Memorial held for 1998 Hummingbird murder victim

Today marks the seventh anniversary of one of the most audacious crimes ever committed on Belizean soil. On May second 1998, more than two hundred men women and children were held hostage for several hours just outside the capital city of Belmopan on the Hummingbird Highway and robbed of their jewellery, cash and sense of security by a band of what appeared to be professional thugs, believed to Guatemalans with military backgrounds. As the bandits mercilessly executed their plan of attack, one man, nineteen-year-old B.D.F. volunteer Genario Che, was gunned down in cold blood in front of the hostages. No one was ever convicted of the crimes committed that Saturday morning and the many of the victims are determined never to let the authorities forget how that incident brutally traumatized the nation. Every year, victims, relatives of Genario Che, police and officials of the Belize Defence Force gather at the scene for a brief ceremony of prayers and reflection. That gathering was held on Monday morning along the Hummingbird Highway to lay wreaths at the simple cross that has been constructed to mark the site. As part of this year’s commemoration, Police Commissioner Gerald Westby also donated items to the police substation constructed in St. Margaret’s Village to help combat crime in the area.