‘Like a lee breeze’ absolutely no corruption in visa scandal

Godwin Hulse

In early June, Belizean, Carlos Murga, was detained by Cuban authorities after he flew into Jose Marti Airport carrying Chinese passports with Belizean visas. It was suspected at the time that Murga was part of a ring which provided illegal immigration and courier services for Chinese nationals intending to come to Belize before moving on to the U.S.  Back then News Five spoke to C.E.O. in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexis Rosado, who expressed the utmost confidence in his staff and pointed us in the direction of the Ministry of Immigration for answers. Those answers were late in coming, but today Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse told us that as far as his ministry is concerned, there was absolutely no corruption involved.

Godwin Hulse, Minister of Immigration

“From our side we were only concerned whether or not there were any illegal visas issued, and there were none. The visas were properly issued into the passports and the passports were delivered to the persons who bought them. Now how they got to Cuba doesn’t really matter, I heard the same rumors you heard and who was taken them. But like you said it was foreign affairs so that didn’t concern us at all. I will say that many times as you know when people get a visa you have to send your passport to Mexico or you have to send it somewhere or if you have a friend to pick it up. So passports moving across borders in the hands of couriers isn’t new, our concern was whether in fact they were moving with visas that were not valid. That was not the case the visas were properly issued by the director of immigration and they were all valid. Absolutely no corruption in immigration and to the persons who were taking the passports. Our concern at immigration was that visas were issued illegally or fraudulently and that was not the case.”