By Bibi Khatoon
Following the recent killing of a Guyanese man in Venezuela, allegedly by a well-known and feared gang called ‘Sindicato’, concerns have been raised about the safety of residents in the areas close to the Guyana-Venezuela border.
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman on Thursday, January 25, 2018, confirmed that the matter is engaging the attention of the National Security Committee.
In condemning the beheading of the young man, who is said to be from Hosororo in Region One, Minister Trotman at a press conference said the matter is being investigated.
The killing was videotaped and shared on social media.
As far as the ‘Sindicato gang’ is concerned, Minister Trotman said: “it is a social concern….as things continue to take place in Venezuela, we’ve seen more activity of these ‘illegals’ or ‘irregulars’ as some may want to refer to them, along the border but that is essentially a matter for the military and the police and the National Security Committee.”
Junior Minister of Natural Resources, Simons Broomes who spends much of her time travelling the interior, said she is not aware of the presence of the gangs in large amounts at the border or elsewhere in the hinterland.
“For several years at the border, they’ve [residents] established a lot of relationships with Guyanese and Venezuelans and they speak the language of Guyanese and things like that and this what is happening here is signalling out. There are some illegal activities… but to say there is a large presence and these big gangs in the Mazaruni and Cuyuni, no, such was not reported,” Broomes told the media.
Meanwhile, Minister Trotman also disclosed that the authorities received reports of a road being built towards the Guyana-Venezuela border, making another point of entry. He told media operatives that successful intervention saw the operation coming to a halt.
“Between this Ministry and between the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the GDF, we were able to take some measures to both investigate and to curb what could have been a new artery heading to the border which would have been un-policed,” Trotman disclosed.
Amerindians and Miners have raised concerns about the presence of Venezuelans in the hinterland communities on numerous occasions.
The Guyanese reported instances of robbery and harassment from the Venezuelans.
