Photo: Belize Immigration Stamp

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Sept. 7, 2023

Minister of Immigration, Hon. Eamon Courtenay has clarified that the fake passports reference that 28-year-old land consultant Ricardo Borja made in purported testimony prior to being assassinated on August 19, 2023 was in relation to foreign nationals. Apart from a land scam, Borja had alleged that his business partner who worked for a real estate company in Placencia was also dabbling in the production of fake passports, which to him seemed obviously fake and so he never got involved in that aspect of their dealings. Though Courtenay found that much of what Borja was saying sounded incoherent, he told Amandala Wednesday that “from other sources, what I have been told is that the passports that he was referring to were fake non-Belizean passports – dead Americans, dead British people, passports for foreigners. It was foreign land sales that they would present fake passports for … I have not heard that they are talking about Belizean passports.” When we asked if there is collaboration with other states to look into the case, Minister Courtenay stated, “Well, as you know, there is quite an extensive investigation underway, and yes, we have been speaking to security and Interpol from other countries to understand whether the passports are indeed fake. I am told that some of them are obviously fake.”

And that is not the only case that Belize Immigration authorities are keeping their eyes on. In early August, 13 Brazilian nationals were detained in San Ignacio with fake Belize immigration stamps in their passports. They were subsequently slapped with charges of entering Belize illegally and using false documents. On arraignment at the San Ignacio Magistrate Court, they pleaded guilty and were each fined $1,000 plus $5 cost of court.

Minister Courtenay revealed that they also had fake Mexican immigration stamps, which he considers strange since Brazilians don’t need visas to enter Mexico. He said that in addition to Brazilians, they have also seen migrants of other nationalities with fake stamps. He said they have tried to ascertain where the stamp originated. He noted, “There is one school of thought that it is somebody in Guatemala with the fake stamp. There is another view that it is somebody in Belize.” In response, Courtenay says they have taken measures to “first of all, take that stamp out of circulation – that particular number.” They have also heightened other security measures to ensure that “as best as they can, no fake stamp is used.” When we asked if it is believed there is inside involvement, Courtenay says there is no direct evidence of that at this stage. He did say there is a network of criminals who work in this area, and so officials are cooperating with their counterparts to look at the migration flows and share evidence and intelligence to try to stop the transit of illegal migrants through our countries.

And while the Ministry of Immigration focuses on those wider issues of illegal migration and false documents, one of their own immigration officers has come under the microscope following leaked videos. The officer in question, who has since retained an attorney, is stationed at the Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport. In one of the videos, she is seen cutting a line of what is supposedly cocaine. In other areas, that video is attached to another video in which Sierra Leone national, 24-year-old James Kojo Efrimea accuses the officer of extortion. In a sworn statement in the presence of a Justice of the Peace, Efrimea recounted that he paid the officer BZ$1,000 to be assisted to fly out of the country, given that he had not entered Belize legally and did not have his passport stamped. When he was not allowed on the flight after purchasing a ticket, Efrimea said he returned to the officer multiple times to get back his money. He was subsequently detained and charged for illegal entry and has since been remanded while he awaits deportation.

When we spoke with Minister Courtenay on Wednesday, we only had scant details that the officer was being accused of extortion. He commented, “That officer is under the proper procedure for there to be an investigation as to what has happened. The videos speak quite a lot, so I don’t expect it’s going to be a very long investigation. But the Public Service Commission has jurisdiction over that type of thing. The Chief Executive Officer updated me yesterday on the steps that they have taken in relation to that officer. I will be a bit frank. What I saw is not acceptable, as far as I am concerned.” Sources in the Department, which is very divided, with some opposing the Immigration Director, say they feel the extortion accusation is being swept under the rug.

In response to the developments, the officer’s attorney, Nazira Myles states in her release today, Thursday, September 7, “Over the past days, our client has been the subject, mainly through the media, of an unfolding apparent attack to her good name and reputation as a Woman Immigration Officer and Public Servant by persons within her own workplace who, with ill motive and malice, have disseminated a video which is not recent and fails to expose the true circumstances of the event on the date of the video.” She adds that the officer categorically denies the allegations of extortion. Myles says her client is being targeted because she assisted the Department in “uncovering dishonest acts among officers of the Department at the Philip Goldson International Airport” and she affirms that “any and all allegations of wrongdoings will be strongly defended with sufficient documentary proof.”

The officer is said to have filed police reports and is in the process of initiating court action against those who she says continue to defame her. At the same time, she is calling on the Minister and the Director of Immigration to conduct a proper investigation into those attempting to tarnish her reputation.