Above: Trinidad Justice Minister Herbert Volney and Venezuelan Ambassador Maria Eugenia Marcano Casado

By the Caribbean journal staff

The governments of Venezuela and Trinidad have begun discussions about potential cooperation on penal reform, offender management and other criminal justice issues.

Trinidad’s Justice Minister Herbert Volney met yesterday with Venezuelan Ambassador Maria Eugenia Marcano Casado for discussions at the International Waterfront head office of the Ministry of Justice.

Volney indicated Trinidad would “welcome the opportunity” to share its findings on criminal justice, saying that both countries had begun a “paradigm shift” in the reform of their systems.

Casado used the occasion to seek Trinidad’s help regarding the difficulty experienced by 22 incarcerated Venezuelan nationals who, she said, had experienced issues both in the amount of time before their trials began and access to medical care, among others.

Volney said he would seek more information on the cases.