_{Photo: (l-r) Cpl. Reynaldo Choco and Cpl. Yassir Mendez, deceased}

GOB accepts responsibility for death of two of four BDF soldiers in helicopter crash

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Oct. 17, 2024

On February 27, 2020, more than four years ago, four BDF soldiers lost their lives in the line of duty when their helicopter crashed.

But with the help of activist/attorney Audrey Matura, the families of two of the men were awarded compensation by the Government of Belize, who on April 12, 2024, six months ago, accepted liability for the deaths of those soldiers.

According to attorney Matura, their lawsuit had to be filed within a year after the incident. Attorney Matura said it took them 3 years 10 months for a decision to be handed down by the court.

Cpl. Mendez and Cpl. Choco were engineer officers in the Belize Defence Force. They died in the line of duty when their Bell-UH-1 helicopter crashed into the Western Lagoon, Belize District, on February 27, 2020.

On that fateful day, Cpl. Mendez and Cpl. Choco and two other BDF soldiers were providing air support to a ground counter-narcotics operation.

The relatives of the two men whom attorney Matura represented were: claimant 1, Guadalupe Mendez (his wife) for the estate of Cpl. Yassir Marcus Marcelo Mendez; claimant 2, Marcello Mendez, the father of Cpl Yassir Mendez who represented the minor children of Cpl. Mendez; and claimant 3, Jasmine Gichelle Perez, the wife of Cpl. Reynaldo Choco.

The first and second claimants claimed damages due to loss of financial support pursuant to the Torts Act on behalf of themselves, Cpl. Mendez’s two minor children (Kyra &Yasnir), and Cpl. Mendez’s mother (Edita Mendez.)

The 3rd claimant, Jasmine Gichelle Perez, initiated the proceedings in her own right as a dependent spouse and on behalf of Cpl. Choco’s parents, Pedro Choco, Jr. and Silvana Eleuteria Choco.

The claimant sued for (a) loss of peculiar support under the Torts Act; (b) special damages; and (c) damages on behalf of the estates of the 2 deceased officers pursuant to the Torts Act.

Defendants 1, 2 and 3 in the matter were the Brigadier General in the Belize Defence Force; The Attorney General’s Ministry; and The Ministry of National Security, all of whom were represented in court by Crown Counsels Alea Gomez & Imani Burgess.

On April 12, 2022, the defendants admitted liability, and by consent the case proceeded to the damages assessment.

A total of $760,698 was awarded to the two families: $428,472 to one family, and $331,226 to the other.

The court, in considering its ruling, compensated the families for loss of (1) expectation of life; (2) for pre-trial earnings (monies they would have earned if they were alive before trial); and (3) monies they would have earned in the future, all based on their salaries, ranks held and possible promotion.

In considering their decisions, the court also looked at the two men’s ages, their youthfulness and how highly qualified and skilled they were in the military.

Justice Tawanda Hondora has ordered that the Government compensate the claimants within 60 days of the date of decision, which was October 11, 2024.

According to one of AMANDALA’s sources, the families of the other two BDF soldiers had settled with GOB for $100,000 each.