Fellow Trounces Marconi Leal in Fist Fight in Rural North
An exchange of blows over the weekend in Sandhill Village has left an aspiring politician recovering from injuries he received to the face and other parts of the body. People’s United Party Belize Rural North standard bearer, Marconi Leal, was pummeled by a supporter of Area Representative Edmond ‘Clear the Land’ Castro on Saturday evening. News Five understands that Leal was conducting a “No to the I.C.J” campaign when he encountered a stalwart of Castro. A derogatory comment was reportedly hurled at Leal who responded by attempting to punch the individual in the face. When he failed to land the blow, that person then proceeded to administer a sound beating on Leal. The regrettable incident looks bad for both men who resulted to trading fisticuffs over words spoken. While he wasn’t present at the time of the altercation, Castro denounces the use of violence in any form, particularly since the I.C.J. campaign is about peacefully informing voters of the facts of the Belize/Guatemala territorial dispute.
Edmond Castro, Area Rep, Belize Rural North
Edmond Castro
“I probably get the same information and watched the same video that you guys all have, whereby my political opponent punched one of my brethren and he retaliated back and tried to defend himself. That’s the video I saw and that’s the information I received.”
Reporter
“But ih noh only try fi defend himself, ih beat down, ih beat up Mr. Marconi, ih beat ahn up quite well I am told and the video cuts off. I am told that others joined in and they stamped up the man.”
Edmond Castro
“I can’t talk for others, you know. I watch di same one weh unu watch whereby my opponent slugged Fellow and Fellow defended himself in whatever method or mode that he knows best.”
Reporter
“Would you agree that Fellow had been taunting him? We know that, I am told, Fellow had been after him for some time with a personal insult of a particular nature, referring to an event in his past…”
Edmond Castro
“Maybe he can talk about that personal nature and that type of insult that Fellow threw at him, but I don’t know of it. But he would be the right person to talk about his past. I know very little about his past, only that he’s my friend. We went to school together.”
Isani Cayetano
“At any rate, wouldn’t you condemn this kind of behaviour out of hand, regardless of who’s at fault here?”
Edmond Castro
“My friend, if you notice my method of operation from the time I got involved in politics a while back now, I would never condone any type of violence, even when I was about to go up against a, quote-on-quote, powerful Maxwell Samuels who is now deceased, I never tried to use violence on anyone or towards anyone. From what I was told, it was either Mr. Leal or somebody from his camp that made the report and the police went and picked up Fellow. So he was at the police station and after the police reviewed the tape they realized that Mr. Leal noh really have a case to press against the person that he assaulted, because he actually assaulted Fellow and the video could prove that and Fellow had the right to defend himself.”
Leal did not wish to offer comments.
