The Mexican War (with the United States) began in January of 1846 with a dispute over the U.S. annexation of Texas. When the war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848, the United States received more than 525,000 square miles of former Mexican territory that includes present day Arizona, California, western Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah.
If the three Belizeans who entered Mexico at that republic’s southern border on Sunday morning were from the Toledo or some Belizean district other than Corozal and Orange Walk, then one perhaps could excuse their absolute lack of discretion, and that is putting it mildly. If you enter Mexican territory with guns shooting or at the ready, the Mexican people will interpret that to mean that you are invading Mexico. Anyone who lives or works in Corozal and Orange Walk would know that. In fact, most Belizeans know that one does not mess around in Mexico. Mexico is for Mexicans.
We have to conclude that the three Belizean security guards were either intimidated by their boss (or their boss’s son), George Hardie, Jr., or they wished to be loyal to him. George Hardie, Jr., to the best of our knowledge, is a United States citizen. In Belize, we revere citizens of the United States. But in Mexico, for reasons historical, when an American steps out of line, he or she will be disciplined without leniency. When the boss of the Las Vegas casino in the Corozal Free Zone crossed the Rio Hondo on Sunday morning (allegedly), he became an invading gringo, and the three Belizeans became his mercenary accessories. Provocation will be no excuse or explanation in a Mexican court of law. The law in Mexico is Napoleonic – guilty until proven innocent.
When the issue of gambling casinos first came up in British Honduras/Belize, it was in 1969, and the late “Madame Liz” – the Hon. Minister Gwendolyn Lizarraga (Pickstock), led the women’s section of the ruling PUP in a public campaign against gambling casinos. The pro-business section of the PUP, featuring Hon. Minister Louis Sylvestre (Belize Rural South), supported the idea of casinos being introduced into Belize. The Roman Catholic Church, led by the late Bishop Robert Hodapp, opposed the casino idea. And the casino proposal was defeated in 1969.
Gambling casinos, as introduced three decades later by the Said Musa PUP government, were supposed to be exclusively for foreign tourists, but the fact of the matter is that the casinos have wreaked havoc on some Belizean families.
The Eder Alamilla matter at the Belize City casino suggested that the casino was a law unto itself. Whether that is so or not, the evidence now suggests that George Hardie, Jr., thought he was a law unto himself, and he did not differentiate between Belize and Mexico. Big difference, son – big, big difference.
In Belize, such incidents as transpired on Sunday morning would be swept under the rug in a matter of months, perhaps even weeks. In fact, we are willing to wager that the oligarchy/aristocracy in Belize would have found a way to get bail for George Hardie, Jr. After all, those corrupt Belizean officials on the take would have argued, nobody got killed. No death, no harm.
The Mexicans, to repeat, will look at this in a much different way. If we know Mexico, they will teach George Hardie, Jr. a lesson. That lesson is – Mexico is for Mexicans. We are sympathetic to the three Belizean security guards and their families. But they should have known better. And they should have spoken sternly to the reckless American youth.
As Belizeans, we want the best legal results for our Belizean brothers. In fact, we also wish the best for George Hardie, Jr., who is our guest in Belize. There are lessons for Belize here, nevertheless. We will leave those lessons for the Government of Belize to learn.
Power to the people.