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Two Cuban citizens were formally charged and remanded in custody in Guyana on Monday, following an investigation into their involvement in staging a false kidnapping to extort money from a relative living in the United States.
News Room Guyana reported that the accused are Daikol Manuel Tartabull Rodríguez, 22 years old, residing in Grove, East Bank Demerara, and Iván Ravelo Martínez, 28 years old, residing on North Road, Georgetown.
The Cubans appeared before Judge Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court, where they were read the charge of Conspiracy to Commit a Major Offense.
They were not required to plead guilty or innocent, but they were sent to prison. The next hearing is scheduled for June 22.
The plan involved photographing Ravelo Martínez with an airgun in his mouth and sending that image to the young man's father, Iván Ravelo Ruiz, residing in the United States, along with a demand for 1,500 dollars.
The Georgetown police received a report of an alleged kidnapping and launched an investigation that included reviewing surveillance cameras from a building on North Road where the young Cuban was staying.
The recordings led investigators to a property on the East Bank of Demerara, where they found Ravelo Martínez and other individuals. During the search, the police recovered an air pistol that matched the weapon in the photograph.
When questioned, the Cuban admitted that the weapon was his and that he had asked his friend Tartabull to put it in his mouth for the photo.
Iván Ravelo Martínez stated that he called his father, "he told him that he was in trouble and needed 1,500 dollars." However, he denied having said that he was "kidnapped."
Among those initially detained were four people, the two Cubans, and the alleged taxi drivers Travis Fletcher and Shamar King, who claimed to be unaware of Iván Ravelo Martínez's plan.
The case is part of a series of incidents involving Cubans in Guyana, where it is estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 nationals from the island reside.
This community is facing a precarious migration situation, with temporary visas lasting 90 days and no access to permanent residency, forcing many to leave and re-enter the country periodically.
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