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“Big Tom” is still alive

General“Big Tom” is still alive

Reputed PIV leader Kenneth “Big Tom” Flowers says police have marked him for death; he was supposed to die today, Thursday, October 26

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Oct. 26, 2017–As of press time tonight, Kenneth “Big Tom” Flowers is believed to be alive and well despite alleged threats to his health, that he would not live past today, Thursday, October 26.
On Tuesday, reporters and television cameramen took up vigil outside the Kremandala compound shortly after 1:00 p.m. They were waiting for the reputed “PIV big man,” Flowers, who had agreed to grant an interview to the media on our compound.

According to a post on Shakir “Cross De Nitro” Nunez’s Facebook page, his “general,” Flowers, has been marked for death by a police squad, which has been rounding up friends of Flowers in their Lake Independence neighborhood, and who reportedly shot Flowers’ dog Sunday night.

In the media interview with him today, Flowers, 40, confirmed that the date on which he is supposed to be killed is today, October 26.

The significance of the October 26 date is that Hector Joseph Almendarez, Big Tom’s cousin, was murdered on that date in 2012. Apparently, no one was charged for that murder. Now, however, two more brothers have been slain, almost two weeks apart, and Flowers has said publicly that Almendarez’s mother blamed him for their deaths.

Within the last 12 days, two of Almendarez’s brothers were killed. On October 10, Jason Almendarez, 27, was shot and killed on Jasmine Street. Then on October 22, Shaquan Almendarez, 25, was shot and killed in front of his home on Electric Avenue.

Shakir Nunez, 22, who is known by his artistic name “Cross De Nitro” and is one of Big Tom’s followers, unhesitatingly issued a threat to police that caught the attention of the police’s top brass, who responded today to questions from the media about the video.

Reporters and their cameramen left Partridge Street in search of Big Tom, who had not yet come to Kremandala as he had promised, after 1:00 p.m.

Shortly after, however, Big Tom walked into KREMANDALA’s compound, and the media returned.

“We’ve heard on Facebook that you feel that you are being targeted for state-sponsored execution by elements in the special assignment team,” 7News’ Jules Vasquez asked Flowers.

“Well, that is what I heard. I don’t know exactly, what is the problem, but at the same time, they are blaming me for things that I don’t know about,” Flowers said.

Vasquez pushed a little harder, “Okay, we will be straight. Miss Karen Almendarez is accusing you of being responsible for the deaths of her two sons.”

Flowers responded, “Well, I don’t have anything to do with that. It’s just accuse, they are accusing me. I already spoke to the same young man that got killed, and I spoke to his brother who works at the mail place. I explained to them, that I don’t know what the situation is between that when he got killed, but I am the one who gets blamed for the murders. I don’t know why I would get blamed for something that I wasn’t around.”
It was suggested to Flowers that he might not have been around, but perhaps, he said something to someone.
Vasquez asked Flowers, “Are you in any way involved in the murder of the two Almendarez brothers?”

“No, I’m not involved with any of them. They don’t have anything for me. The brother who got killed before, every day I would go and pick up the brother. Anytime he wants to go somewhere, anywhere, it is me who go and pick him up. So at the end of the day, they are supposed to be my family.

“So I don’t know how I will be the one who will kill their son. And then they come and accuse me of the same thing. Now they say it’s the GSU who pass and say, ‘the big man says you fi dead next.’ So what kind of thing the police is upholding? They want somebody to take the fall for their thing that they are doing. I don’t intend to take the fall, because if I am to die, I want to die to make a change. I don’t want to die because they want to kill me just like that, and then Belize remains the same way,” Flowers told the media.

Asked if he was fearful for his life, Flowers replied, “Well, wouldn’t I fear for my life, because then you have the police coming every day, and I am getting threats every day and then I already see what they have done to my friends consistently; the police just go and kill you and nothing comes out of it. People who are in the police are not supposed to be in the police, because they act like criminal more than the criminals.”

“So now I am getting the blame for certain things and then the government looks like they are just falling back and allowing it, when the government needs us at the end of the day, because it is us they come to for their votes,” Flowers added.

In a direct appeal to the Almendarez family, Flowers declared: “For the Almendarez family, I don’t have anything to do with your sons’ murders. We are supposed to be family. So how would I have your sons killed? So at the end of the day, I think police are just going after their own hearsay.”

Flowers revealed the date when it is said that he is supposed to die: “My life is getting threats every day from different people. I am supposed to die on October 26. That is what is out there. So I don’t know what day is today.”

Flowers also explained what happened to an artist “Unlimited,” whom he had sent to pick up some clothing at his house.

“Well, I send ‘Unlimited’ at my house for a suit of clothes, because I don’t trust the police and it look like the police meet ‘Unlimited’ and they beat him and abuse him when that youth was just a Belizean artist — just trying to do positive things.

“But in the same way I fear for my life. I don’t want to go to my house; every day they [police] go there. They went and shoot my dog when my dog was chained up. So imagine, that is the example they are showing me, what they will do to me when they meet me. You see what I’m saying?” Flowers said.

“Cross Di Nitro,” another artist whom Flowers supports, exploded, posting a video on Facebook saying, “The man come [a policeman] and the man say out of his own mouth that he get orders from the higher boss to set a hit on my general, who is Big Tom, Kenneth Flowers. What is going on with you all, G? What you all feel like? You all feel like you are untouchable? Bwai, you have pickni, you know. Things that you don’t even wish will happen to you yourselves, or to your loved ones. You all get the sense. You all make sure you know what you are doing.”

“You all want us to plant some bombs at your stations? You get the sense. Just like how you all have guns, guns is out here too. Just like how you all have grenades, grenades are out here too. I am being straight-up. This is a serious matter. I am not playing,” threatened Cross Di Nitro.

In answer to a question about the contents of the video, Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie told reporters today after meeting with them at the Racoon Street Police Station, “The video and the contents are very alarming and concerning to me, because it makes threats not only against police officers and their families and children, but it also makes threats against the ordinary citizens of Belize. Those threats the police will not be taking lightly. I can tell you that that young man will be located, he will be detained — we will be looking at all available laws with a view to see where we can, if possible, criminally charge him. We cannot have persons using social media to incite violence and incite fear to citizen across this nation.”

The CEO in the Ministry of Home Affairs, George Lovell, said, “I see it as a very irresponsible act simply because people will hear those things, and there are certain people who will act on those things even without the individual going there and telling them to do certain things, and that is the danger of those kinds of message being sent through social media.”

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