Former Area Representative and current contractor Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez is facing backlash after fencing off a 2.5-acre piece of land near the former Belizean Beach, a location long seen by Belize City residents as one of the last accessible beachfronts in the Old Capital. The move has reignited public concern over the gradual loss of coastal areas once enjoyed by the community.
For decades, the Belizean Beach area served as a rare getaway for families in Belize City. Although the Belize Coast Guard eventually took up residence nearby, portions of the beach remained open to the public. That changed when Martinez began enclosing the property.
Martinez defended his actions, insisting the land was never a true “beach environment.” “You couldn’t, eena di last month and change, you couldn’t access here so easy. Thick with swamp and so, and been coast guard mi put up da fence,” he said. “Di people dehn use to come eena da next property deh and walk een through some picado road. Soh I don’t know… but in real truth, here was never a beach environment.”
He stressed that his development is neither damaging the environment nor encroaching on any private property. “Dah noh like nothing ya di destroy di environment, di destroy nothing,” Martinez said. “We noh di encroach on nobody land, yoh noh di encroach pan no private property… right here is environmentally sound.”
Martinez believes the backlash may be politically motivated, saying, “I have problem when, eena my view, I guess because I da former politician or whatsoever, but I da Belizean. I da wahn investor, I da contractor… I do all kinda thing.”