Ear biting diplomat transferred to avoid expulsion

In a story we ran last week on the appointment of Assad Shoman as Foreign Minister, we mentioned an incident in which an intoxicated Belizean diplomat based in London became embroiled in a playful fight with a fellow party guest and bit off a piece of the Englishman’s ear. While that diplomat, Luis Salazar, was never disciplined for the incident, his victim, Adrian Cafferey, has never ceased in his quest for justice. And that quest has now become significantly more frustrating. Today, C.E.O. in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, David Gibson, confirmed that Belize has denied the United Kingdom’s request to have Salazar’s diplomatic immunity suspended so he could face charges for grievous bodily harm. Not wanting to keep Salazar around, where he could face the embarrassing prospect of expulsion by the British Foreign Office, he was transferred several weeks ago to the Belize embassy in Brussels, where he will hold the post of first secretary. C.E.O. Gibson told News 5 that Salazar was due to be transferred in any case.