_{Photo: Surveillance footage of the incident}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Mon. May 13, 2024

In footage captured by surveillance cameras installed within the western border Immigration Office a senior Immigration officer can be seen forcefully pushing a Belizean woman to the ground in front of bystanders on Monday, May 6.

The incident was highlighted in last Friday’s edition of the Amandala, which mentioned that the woman – identified as Teresa Jones – had departed from Melchor de Mencos, Guatemala, to re-enter Belize, when she expressed her frustration on how slow the line was moving at the border.

Initial reports had suggested that Jones appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, and had aggressively confronted 48-year-old Immigration officer, Saul Lisbey, about the situation and had both verbally and physically assaulted the officer in the presence of other travelers, which had prompted him to react by pushing her away, which caused her to fall to the ground and pass out.

Amandala later spoke with Ministry of Immigration CEO, Tanya Santos, who said she was unable to confirm those reports. However, she was able to tell Amandala that, based on the surveillance footage that had since been made available, it does not appear that Jones had been physically aggressive. Perhaps she was verbally aggressive, but that could not be confirmed by the footage, which did not include an audio recording.

That was confirmed when the video footage was publicly released. It showed Jones apparently saying something to Lisbey, who exited from the booth, where he had been attending to someone else, and then confronted Jones. While both persons were face-to-face, the officer forcefully shoved Jones to the ground, which resulted in a head injury that caused her to lose consciousness. She was transported to the San Ignacio Hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, Lisbey reportedly returned to his booth as if nothing had happened.

“Unprofessional behavior is not and will not be condoned nor tolerated by the Department. We are both a law and enforcement and service agency and we must be sensitive to the balance that is necessary in undertaking our tasks,” said CEO Santos.

Jones later pressed charges against Lisbey during the course of the week, and he was charged with wounding, while also being placed on administrative leave pending further investigations.