PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – High Court judge, Justice Frank Seepersad, early Wednesday, denied an injunction to a former Venezuelan mayor claiming political prosecution and execution if he is deported to the South American country.
Justice Seepersad also denied Delvis Jose Reyes Garcia an ex-parte leave for him to challenge the National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds’ deportation order.
Garcia’s attorneys had filed a certificate of urgency indicating that “the intended applicant/applicant may potentially be killed by the Government of Venezuela and the cartel if the deportation order issued on October 20, 2023 by the Minister of National Security is executed.”
But Justice Seepersad ordered that the documents be served on Hinds, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the Living Water Community and for the docketed judge, Justice Ricky Rahim, to determine, after a hearing, whether leave or the injunction should be granted.
In his ruling, Justice Seepersad said he took into account his previous decision on the status of the 1951 Refugee Convention in Trinidad and Tobago and his declaration that its obligations did not apply and couldn’t be enforced here since the treaty obligations were not incorporated into local domestic law.
He also ruled that the principle of non-refoulement was not binding on Trinidad and Tobago, as it conflicted with provisions of the Immigration Act. The High Court judge said he considered that the deportation order was issued on October 20, so there was no need for an emergency hearing at 12:30 a.m. (local time).
Garcia is challenging the National Security Minister’s failure to consider his refugee status, arguing that the deportation order was illegal, irrational, invalid, null, and void.
He is hoping the court will also quash the deportation order, but in the interim, he is hoping for an injunction to stay it until his claim is determined temporarily.
Garcia, 36, was detained on September 22, and the application said he entered the country illegally after fleeing Venezuela when he was threatened for lobbying with the opposition party.
He has registered as an asylum seeker with the UNHCR. The application is pending.
Garcia was elected mayor in 2021 for the district of Guiera Estedo Suera. He claims the election was stolen from him, and he had to hide after the ruling party refused to acknowledge his success.
He has also protested against the Venezuelan Government’s failure to provide basic amenities for citizens and is afraid of being persecuted for lobbying against the administration of President Nicolas Maduro.
“The intended applicant/applicant indicated that he had a real fear that there being a cartel associated with the Government, that he would kill him upon his return to Venezuela. He indicated that due to his position and level of influence in the elections, once the Government becomes aware of his presence in Venezuela, he will be shot and killed, and the deportation order for him is a sentence to death,” said the certificate of urgency.
Garcia is married with three children, and his family is said to be hiding in Venezuela.
and then 