We have to describe the abduction/murder last week of Ramon Cervantes, Sr., a former Senator in the National Assembly, the former Mayor of Orange Walk Town, and the Orange Walk East standard bearer for the People’s United Party (PUP) in the 1984, 1989, and 1993 general elections, as “sensational,” because the late Mr. Cervantes is the highest ranking Belizean public figure ever so attacked.
Orange Walk Town is less than an hour away from Belize City, which is the print and electronic media capital of the nation, and Orange Walk Town and District are of huge importance in the politics and economics of Belize, but Mr. Cervantes had kept his life out of the mainstream media spotlight. At Kremandala, we only knew his name.
Several months ago, during the time of the original wrangling between BSI/ASR and the cane farmers over the bagasse matter, senior Kremandala personnel met and spoke with Ramon Cervantes, Jr., popularly known as “Monchi.” For this reason, we felt a personal interest in the abduction of his dad. It was only after last week’s violent occurrence that we learned important biographical details about a man who had been so prominent in the public life of his town, his district, and his nation.
Just a few weeks ago, Monchi Cervantes contested the PUP convention to choose a standard bearer for the Orange Walk North constituency. He won a big victory over the popular chairman of the powerful cane farmers’ association, Alfredo Ortega. The size of Monchi Cervantes’ victory suggests that his father was a man of esteem and credibility.
The management of this newspaper extends deep condolences to Monchi Cervantes and the Cervantes family on the death of his father. The circumstances of Mr. Cervantes’ death made it impossible for his family to give him the proper, large funeral he so richly deserved. Beginning with his abduction last Tuesday, these have been days of great pain and trauma for the Cervantes family. This is more than a family tragedy: the abduction/murder of Ramon Cervantes, Sr. is a Belizean tragedy.