According to the Coast Guard of Trinidad and Tobago, a Venezuelan migrant infant died in a maritime security operation on February 5th. The patrol boat ordered the vessel to stop and proceeded to fire at the engine, before recognizing that migrants and children were aboard. The infant’s death prompted the Caribbean nation to offer condolences, but no real proposals for how to prevent this kind of event from recurring were made. The dual-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago sits seven miles off the coast of Venezuela. In response to the widespread financial crisis, many Venezuelans make the dangerous crossing through the Bocas del Dragón. This crossing has a history filled with human smuggling operations and narco-trafficking. According to Reuters, approximately 40,000 Venezuelans live in Trinidad and Tobago.

The offered condolences by the Trinidad and Tobago governments reflect a superficial response to the greater picture of the Venezuelan migrant crisis. With little to no infrastructure in place to process and adapt to the influx of displaced people, the immediate deportation of new arrivals, and the lack of protection for basic migrant rights, there is an obvious need for action. In 2022, an estimated 10.7 million children will require humanitarian support related to ongoing crises including migration flows from Venezuela. Children are adversely affected by the risky journey and poor conditions in processing facilities. Governments must invest greater resources and training into safely and ethically handling migrants at sea and processing new arrivals. The Trinidad and Tobago administration must make efforts to agree on and implement an effective migrant processing program.

Responses to the situation include Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who in a meeting with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez made a statement expressing hope for better cooperation between each country’s respective Coast Guard and National Guard. The nation’s foreign ministry expressed “its deepest regret and rejection of the incident” and called for Trinidad “to carry out an exhaustive investigation to clarify the facts surrounding this fatal incident.” Juan Guaidó is the leader of the United States-supported Venezuelan opposition, and made a Twitter post describing the destruction of the migrant boat as “unjustified.” In addition, David Smolansky, who serves as the commissioner of the secretary general for the Organization of American States and specializes in the Venezuelan migrant and refugee crisis, called on Trinidad and Tobago to further investigate the situation.

International refugee organizations like the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) made a collective plea for the loss to incentivize countries to make more of an effort to prevent similar deaths from occurring. The UN made a statement confirming that the affected family is provided with humanitarian assistance and support to help them during this time. Last year, the UNHCR and IOM made a joint appeal for $1.79 billion to establish a regional system of support for the Venezuelan refugees, migrants, and host communities.

According to the IOM, more than six million refugees and migrants have fled from Venezuela due to the political turmoil under the rule of President Nicolás Maduro, socio-economic instability because of the collapsing oil industry and inflation, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Since 2014, approximately six million Venezuelans have left their country, making this one of the largest migrant crises in recent Latin American history. Venezuelans are seeking better living conditions and financial opportunities in neighboring nations. Colombia offers a minimum wage that is approximately 100 times higher than Venezuela’s income of two dollar per month. Unfortunately, migrant workers have no insurance against underpayment or workplace abuses without risking deportation. Furthermore, many of these countries do not offer refugee or migrant services. While the local Trinidad and Tobago government has no application system for asylum seekers, the local non-government agency Living Water Community (LWC) is the implementing partner of UNHCR. Based on a report by the UNHCR, where the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the migrant crisis, the loss of incomes and the increased rate of evictions has left these displaced populations at greater risk. Women and children are disproportionately affected by the crisis and face dangerous traveling and living conditions.

To prevent events like the death of child migrants and other refugee populations, a coordinated response to Venezuela’s political and humanitarian crisis is needed in all neighboring nations. Moving forward, the prioritization of children’s safety and well‐​being is of utmost importance. The Trinidad and Tobago administration must make efforts to agree on and implement an effective migrant processing program. On a larger scale, the financial recovery and improved political management of Venezuela is imperative to limit the effects of the humanitarian crisis and to preserve the livelihoods of the local populations.