Returning Gaspar Vega Living in Fear; Police Guard Home & School

Jose Mai

Former Minister of Natural Resources and area representative of Orange Walk North, Gaspar Vega, made his long-awaited return to the House of Representatives after being absent since August. It wasn’t for long, since he left around midday without speaking to anyone including reporters. But his name came up on the adjournment, when fellow area representative Jose Mai questioned why members of Orange Walk Town’s police detachment were guarding his house and a Special Branch officer was sent to his son’s school to pick him up. The answer, according to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, is that Vega continues to face threats to his life and that of his family even though he is out of Cabinet. He could not offer any additional details when we questioned him about it outside the House.

Jose Mai, Area Representative, Orange Walk South

“But what is disgusting, Madam Speaker, is the fact that we have three policemen, in a twenty-four-hour shift, minding the premises of an area representative – not a Minister no more. Now the frustration at the Department is there, and very few will speak of it; but they do speak of it. They shift, so you have one, one hour, and the rest the other hours. On top of that Madam Speaker, the member for Orange Walk North’s son attends a high school, and a Special Branch officer goes every day to that high school to ensure that everything is right and nobody is trailing his son. The Prime Minister, Madam Speaker: for all the bad they say he is, doesn’t have that kind of security. Am I right? And if he does he deserve that kind of protection because he is the Prime Minister of this country. The Deputy Prime Minister is the next most important man in this country. And you walk around with two policemen, member? You don’t know why?”

Dean Barrow

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“Now with respect to the member for Orange Walk North:  I don’t know that anybody fired at his home; but after the circumstances which saw him resign from Cabinet, there were all sorts of threats made against him and his family, as far as we can determine, promulgated in particular by his defeated P.U.P. opponent from the last election. Any citizen, and in particular somebody who is a member of this National Assembly, confronted by that kind of specific threat, is entitled to protection from the Police. I don’t know… (Interruption) The deputy is telling me that when Senator Courtenay complained of threats, he offered, when he was acting as Prime Minister, offered that kind of security, so my goodness, man. I hope now that the campaign against the member for Orange Walk North and his family – I hope that campaign has stopped; and if it has, and the threat has accordingly moderated or disappeared, then we can take away the security.”

Leader of the Opposition John Briceño shortly thereafter denied on the record that the party or Cervantes had anything to do with the alleged threats.