TRINI SHOT DEAD IN VENEZUELA

A TRIP to neighbouring Venezuela to drop off clothes and food items to a native Amerindian tribe last Friday turned fatal for a 26-year-old Trinidadian father of two, who was shot dead by a Venezuelan. The deceased has been identified as Ricardo Dookie, of Icacos Village. According to local police sources, the motive behind Dookie’s killing is still to be determined.

However, local officers have two theories behind Dookie’s murder — he was shot dead in a drug deal which went sour, or he had an altercation with one of his Venezuelan friends which led to the killing. Police sources indicated to Newsday that the area where Dookie had gone to drop off the clothes and food items was a well-used port of entry and exit for the Venezuelan cocaine cartel. Another of the officers’ theories is that he may have accidentally come across the cocaine smugglers, and was shot dead. The mystery surrounding Dookie’s death only deepened when his relatives refused to speak to Newsday yesterday afternoon, and officials at both the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Venezuelan Consulate, could shed no light concerning the circumstances surrounding Dookie’s death.

According to reports, Dookie’s father, Peter, journeyed to Tucupita, Venezuela, on the weekend to officially identify his son’s body and witness the autopsy. The corpse was brought back to Trinidad yesterday afternoon in a pirogue which docked at the Coast Guard port in Cedros. Newsday understands Dookie frequently visited Venezuela and was accustomed taking food and clothing to underprivileged persons in the country from a tribe known as the “Warahoons.” Dookie and four friends reportedly left in a boat last Friday to visit the tribe located near the Perdanales River, which is a tributary of the Orinoco Delta.

The friends spent the entire day with the tribe and other Venezuelan friends. Reports state that around 5.30 pm on Friday, while Dookie, his friends and their Venezuelan counterparts were leaving on the boat, he was shot in the abdomen. Investigators could not say what led to the murder. Around 2.30 pm yesterday, the father arrived at the Coast Guard facility in Cedros with his son’s body, where it was taken off the boat and placed in a hearse. When Newsday visited his home yesterday, relatives refused to speak with the media. Cedros Police are continuing the local aspect of the investigations, while their Venezuelan counterparts are continuing their probe of the murder.