Search and Rescue Boat looks for Migrants
A search and rescue vessel carrying migrants found at sea and towing two of their wooden boats arrives at Arguineguin port on December 06, 2020 in Arguineguin, Gran Canaria, Spain Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Venezuela officials demanded Trinidad and Tobago to investigate the fatal incident that killed a baby on board a boat with Venezuelan migrants when officers from the Caribbean country tried to intercept their vehicle on the waters.

On Monday, Al Jazeera noted that officials from Venezuela's capital, Caracas, pointed out that the probe they are requesting aims to "clarify the facts" in connection to the fatal incident that led to the death of the baby, identified as Yaelvis Santoyo Sarabia.

The Venezuela officials were the only ones who demanded the Caribbean Country for a probe.

Exiled opposition leader who coordinates the Organization of American States (OAS) to Venezuela's migrant crisis, David Smolansky, also called on Trinidad and Tobago to arrange a probe and find out what happened.

"This needs a thorough investigation into not only the circumstances around the child's death but also a migration system that apparently follows the use of deadly force and routinely violates Venezuelans' right to seek asylum," the director for Venezuela at the Washington office in Latin America, Geoff Ramsay, said, per The Guardian.

Baby Killed While Onboard a Boat with Venezuela Migrants

The call for an investigation came as the tragic and fatal incident occurred on late Saturday at the Trinidadian waters.

A statement from Trinidad and Tobago's Coast Guard on Monday explained that the authorities' vessel opened fire to the migrants' boat, carrying at least 40 individuals after it engaged in "aggressive maneuvers." The authorities also defended their move as self-defense.

"The ramming effort by the suspect vessel which was larger than the ship's boat caused the crew to fear for their lives, and in self-defense, they fired at the engines of the suspect vessel in an attempt to bring it to stop," the statement reads.

According to reports, a Venezuelan woman identified as Darielvis Sarabia, the baby's mother, reportedly sustained gunshot wounds in the light of the incident. Sarabia was then taken to a hospital in is currently in stable condition. However, her baby did not survive.

Trinidad and Tobago's coast guard noted that they found a group of migrants hiding when they boarded the suspect vessel. Among the migrants was a woman who was holding an infant that she indicated was bleeding.

The authorities did not reveal the specifics on how the baby died.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley expressed his thoughts about the fatal incident that killed the baby.

"I expressed my deepest sympathy on my own behalf and of all the people of Trinidad and Tobago with respect to the unfortunate loss of life of the baby.

United Nations Offices Urge for Protection Rights

In the light of the death of the baby from Venezuela, offices of the United Nations, including the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), and UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), urged the states to come up with mechanisms that would assist people when it comes to migration.

Joint special representative of UNHCR and IOM for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, Dr. Eduardo Stein, said that the mechanisms they push states to establish will "prevent" the same tragedy from happening again and provide "safer" pathways for refugees and migrants.

The United Nations estimated more than six million people from Venezuela who left their home country in recent years due to the social-economic crisis and the sanctions imposed since President Nicolas Maduro won his second term in 2018.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Why Venezuela's Neighbors are Facing a Huge Refugee Emergency - From PBS NewsHour