PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Nineteen Venezuelan nationals were detained during anti-crime operations in the south-west of Trinidad on Saturday, as authorities continue efforts to manage illegal migration from Venezuela.

Police also arrested a 30-year-old Point Fortin man after five Venezuelans — aged between 21 and 33 — were found at his home during one of the operations.

In a separate incident later that day, 14 Venezuelan nationals, including children as young as five, were discovered by members of the country’s Marine Interdiction Unit hiding behind a pirogue on a beach in the Erin district. The group, which included adults up to 40 years old, is believed to have entered the country illegally.

Officers from the Erin Police Station, along with personnel from the Immigration Division and the Children’s Authority, were called in to assist with the detentions.

The police say investigations into both incidents are ongoing.

Trinidad and Tobago has experienced a sustained influx of Venezuelan migrants in recent years, many fleeing economic hardship and political instability at home.