U.S. Embassy Assisting with Murder Investigation of Gary Swank

Thomas Lersten

The murder of American citizen Doctor Gary Swank of the State of Virginia has sparked wide spread coverage in the international media. That bad press is already costing Belize’s tourism industry as hotels are getting cancellations. On Wednesday, we were at the U.S. Embassy where we spoke with the visiting Deputy Director of Central American Affairs of the U.S. Department of State Thomas Lersten. He didn’t share much about the incident, but he told us that the U.S. Embassy is working to assist the family and the investigation.

Thomas Lersten, Deputy Director, Central American Affairs, U.S. Department of State

“Unfortunately, we are aware of the recent death of a U.S. citizen here in Belize. First of all we want to extend our deepest condolences to the family. Protection and safeguarding of American citizens is among our highest priorities in the Department of State. I can’t, unfortunately, get into the details of this case due to the privacy act and privacy concerns out of respect of the family. But rest assured that we are working very closely with the government of Belize in assisting them in any way that we can with the ongoing investigation.”