Seventy-five Venezuelans who entered Guyana illegally on Monday were deported on Tuesday according to the Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) of the Guyana Police Force.
The seventy-five which included fifty-seven (57) adult males, nine (9) adult females and nine (9) children arrived on Monday on the Essequibo Coast via the Atlantic Ocean in a boat measuring forty-five (45) feet in length and powered by a 75 Horsepower Yamaha outboard engine.
The group, the statement said, was intercepted by a police mobile patrol that was on duty in the coastal community of Abram Zuil.
The immigration department was notified, and officers were sent to the location where it was found that the group had failed to present themselves to immigration department or port of entry.
After overnighting in Guyana, the group was deported to Venezuela. The group was sent on its way with adequate fuel and amenities, the police said.
The economic and political crisis in Venezuela have seen many Venezuelans’ fleeing to neigbouring countries including Guyana. More than twenty thousand Venezuela migrants are living in Guyana according to HIAS. HIAS is a Jewish American non-profit organisation which provides humanitarian support and assistance to refugees.