A promise from the National Security Minister that investigations have been launched into the death of 9-month-old Yealevis Santoyo Sarabia.

He was killed when Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard fired shots at a migrant boat last Saturday night in local waters.

His mother Darielvis Sarabia was also wounded during the incident, which has triggered international condemnation.

The coast guard has said its response was in self-defense.

In a statement, the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard says it was forced to open fire on the vessel after the operators attempted to ram one of the interceptors of the TTS Scarborough.

The child was struck when officers fired on the engines of the boat.

In the Senate yesterday, Minister Fitzgerald Hinds described the incident as tragic, but he said the attempted entry was illegal.

And the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights says the report by the coast guard about the circumstances that led to this tragedy raises a number of questions about how the events unfolded.

Executive Director Denise Pitcher is calling on the government to conduct a thorough investigation into the shooting.

The CCHR says the decision by the TT Coast Guard to fire at a vessel full of vulnerable people must be closely scrutinised.

Ms. Pitcher says while the government is entitled to exercise its sovereignty to protect national security and secure borders, this must be done in accordance with obligations under international law.

The body says the militarization of the borders is not the solution and places vulnerable persons at further risk.