Mexican Ambassador Disappointed with Belize’s Handling of Nanes Matter

David Nanes Schnitzer

Fugitive David Nanes Schnitzer slipped through the cracks immediately after he was granted a ten thousand dollar bail by the Supreme Court on November twentieth, 2015. Nanes, who was caught in San Pedro on November sixth, where he was living for some years, was arrested with a slew of illegal Belize documents—from a social security card, to driving licenses to a Belize passport. But days later when he appeared before Justice Dennis Hanomansingh, he secured bail and disappeared immediately. It presented in the very least a clumsy situation, if not a diplomatic embarrassment, because the Mexican government had officially requested his extraction for a multi-million dollar scheme in which he was defrauding investors. Mexico had been working along with the U.S. and the Belize Police Department in monitoring his movements; still yet, Nanes was able to get away. This afternoon, Mexican Ambassador Carlos Quesnel Melendez spoke for the first time about the incident expressing disappointment on the handling of the Nanes case in the face of an extradition request.

Carlos Quesnel Melendez

Carlos Quesnel Melendez, Mexican Ambassador to Belize

“Concerning the case of Nanes Schnitzer, I can tell you that the Government of Mexico used all instruments, all bilateral channels to obtain his extradition so that this person faces trial for his alleged responsibility in committing banking offences in Mexico. Regrettably and as you know despite all the efforts and actions carried out by the government of Mexico, Mister Nanes was freed by a judge of the Supreme Court. The position of the Mexican government regarding this relation of Mister Nanes was transmitted to the Belizean government, to the Belizean authorities through diplomatic channels. We have, Mexico and Belize, currently a legal framework and we trust that the full implementation of this legal framework will avert repeating in the future situation like the one of Mister Nanes. I don’t know exactly where the case is now, but he was not found after he was freed. But after my experience as a lawyer and I’ve been working for the last twenty-four years before coming to Belize on legal issues, I know that if he will be found—I don’t know yet—and we have notified the Belizean government that if he is to be found, he will be extradited to Mexico. I know that once the extradition treaty was brought into force, for internationals to know that treaty was totally enforced. I was made to understand that there is a system in Belize that obligates the Belizean government to incorporate that treaty, international law. I am not going into details because that is not part of our job. I just see the bilateral relationship and I would like us to mention that by international standards, the treaty was fully enforced.”