Thea Garcia Ramirez emerged victorious in the People’s United Party Corozal Bay convention. She bested the sitting area representative, Elvia Vega Samos.
Garcia-Ramirez clinched a clear victory with 1,799 votes, compared to Vega-Samos, who garnered 1,174 votes. A record 3,029 votes were cast, with 56 votes invalidated.
Vega-Samos became the area representative after winning a by-election following the untimely passing of her brother, David “Dido” Vega, from COVID-19. Vega died on the day he was set to be sworn in as the area representative.
Garcia-Ramirez is the daughter of the CEO in the Office of the Prime Minister, Narda Garcia.
This outcome is notable as one of only two contested conventions announced by the PUP.
In Corozal North, David Castillo was elected as the standard bearer.
Nine people lost their lives over the weekend in tragic incidents across the country.
Tragedy in the South
The first incident occurred on Friday night on the Thomas Vincent Ramos Highway between the villages of Elridgeville and Jacintoville. It was a vehicular collision. Three people, a man and his two minor children, died in the collision, which involved a Ford F350 driven by forty-three-year-old Emilio Lizama and a Toyota pickup driven by fifty-one-year-old Jose Tush. According to police, Lizama’s truck collided with the Toyota after another vehicle attempted to overtake a motorcycle and hit the front end of Lizama’s vehicle.
The victims include seventeen-year-old Renieta Tush, who was thrown to the shoulder of the highway and died on the scene; her father, Jose Tush, who died behind the wheel; and five-year-old Michael Tush, who succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
Other passengers, including thirteen-year-old Nathan Pop, ten-year-old Maki Pop, Eric Teul, twenty-nine-year-old Catherine Salam, three-year-old Kadira Tush, and eight-year-old Kailyn Tush, were injured and treated at Punta Gorda Hospital. A urine sample was taken from Emilio Lizama, and a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) was served.
Four Dead in Orange Walk RTA
The second fatal traffic incident occurred on Sunday morning, and it claimed four lives. The victims have been identified as forty-one-year-old Cecilio De Jesus Arana from Orange Walk Town, thirty-seven-year-old Gustavo Chi, Angelita Chi, and an unidentified male. The collision occurred at around 6:40 a.m. between miles forty-five and forty-six on the Philip Goldson Highway. The grey Mitsubishi Montero Sport, driven by Arana, was found on the right-hand side of the highway. Arana was discovered motionless in the driver’s seat, while a Hispanic male passenger, suffering from facial cuts, was trapped in the front seat. Police Constable Andy Garcia was in the back seat with a broken right foot and facial cuts.
A black Pontiac Vibe SUV, driven by Jesus Chi, a teacher from Palmar Village, was located with severe front-end damage. Chi was trapped behind the steering wheel with large cut wounds to both knees. Gustavo was found motionless in the front passenger seat, and Angelita was lying face-up on the pavement near the vehicle with a severe injury. Initial investigations revealed that the grey Mitsubishi was travelling towards Belize City while the black Pontiac was heading in the opposite direction. The Pontiac lost control and collided head-on with the Mitsubishi.
Did Both Men Drowned?
On Sunday morning, Burley Thompson Jr.’s body was recovered from the Macal River in San Ignacio Town. Police responded to a call at the riverbank, where his body was discovered shortly after 11:00 a.m. Thompson was last seen leaving Princess Casino around 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, walking downhill near the San Ignacio Hotel. His family had sought public assistance in locating him after he went missing. A post-mortem examination is scheduled as part of the ongoing investigation.
In a separate incident in Ladyville, a man’s body was retrieved from the waters near the marina in the Vista Del Mar area on Saturday afternoon around one o’clock.
Earlier this week, we heard from the Commissioner of Police on a viral video showing a police officer pistol whipping an individual in San Pedro Town. Today, when we caught up with ComPol Williams at an event in San Ignacio, he provided further details on the incident. As ComPol Williams told us on Wednesday, two minors approached Sergeant Makin and informed him that they were being chased by masked individuals who were armed. He explained that officer Makin pursued the individuals and that is when the encounter unfolded that was captured on camera. Today, ComPol Williams told reporters that he has read the statements provided to police by the two minors, a thirteen and fifteen-year-old. He has since instructed investigators to seek clarity on certain details that the minors provided. Here is what the commissioner had to say.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“As I said before the matter is still being investigated by P.S.B. I managed to get a read of the statements yesterday that were given by the two minors who had stopped mister Makin and reported to him that they were being chased by these individuals. The statements do need further clarification and I have instructed the investigators to go back to these persons and ask more questions so that we can get more clarity on these statements. One of the things that came out is that based on what the minors were saying is that they had passed the place initially with a female and while they were passing one of the persons hanging out may have been cat calling the female and she did not reply to them. So after they dropped her off and went back to go to their respective homes they had to pass the same location again and this is when they were pursued by the people who were masked. The issue is that, again from what I have read, is that after the incident occurred, the young men, the two young men, did not go to the police station right away. They went until the following evening. Now after the incident occurred with Sergeant Makin the young man went to the station and made a report. But at that particular time the police had not received the report from the two minors. So they did not detain him. They issued him the medico form and he went to the doctor. By the time he finished with the medico form the minors and their parents came in and gave their statements. There are some issues to the statement I have. One of the issue is that the minors would not be able to identify who those persons were that chased them, for the simple fact that they were wearing mask. But if we can have some clarity in terms of the type of clothing that the two chasers were wearing and if we can compare with the type of clothing the young man had that had an encounter with Mr. Makin then we can say that is the same person. But it is important to note that the same group that young man was in is the same group responsible for the chasing. Whether or not he was doing the chasing I cannot say at this time until we can have some clarity on the matter.”
Ryan Mendez has reportedly sought the services of an attorney. He intends to take court action against the department. But according to the Commissioner of Police, Mendez remains a fugitive. He says if the attorney wants to help his client, then that attorney should take him to the police station for questioning.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“It cannot be that you request court action. The police has to look at the investigation in its totality to see whether or not there is anything there that he can be charged for as well as to see if the police committed a breach that he can be charged for. So, we have to look at everything in its totality. When the investigation is done then we can look at it. The attorney for the young man, if he so wish what he can do is bring the young man into the police station, let the police complete the investigation and that would help us to arrive at a definitive conclusion on that matter.”
Reporters also asked Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa about the viral video involving Sergeant Makin. He says that he was disturbed when he first saw the video. He later found out that the encounter stemmed from a report made by two minors. Minister Musa says he is now leaving it in the hands of the Professional Standard Branch. He is also encouraging citizens to continue recording police officers in events where it is believed that they are acting with excessive force.
Kareem Musa
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“When I saw the video for the first time, like the rest of Belize I was really disturbed because if it is one thing that our administration has been extremely adamant about it us that officers must be accountable for their behavior and they must not use excessive force in detaining individuals. So traditionally as you might know my instant reaction is that this requires immediate action from P.S.B. in terms of an investigation. So even without the complainant going in to say that he, well the suspect in this case, to say that he was the victim of excessive force, I requested of the Commissioner that he get professional standards branch to do an investigation into it. So that is currently taking place. Now let me say this point blank that if it was a random, arbitrary act by this officer, say for instance the had a personal issue with this individual and he would go and act out like this because of a personal issue, nothing to do with a chase or anything like that, I personally do not care if he is mother Theresa’s grandson, it is my expectation that P.S.B. would take immediate action, do an investigation and let the chips fall where they may. Now since then we gave learnt that two minors have gone into the San Pedro Police station to give statements, one is thirteen and one is fifteen. These minors, it is not my belief that they are making this scenario up. They were being chased by a number of individuals. It is believed that the suspect in this case was one of them, the young men altered Mr. Makin who was on his way home, I am told, to this incident and that is what prompted him to respond. Obviously, we only got a short clip, I don’t know if the video was spliced, but I want to encourage members of the public, continue to film instances where officers may be using force. But also try to give us the full picture because I don’t believe that is where the video started.”
Minister Musa was also asked if he thinks that the Commissioner of Police misrepresented the facts of the incident to the media on Wednesday. That is after it was discovered that Mendez did, in fact, make a complaint to police. Here is how Musa responded.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“First of all, the Commissioner was not on the scene and so he is relaying information that was passed to him so you are getting third party information. In instances like that there would be some misinformation which is why I am always careful to tell you what I am told because you might not have the full picture once you are not there. I trust the evidence given by the thirteen-year-old and fifteen year old who was there. So I am not saying I am taking any information from Mr. Makin or from the O.C. in San Pedro. I am saying there are two young men saying they were being chased in a menacing way that they had to stop an off duty officer to intervene. So you have to look at that.”
On Thursday, Patrick Faber, the Area Representative for Collet, revealed that one of his constituents was raped last week in front of his office on Antelope Street Extension. He made the revelation during a Special Sitting of the House of Representative on Thursday. Reports are that the victim has not yet made a report to police. But her family did reach out to Faber to request surveillance footage from his office. He refused to surrender the footage. He gave this explanation.
Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet
“A resident of my constituency got raped right in front of my o0ffice in the early hours of the morning last week. The police camera deh right up deh. So when you talk about technology and using technology, they didn’t come to me directly but the family came and asked if I could give them the footage from my office. No sir, because I will not get into any quarrel with the people from my area about snitching. Unu could say what you want but I have to live their and I go there everyday. This is how the rank and file feels. You could say what you want.”
Today, reporters asked the Commissioner of Police for his thoughts on Patrick Faber’s statements. He was also questioned on whether the police can mandate Faber to hand over the surveillance footage. ComPol Williams says he was appalled by the statement and that it is a sad day for Belize.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“I was very appalled by the statement from the area representative for Collet. I don’t think that is something he should be happy about. The issue of fighting crime is everybody’s business. For you to be in the House criticizing the police for not being effective in fighting crime and here you are as the area representative who is being paid by the people of this country you have information not just of a Crime but of a woman being raped and to say you would not share the footage to police I think it is a sad day for us. You are basically saying to the nation that you are a contributor to the problem. You can’t expect that the police is going to be everywhere. If you want to criticize the police you give them information and if they do nothing with it you can criticize them. But for you to have the information to help the police solve this crime and you do not do so then you are apart of the problem.”
Reporter
“Is there anything the police can do to force him to surrender this footage?”
Chester Williams
“Well I know now. I have already given information to the investigators to go and recover this footage and if he does not provide it section twenty of the Indictable Procedure Act gives the police authority to be able to use a search warrant and retrieve the footage. The police will be doing that to make sure we get the footage with a view to see if we can solve this crime.”
The Minister of Home Affairs says he was in disbelief when he heard Patrick Faber’s comments regarding the alleged rape incident in Collet. He chided Faber over the comments and called on him to change his philosophy on crime fighting within his constituency.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“When we signed up to run for office, to be elected officials, to represent the people of Belize it is expected that you are supposed to fight for your people, you are supposed to represent all that is good about Belize. To be able to fight crime and to play your part as a parliamentarian in fighting crime to make sure your constituents are safe. As I sat there yesterday in the house I was in complete disbelief at the words uttered by my parliamentary friend because it came across as a surrender, as a cowardly thing to say, that you are not going to cooperate in fighting crime. That is not what you are supposed to be doing. You are supposed to be working along with the police department. He was saying he felt that way even under the U.D.P. So he has been feeling this way for the last two decades that he will not partake in fighting crime within his constituency. So that speaks volumes to the type of individual he is. You have to step up to the plate. You signed up to be the representative to these people not to surrender to criminals. So, I really would hope he would change that philosophy and work with police in fighting crime.”
The Belize Police Department is planning to construct police stations in several communities across the country as part of its national crime fighting efforts. The department also plans to add an additional six hundred officers to the force. Today, ComPol Williams revealed that a Cabinet paper has been drafted to this end and will soon be presented to the Minister of Home Affairs.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Every time you hear the news and you listen to the discourse on social media you get the impression that nobody likes police. The demand for policing has increased exponentially. Everywhere we go people are asking for police presence in their respective communities. We have a number of stations that we have to construct. We are looking at a police station in Trial Farm, a police station in Kontiki, a police station in Santa Elena, police station in Cotton Tree, police station in Teakettle. These are police stations all in the pipeline for construction. With these police stations will come the need for more police officers. We have put together a Cabinet paper that we will present to our minister asking the government to approve the recruitment of another two hundred police officers. Currently the police department’s strength is at two thousand four hundred. We want to take that to three thousand minimal. And with that we want to make sure we can accommodate the policing demands in our country. When we look at the police population compared to the country population, we are less than one percent of the country population and so certainly it’s inadequate and there is a need to have more police officers.”
