A total of 13 Venezuelan migrants have been missing in the waters of the Caribbean Sea for a week, after having set sail from the Colombian island of San Andrés on October 12 bound for Corn Island, in Nicaragua.
The migrants were traveling in two boats with plans to later move to Bluefields and from there to Managua to continue on their way to the United States.
The two brothers and the brother-in-law of Rebeca Montes were on one of the boats, the woman said in tears via Skype. Although she has approached the Venezuelan embassies in Nicaragua, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica to request support in finding her relatives, she has received no response, she said.
“They tell us that they are looking for them, but nothing more. We are afraid, we do not know where they are, if they are kidnapped or stranded on the high seas,” Montes told the voice of america.
Montes indicated that he has also requested information about his relatives in the shelter centers in San José, Costa Rica, who agreed to send him information about the people they have in the shelters, but he has not received it.
“All the relatives of these people are in a group on WhatsApp where we communicate if we know something, but there is no news, we are in uncertainty,” he said.
Among the missing is a 7-year-old boy, a pregnant woman and another 73-year-old woman.
Kelly Luna, who had three relatives among the 13 migrants who were on the boats, told the VOA that the person in charge of the trip initially told them that the Venezuelans were fine, but that there was little communication to keep in touch. “Then he changed the version for us and was upset when we asked him questions,” he said.
“It’s a very frustrating thing not to hear from them. Sometimes people call us trying to extort money from us, or they tell us that they are imprisoned in Nicaragua, then in Costa Rica. For sure, we don’t know where they are,” Luna added.
The Venezuelans who were on the boats are:
1- Marisela Ruiz Perez, 44 years old
2- Wilmer Segovia, 28 years old
3- Samuel Segovia, 7 years old
4- Jancerlin Martinez, 33 years old
5- Jaerlin Martinez, 26 years old
6-Joencer Martinez, 19 years old
7- Ruben Quintero, 37 years old
8- Noris Lopez 72
9- Maria Zamora 37
10- Carlos Arrieta 40
11- Jairangel Rosario 27
12- Melody Rosario 18
13- William Mayora 29
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