Venezuelan dad desperate to find missing wife, 3-year-old daughter

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As people continue to celebrate the beginning of 2022, a desperate and heartbroken father is instead praying that he will finally be reunited with his missing three-year-old daughter and 36-year-old wife.

Manuel Villaba moved to Trinidad 25 years ago from Venezuela but in one night his family that he worked so hard to provide for, disappeared without a trace.

The two Venezuelan migrants have been missing for 10 days.

During that time, Villaba has mustered all his remaining strength to expand the search effort for his loved ones, but the search has come up short so far.

Instead of speaking with his beloved daughter on Christmas Day, he was left to wonder if he will ever hear her voice again.

“She was such a happy child. I’ve never known such a happy child,” he said. “Right now, I’m not feeling to eat. I’m not feeling to do anything. I’m just thinking about them—my little baby girl outside there.”

When Guardian Media visited Villaba’s apartment, his daughter’s toys were spread across the floor. He looked dazed and short of sleep.

“It’s terrible. I feel really bad. I put them on a boat and everyone was fine. The boat was not overloaded or anything like that – only nine people were aboard. Six people were family, a captain and a crew member,” Manuel Villaba said.

“I have people in Trinidad and Venezuela looking everywhere, but not even an empty plastic bag or a cooler from the boat was found. I’m looking for more assistance.”

On December 23rd, Manuel Villaba’s family left Trinidad from Chaguaramas, at around 8 pm, destined for Venezuela but haven’t been seen since.

Villaba’s daughter and wife are two of nine people who disappeared on a Trinidadian boat called Amiyah.

Missing are Venezuelan migrants: Robersis Del Valle Montaño Fuentes, Alexander José Montaño Noriega, Jhoanderson Indriago González, Ericka Narvaez, Johan Brito, Joheily del Valle Moreno Narvaez and Mia Alegria Narváez.Also missing are two Trinidad and Tobago nationals. One of them has been reported missing by his family, 19-year-old Darwin Alexander of Point Cumana. According to Villaba, the boat was supposed to take them to board the second local boat, Amiyah, at Monos Island.

Amiyah’s captain was then expected to carry them to Chacachacare, near the Venezuelan maritime border, Villaba said.

There, waiting on the other side of the maritime border, was a third boat—a Venezuelan boat—that would take them to Patos Island and then to Guiria in Venezuela.

Villaba said he knew the Venezuelan boat captain well and trusted him.

On the morning of December 24th, Villaba said the Venezuelan boat captain called him to tell him that the Trinidadian boat carrying his relatives never showed up.

Villaba’s wife and daughter, as well as the six others aboard the second boat, called Amiyah, never boarded the third boat.

The captain of the first boat, which took them from Chaguaramas to Monos Island, returned to land.

He said Manuel’s relatives and the others boarded the second boat. Manuel said he believes the captain because he was able to track the boat’s location using the Global Positioning System, GPS. Villaba’s wife and child came to Trinidad three years ago to live with him. They did not return to Venezuela at any point during that period.

However, this year, he said, they decided to return home for the Christmas season.

“Home is home. They went home because they wanted to see their family and spend Christmas and to show the baby to them. It was three years without seeing the baby,” Julia Sequiera, Manuel’s aunt, said.

“Help us because, for sure, that boat did not sink. We would have known, but something happened. Please, help us. That’s all we want.”

Julia’s sister, Mary, believed someone out there must know something. With tears in her eyes, she pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.

“A three-year-old baby and three of our family disappear just so? I can’t believe it. Please let us know, if you know something,” Julia Sequiera said.

“Nine people on board—not 24 people—just nine people. We don’t have nothing. Nothing. Where’s the boat? Where’s my family?”

According to Sequiera, her relatives are honest people who came to Trinidad for a better life.

She said they have never been involved in any illegal activities.