Lawyer Says Detained Mexicans were in Belize Looking for Work
On Monday, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams told reporters that the story given by the Mexican detainees was that they were in Belize to work on a road construction project funded by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP. In the wake of that comment, the UN organization issued a statement to clarify that, “there is no ongoing “road consultancy” project in our Belize portfolio, and we have no connection to the accused individuals”. So, who are these men and what was their actual purpose for being here? That’s what we asked attorney Neal when we sat down with him earlier today.
Isani Cayetano
“The Commissioner of Police stated earlier this week that the reason that was initially given was that these men were here for work on a road project put together by the United Nations Development Programme. The UNDP has since issued a statement stating that they have no such project underway. Can you explain to us, perhaps, what the purpose of your clients was here in Belize, now that UNDP has come forward with this particular release?”
Bryan Neal
Bryan Neal, Attorney-at-law
“The Labor Department is aware and a private Belizean company has a contract with a… for some grant funding and they are actually building a base in Belize for the Government of Belize with money that taxpayers don’t have to put up. So the six people who were detained merely came here to look into the possibility of getting work because there is a Mexican subcontractor involved and naturally, I would think that they want to hire people that they know. So they were here on a scouting exercise that lasted one hour. Mr. Javier Martinez, he was actually granted a work permit, meaning that they vetted him. He gave them his police record, his Mexican police record, and he was cleared to work in Belize as a civil engineer which he is trained to do. So he was here for work, we can confirm that, but the others were here scouting and now that scouting trip is over, very prematurely. I can’t speak for the Mexican authorities, but I had occasion to speak with people to facilitate the return of Mr. Martinez and what I gathered is that Belizean authorities are treating all Mexicans as if they are all members of the cartel. In this case, even before an investigation was properly carried out, even before Interpol was contacted, even before the Mexican police authorities were contacted, public statements were made that, in my view, were very reckless, that have now caused my client to fear for his life. He does not even want to work in Belize again. That is his right, but we must be mindful that incidents like this don’t trigger an international incident with Mexico [which] is a much bigger trading partner and neighbor than us. We are trying to enter Mexican markets. Incidents like this don’t help Belize’s cause and I think it’s regrettable how it was handled. In terms of redress, to answer your question, he is so frightened of Belize, he didn’t even want to go back to the Immigration Office to get his work permit.”
