Belize Rural South Area Rep Says Weekend Murder Does Not Represent What San Pedro Is
On Monday, we brought you the story of the robbery and murder of San Pedro businessman, Elvis Polanco, a father of four, including a four-year-old daughter. While police were quick to make an arrest, the incident has left the family naturally distraught. Their only hope is that out of all that has occurred, Polanco could be served some degree of justice in death. The murder, though ruthless, is the only one so far recorded in San Pedro, and on Wednesday when we revisited the island, the Area Representative for the Belize Rural South constituency, Andre Perez said that the incident does not represent what San Pedro and its almost twenty-five thousand residents stand for.
Andre Perez
Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South
“It’s sad, we know the family, it’s a hard-working family and he leaves behind a three-year-old daughter. So that puts the community in a spot to ask in what direction is our community heading. But what I can say is this is not our community. This incident does not define what the community is all about in terms of violence. So we need to be clear. It is an isolated case. Nonetheless, we’re not going to put a blind eye to it. Again, it’s the collaboration between the police department, giving every single support to it as well as the (town) council and the leadership, that we keep in touch as to these matters. I think that being a community that is tourist-oriented, the night life is very much vibrant here. What I think that this highlights are issues about controls. You know, after midnight, whenever the people are having alcohol consumption after midnight, it’s never going anywhere where it’s going to be productive, so working along with the Liquor Licensing Committee is important. For now we’re going to take a little recess and avoid giving those extensions (to operate later), that’s important. It’s a safe place and we need to promote that image out there that it still remains a place that we have controls.”
