Although one of the promises of Chavismo as soon as it took power more than 20 years ago was been to improve the living conditions of indigenous peoples, the current reality is very different. Displacement, misery, malnutrition, insecurity, human trafficking, unemployment and diseases, is part of what the Waraos suffer in Delta Amacuro State in Venezuela’s extreme east.
By Correspondent lapatilla.com
The lack of government attention has plunged indigenous communities into abandonment. So much so that fleeing their ancestral lands has become the path that many natives have taken to survive. When touring the region, one can see uninhabited areas where the residents have migrated to other states or to Brazil and Guyana. Although Trinidad and Tobago is relatively close, it is usually not chosen as a destination for migrating, and is only used by alleged human trafficking mafias that deceive people and get trapped in sex trafficking.
One of the many indigenous communities forgotten by Chavismo is that of the Guasina sector, near the ‘PetroDelta’ crude oil wells, where there is a garbage dump in which children and adults survive by scavenging for scrap metal to sell and thus get some income. Just by entering the area, it is already evident the precariousness in which around 200, distributed in 48 adults and about 150 children, indigenous people live.
The Chief of this Warao community, Luis Ramón Rodríguez, told lapatilla.com that since 1992 he has resided in the aforementioned sector. He affirms that the situation, far from improving, has worsened, leaving them unassisted and forced to abandon their lands. He remembers that about 15 years ago they had more possibilities to purchase food. However, today hunger and disease are part of the daily life of indigenous people.
“Here in this community there are very few of us who work and this is employed by the mayor’s office in garbage collection. The rest lives off the sale of scrap metal, aluminum, copper. With whatever they grab the people go and buy about two flours (packets), sardines, spaghetti and cassava, whatever they can, because sometimes no money is made and the Government’s aid is very little. We have not been sold Clap bags for two months now, which should come every 15 days, and this has never been done,” said the chief.
Child malnutrition can be evident in the little ones, whose bulging bellies suggest that they have parasites. Coupled with the poor diet, the raw water conditions that they seek in another sector, the health of the indigenous people worsens. Although there are no official figures, Rodríguez affirms that tuberculosis is one of the diseases that most affects residents.
The Chief of the Guasina community points out that the Delta Amacuro State government has not organized medical days for the Waraos. He regrets that Chavista governor Lizeta Hernández has forgotten these towns. The only medical and social sessions they receive are from the missionaries, with the support of ONG ‘Cáritas de Venezuela’.
Human trafficking
The coordinator of the Human Rights Committee of the ‘Vente Venezuela’ party, Orlando Moreno, referred to the different crimes that are common in Delta Amacuro State, such as human trafficking, which is a juicy business for mafias and armed groups that operate within the state. The region presents ideal conditions for these criminal organizations due to its geographical location that faces the Atlantic Ocean and very close to Trindad and Guyana. It is easy to transport their victims, who are kidnapped or deceived with proposals for a better life, without knowing that they will become slaves to pornography and prostitution.
“This Venezuelan state suffers from many shortcomings, a lack of public services and militarization at practically all levels. Even so, it is one of the springboard states for human trafficking. When we talk about Delta Amacuro being the cradle of different crimes, it is that the region is used to move victims of human trafficking from different parts of the country to Trinidad and Tobago, as well as other Caribbean countries, which are the most common destination that benefit from this crime,” says Moreno.
This human rights defender adds that due to the complex humanitarian crisis that the country is going through, an accelerated increase in victims of human trafficking has been observed, many coming from cities such as Caracas, Valencia, Puerto La Cruz, Maturín, Puerto Ordaz and central Venezuela. These mafias use the more than 3,600 river branches that make Delta Amacuro state ideal to traffic people.
Irregular groups are dedicated to this type of activity because it is the second largest business in the world, after drug trafficking, and the most profitable, since it is related to child prostitution and everything that it encompasses. Moreno affirms that this crime is currently difficult to fight, due to the support that these gangs obtain from State agencies.
“The country that benefits the most from this crime is Trinidad and Tobago, where there are a large number of mafias that center their operations in Venezuela. They use different sectors, such as the indigenous, which is the most involved in this issue, to serve as carriers for these people, and under this scheme there is a large human trafficking network in the country under the regime’s complacent gaze,” says the activist.
Olive green complicity
For criminal networks, a ‘tabor’ (lit. drum, 200 let’s, 52 gallons) can cost up to $400, which becomes a big deal for the military, since it is the Venezuelan State that supplies the fuel. Officials benefit from these mafias, since they need permits to go through the different river checkpoints, as well as gasoline to get around.
This crime, in particular, has been reported to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Fact Finding Mission, Insight Crime and other organizations that deal with the issue of crime. He assures that he has been working with these organizations for some time to make visible what he describes as a tragedy that the country has been experiencing for many years in this area.
The difficulty in telecommunications and the rugged geography of the region, with more than 3,600 navigable channels, make Delta Amacuro a favorable terrain for the flourishing of human trafficking, as well as other crimes. There the State blurs its role provided for in the Constitution and merges with organized crime networks.