Manslaughter Charge for Romario Pech, Accused of Killing Cousin
Nineteen-year-old Saul Pech was stabbed and killed on the balcony of his apartment in Chetumal around two a.m. Mexican time a week ago today. The man accused of his killing, his cousin Romario Pech, was as close to him as a brother and they were mates in a rock band. Mexican authorities have apparently decided to charge Romario with manslaughter. His long road to trial has begun, but any chance of Romario seeing Belize again, Mexican Embassy officer Hugo Juarez Carrillo told us today, depends on whether he decides to apply under a treaty between the countries that will allow him the opportunity to serve at least part of his sentence if convicted in Belize.
Hugo Juarez Carrillo
Hugo Juarez Carrillo, Press & Legal Affairs, Mexican Embassy
“We understand that this is being treated as manslaughter and in this part of the process, both [sides], the defense and the State, have to gather proof in order to go, in the not very far future, to trial, but this is it. This is something that we keep following because it’s something that happened too close to the border; it happened to Belizean citizens in Mexico. It is a very unfortunate situation; it’s a very sad situation; we pray for the families of these two persons; but as far as the obligation of the Embassy, we just keep an eye, seeing what happened on the other side of the border, and it would be an obligation, a task of the Belizean Embassy in Mexico to follow it closer.”
Reporter
“Are you aware of any request made by the family of the accused, I believe, that if he is convicted and that’s presuming a lot, that he would serve his sentence in Belize?”
Hugo Juarez Carrillo
“This is something that it [is] not for the family to ask for. Mexico and Belize, we have an agreement; we have a treaty, in order to allow these prisoners to go to finish their convictions in their own country. And as you said – this is a very long shot that you are talking about – but this would be the right of the convicted person in order to request that to the Mexican government.”
Under current Mexican law, it will take a few months to a year for Romario Pech to reach trial.
