbouring countries and as far away as Angola), kidnapping, extortion, illegal quarrying, ATM fraud and racketeering.”

The report said the rise in violence and the development of gang culture was due to “intergenerational impoverishment that creates social vulnerability.” Half of gang members are between 19 and 25 years old and half are over 25, the report said. A decline in the age of gang members has led to more violence between gangs.

“It is common knowledge that government contracts fuel organised crime.

“Arrests and prosecutions of higher-ranking gang members are rare, while lower-ranking ones are often convicted.”

The report states that police should enlist the help of gang leaders to identify suspects, which would increase the legitimacy and credibility of gang leaders.

The high level of police corruption contributes to the community’s reluctance to cooperate.

“Finally, the closed and close-knit nature of communities also affects the willingness of police to prosecute gangs, not least because gangsters know where the police and their families live.”

The report’s introduction spoke of “business elites” and “organizations” that linked drug trafficking between countries.

“While most gangs are parochial, a small number of transnational criminal organizations are key facilitators of the drug trade in the Caribbean.

“In general, such organizations facilitate the transshipment of narcotics and firearms throughout the Caribbean and are more likely to have links to criminal organizations in North America, South America and Western Europe.”

The report finds that some business elites are facilitating gang and human trafficking activities in the Caribbean.

“While criminally involved actors within these communities can be recognized as ‘open secrets’, publicly available information about these entities and their activities is also extremely limited.”