(May 19, 2019) – A sport fishing boat encounters a survivor 30 miles off Trinidad. Twenty other migrants are presumed drowned.

Published 6 years ago, updated 5 years ago

As conditions in Venezuela continue to deteriorate (see previous report) migrants are now fleeing the country by boat.

Late last week a vessel with approximately 21 people aboard set off 125NM from Isla de Margarita for Trinidad. The vessel later sank and a sport fishing boat convey owned by Mixed Bag Sport Fishing happened across a survivor 30 miles off Trinidad, while en route to the USVI.

Mixed Bag Fishing co-owner, Robert Richard, described saving the man in a Facebook post, “he was on a boat that sunk the night before with 20 other people on board, so far no other survivors. They were on their way to Trinidad to buy food because their home of Isla De Margarita, a Venezuela island, has limited food that’s very expensive.”

An estimated three million people have fled Venezuela because there are severe shortages of basic items such as medicine and food. The annual inflation rate reached 1,300,000% in the 12 months before November 2018, according to a study by the National Assembly.

Noonsite will update this story as more information becomes available. Currently, we are seeking official advice on what boats transiting the area should do if they encounter migrant boats or migrants in distress.

Noonsite has not independently verified this information.