by Kristen Ku
EL PROGRESSO VILLAGE, Cayo District, Mon. May 29, 2023
Reports of the murder of Mirsa Moralez, 31, a successful Cayo businesswoman and owner of La Casona Restaurant and Bar, shook the tranquil community of El Progresso over the weekend.
According to reports, on the evening of Saturday, May 27, around 9:00 p.m., a man dressed in dark clothing and a motorcycle helmet walked into Moralez’s kitchen, where she was washing dishes with her employees. Without warning, he opened fire, leaving her motionless on the kitchen floor with multiple injuries to her upper body. He then fled on a motorcycle, driven by another man, in the direction of the George Price Highway.
Police responded to the incident and found the motionless body of Moralez in her kitchen. She was transported to the Western Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Since the news broke, speculations regarding the motive for Moralez’s murder have begun to surface, particularly due the fact that she is the second woman to be violently killed in the Cayo District in the past two weeks.
Audrey Matura, Belizean activist and attorney, took to Facebook this week to express her shock and sorrow. She condemned the act as a “targeted execution” and speculated on potential motives — jealousy over business success, personal conflict, or even knowledge of something incriminating.
Who would benefit from Moralez’s death? It’s a question that hangs heavy in the air.
Unfortunately, Moralez’s life had not been free of tragedy. In 2019, she was reportedly in a relationship with local tour guide Mario Graniel, who was gunned down along with American tourist, Dr. Gary Swank, on a fly-fishing trip off the coast of San Pedro.
It was alleged that Graniel was at the time in some “hot water” with a notorious gang figure. Prior to his murder, Graniel was being threatened, to the extent of having his house shot at, which he did not report.
It was during his tour with the American doctor, however, that Graniel was shot to death, with Swank being termed as collateral damage.
This shocking event made international news, and had negatively impacted the local tourism industry, causing numerous cancellations of tourist bookings for hotels, tour operators, and restaurants.
The U.S. Department of State had even released a Level 2 Travel Advisory for Belize, due to the high rate of crime which, they reported, normally goes unsolved.
The main suspect in the double murder was reported missing and is believed to have been killed in Guatemala.
And although no one was ever charged with the crime, an unidentified woman (whom we now know is the deceased), described to be quite close with Graniel, was detained for questioning.
Fast forward four years later, and Moralez, who relocated from San Pedro to the Cayo District, has become the latest victim of an extreme act of violence.
“The public would know that she [Moralez] may have been in a relationship with Mr. Graniel at that particular time, and now that she is a deceased person and the victim of a murder, we believe that the same persons who were behind Mr. Graniel’s murder and Dr. Swank are those who are responsible for her murder,” reported Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams.
Following the death of Graniel, it was reported that Moralez was later romantically involved with one Christian Espat, a person who, Williams informed, is now being looked at as a person of interest, along with others who are being sought out by the police.
Investigations into Moralez’s murder are ongoing, but the motives behind this brutal killing are still a matter of speculation. However, one thing is for sure: there was no evidence of robbery or confusion on the part of the gunman regarding his target and her location.