Elrington Says Compensation Not Considered At This Point

Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington

Following the shooting death of a Guatemalan encroacher three point five kilometers within Belizean territory on March twenty-ninth 2014, the government compensated the family of Tomas Ramirez.  When asked about the possibility of the Guatemalan government compensating the family of the fallen officer, Elrington says that there is not sufficient basis at this point to seek damages.  Furthermore, the circumstances surrounding the murder of Danny Conorquie are quite different, according to the Foreign Minister.

Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“Before any compensation can be sought Isani, it is necessary to ascertain who committed the offense.  At this point in time we don’t know who committed the offense.  We don’t know who did it, neither do we know the persons’ nationality, so that we can’t ask the Guatemalans for anything.  In the case where we have in fact offered compensation it was because our military had in fact caused the death of Guatemalan civilians.  But in this case, it is not our understanding that the persons involved were military.  It seemed to have simply been two Hispanic persons, nationality unknown, identity unknown, who committed the offense.  So the question of compensation cannot arise and certainly neither can the question of our approach to the Guatemalan government on this matter.  We have no basis on which we can properly do that.”