Socializing in Melchor, Guatemalan Man Ends Up Dead in Belize
While the fishermen are safe and sound, a Guatemalan national was shot and killed in the Cayo District over the weekend. On Sunday afternoon, twenty-six-year-old Jairo Alfaro was found in the vicinity of the Xunantunich Archaeological Site with gunshot wounds to the back of the neck and upper right chest. According to police, the young man was last seen in neighboring Melchor de Mencos socializing at a local bar. It is unclear whether he was lured and fatally attacked in Belize by someone he may have been drinking with across the border. Likewise, investigators are stumped as to the identity and nationality of Alfaro’s killer. At the scene of the discovery, Benque Viejo police did not recover any spent shells from the area, nor were they able to identify him initially. It wasn’t until a relative of the deceased came forward to identify the body as that of Jairo Alfaro.
Joseph Myvett
ACP Joseph Myvett, Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch
“Over the weekend, one murder was reported in Benque Viejo jurisdiction which is that on yesterday’s date, sometime around 2:30 p.m., Benque Viejo police were called to an area north of Benque Viejo Town along the Belize/Guatemala border which would be somewhere in the area of Xunantunich Mayan Site which is across the Mopan River, whereupon arrival, the lifeless body of a Hispanic male was seen in some bushes. Upon closer examination of the body, he was seen with one gunshot type injury to the back of the neck and to the upper right chest. The scene was processed, no expended shells were found on the scene and neither was any blood found on the scene. The person was later identified to be one Jairo Alfaro, twenty-six-year-old Guatemalan of a Melchor address. No identification was presented to confirm his identification. The body was removed and transported to the San Ignacio Community Hospital where it is currently awaiting a post mortem examination.”
Reporter
“In the absence of an ID, how were you able to ID him?”
Joseph Myvett
“There was one person who came forward from the Guatemalan side claiming to be related to the deceased.”
Reporter
“Is he known to the Guatemalan police? Have your counterparts said anything about him or is he someone known to the area, whether involved in contraband?”
Joseph Myvett
“No, not that we know about.”
Reporter
“Sir, was this in the area of the Western Free Zone?”
Joseph Myvett
“No it wasn’t. This was in the area of the Xunantunich Maya ruin which would be northeast of Benque Viejo Town.”
Reporter
“Is there anything else known about this man sir?”
Joseph Myvett
“No other further information other than that I believe on the day in question, earlier in the day he was seen socializing at a bar in Melchor.”
Reporter
“Is it believed that his killers are from Belize or from Guatemala?”
Joseph Myvett
“Well, we do not know other than to say that where the body was discovered was just about fifty yards within Belizean territory in an area opposite Xuchitan, Melchor.”
