Coast Guard Details Involvement in Responding to Piracy Near Middle Long Caye

On Tuesday, twenty-year-old James Emmanuel Cortez and his mother, forty-five-year-old Florita Pineda were charged for possession of a number of stolen items.  Those articles were reported missing when occupants of a vessel were robbed near Middle Long Caye on January thirteenth.  According to John Picard, a retired U.S. national, pirates boarded his boat sometime around ten o’clock that night and demanded money before proceeding to relieve them of several pieces, including a laptop, a pair of binoculars and a Yahama outboard engine.  Cortez and twenty-two-year-old Bradwick Lino have since been charged with handling stolen goods.  Earlier today, Commander John Borland detailed coast guard’s involvement in coming to the aid of the distressed boaters.

Rear Admiral John Borland, Commander, BNCG

“The distress was relayed to the coast guard on the night of the incident via the port authority, as we were out of range of channel sixteen distress communication.  We did respond that night.  Of course, the perpetrators of that crime were well gone from the scene and we assisted in guiding that vessel in coming in to safe harbor and making the reports to us and to police.  Both coast guard and police deployed to conduct an investigation in the area.  And the rest, you know a little bit more than I do that since then some arrests have been made and police continue with their investigation to see if they can put those that are responsible to justice for committing that crime.”

John Borland

Reporter

“Can you summarize for us what the victims have explained to you all that happened on that particular incident?”

Rear Admiral John Borland

“There is not much more than has been reported in the news.  They were boarded unknown to themselves, they didn’t have any security situated on their vessel and they were boarded by people they believed to be locals and they were robbed of personal possessions.  Thankfully no one was hurt during the incident.”

All three persons charged in connection with the stolen items are due back in court on March sixteenth.