Coast Guard Commander on Employment Status of Guatemalan Workers

Rear Admiral John Borland

That, relatively speaking, takes care of the substantive matter of the forward operating base, but there are other serious issues – like the immigration and work status of those Guatemalan workers, for example. Minister of Immigration and Labour Godwin Hulse told News Five last week that he had no clue about how they entered the country, and had dispatched a team to find out. Minister of National Security John Saldivar told News Five that as far as he knew, all the workers were properly documented. So what’s the truth? Well the truth is that in the murky waters where politicians play the nation may never know. Today Commandant John Borland claimed that the question is out of their area of knowledge and authority.

Rear Admiral John Borland, Commandant, Belize Coast Guard

“To be honest with you as I said I tried to address the climate during the time when the status of forces agreement was signed between Belize and Southern Command and the conditions of that agreement. I can safely say that the project was of knowledge to us who the contractors were, at one point there was a request made for work permits for those individuals, directly from the contractors who were incumbent to make those request. What happened in the process of them not receiving the appropriate requirement for them to work is an answer to be given by the appropriate authority. That authority is not given by us and I do not know if the contracts included any requirement for Belizeans to be working on the Hunting Caye Project specifically. I know that there was a requirement for Belizeans to work on the San Pedro project and there were Belizeans doing that project.”

News Five has tried repeatedly since last week Thursday to contact Minister of Immigration and Labour Godwin Hulse, to find out if his team ever found Hunting Cay. He hasn’t returned our calls or texts.