BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Sept. 26, 2019– Yesterday, September 25, 2019, marked five years since Police Special Constable Danny Conorquie was gunned down at the Caracol Archeological Site in the Cayo District.
The violent, broad daylight assault on this Belizean law enforcement officer occurred in the presence of visiting tourists, who were able to capture the sound of the gunfire on a short video.
At the time of this attack on Belizean territory, PC Conorquie, who was attached to the Tourism Police Unit, was on duty. As a young man, Conorquie had dreamed of serving as a police officer.
Although there has been no concrete proof, it is widely believed that PC Conorquie was killed by illegal Guatemalan loggers, because his assailants fled toward Guatemala.
While Belize does not have an extradition treaty with the Republic of Guatemala, there has been no visible effort to bring PC Conorquie’s murderer to justice.
The Belize Ministry of Foreign Affairs had made a request to the Organization of American States to investigate Conorquie’s murder, but the Guatemalan authorities did not cooperate, because they wanted to re-open the investigation into the April 20, 2016 shooting death of Julio Rene Alvarado, 14, a Guatemalan minor who was shot and killed after Belize Defence Force soldiers and Friends for Conservation rangers were fired upon, on the Belize side of the Chiquibul area, and they returned fire.
After PC Conorquie was shot, the shooter(s) took his police-issued handgun and fled toward Guatemala.
It is believed that PC Conorquie was executed as an act of revenge for the confiscation of five horses by Belize police the day before the fatal shooting.
In 2016, during the Tribute to Belizean Patriots, Special Constable Danny Conorquie was honored posthumously with Belize’s Meritorious Service Award.
Governor General Sir Colville Young presented the award to Conorquie’s mother, Jean Conorquie. Danny Conorquie was originally from Georgeville, Cayo District. Jean had recently been elected to the Georgeville Village Council.
A foundation, the Danny Conorquie Foundation, was established in his memory.