Belizeans mixed up in Chetumal casino brawl
The casinos at the Corozal Free Zone are popular gambling hangouts for nationals of both sides of the northern border and normally operate trouble free. But on Saturday night patrons were caught in the crossfire between a group of young Mexican nationals and the security team at the Las Vegas Casino. One person was injured in the raucous. The mayhem unfolded when two unruly Mexican nationals reportedly became embroiled in a fight with another patron. Security personnel on duty, Martin Miller, Curlin Thompson and David Gomez escorted the Mexicans out of the establishment, and thought the matter had been settled. However, the Mexican duo left only to return a short while later joined by a third person who was reportedly armed. A shooting spree erupted and ended across the Mexican side of the border, with the Belizean guards, accompanied by owner of the casino, George Hardy Junior, in hot pursuit. Mexican Customs officers, supported by military personnel, nabbed the two parties soon enough. The Mexican nationals have been detained and the Belizeans face charges of Entering Mexico with Illegal Firearms. Their Defense Attorney, Efrain Trujeque, a former Mexican judge, appeared with them in court in Quintana Roo late this afternoon.
Belize’s Honorary Consul to Chetumal, Rafael Chavez, explained what transpired and what the Mexican law stipulates pertaining to firearms.
Rafael Chavez, Belize’s Honorary Consul to Chetumal
“They crossed the border. They first showed the firearm to the Immigration and then they went to the Customs and they showed the firearm to the Customs asking for assistance and they pointed out that they must seek assistance from the military—which they went to the Military and asked for the assistance of the military for Mexicans who they say had a shootout at Las Vegas. The military detained them just about a hundred feet from the military, there was a crash from the same vehicle that they were following where the driver was a bit unconscious and the passenger was wounded. If the firearm is hidden and it is not declared, even if you declare it and it is not hidden it’s an offence. You should not go across to Mexico with no firearm or no bullets. But there is a loophole now in an adjustment of the law that if it has been declared or it’s obvious to the authorities when you’re crossing the border, you’ll pay a fine.”
“There’s a lot of justice in Mexico. Mexican authorities are very cooperative but the fact is that right now they are looking at the Mexicans who the Las Vegas security alleged did some shooting there, they have these Mexicans detained. They are doing a forensic on their clothing and their hands to see if they have used a firearm because at the moment they weren’t able to find any firearms in their vehicle. there were three persons reported by the Las Vegas and so far only two were found in the car when the car was searched in Mexico.”
Marion Ali
“These Mexicans are people who normally frequent the casino?”
Rafael Chavez
“Well, we have discussed that with authorities in Chetumal. These people are young, you know, these people are between the ages of nineteen to twenty one. And if this is something new in the societies of Chetumal then the authorities across the border will have to look into that; that we have young people driving around now with firearms. But first we have to determine who they are, where they come from and if indeed they had firearms. They are young people who entered the casino. They were not gambling from what we saw on the tape which we rolled back and saw from the casino. They were just walking around, drinking and misbehaving and taking away beers from the waiters. But the rest of customers through the history of the casino, everybody goes there well behaved. The fact is the casino continued that same night under a very calm atmosphere and that was the first incident they had. They were young people, very young people who were misbehaving.”
Chief of staff at the Mexican Embassy in Belmopan, Jorge Luis Hidalgo, says that they are aware of the situation brewing at the border. Hidalgo also says that crossing the border illegally and with weapons are both serious offences under Mexican law. Mexican nationals, eighteen year old Phillipe Navarro Rosado and twenty-seven year old Edwin Navarro, who was injured in the shoulder, are in the custody of the Mexican police.
So how is it possible that Mexicans can enter the casinos at the Belizean border with undeclared weapons? Chavez explains that the only persons who can detect weapons are the authorities based at the Mexican side of the border and security at the casinos.
Rafael Chavez
“That’s for the military on the Mexican side and the Customs on the Mexican side to secure. Also, that’s for the security people at the casinos to make sure that those who enter the compound doesn’t have any firearms. But things happen at times when people leak through and smuggle things through. I don know what was the intention if they did have a firearm. I was told by the security that two people had a fight with them and they left and came back with a third person which they are saying they had a firearm at the time when they came back.”
