ORANGE WALK TOWN, Mon. Nov. 9, 2015–Two men of Orange Walk Town have been admitted to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in a serious condition after they were beaten in two separate incidents.
Chel Vasquez, of San Roman, was attacked by a group of men who beat him in front of his wife and children. As a result, his skull was cracked, and he suffered internal injuries. His friends rushed him to the Northern Regional Hospital.
Vasquez told police that he was driving home along with two friends on Thursday night, but just before reaching his house, his vehicle suffered mechanical failure and stopped. A crowd of men then approached his vehicle, pulled him out and began to punch, kick and stomp him, and also beat him with a stick.
His two friends who were with him were also beaten, but they were able to rescue Vasquez from the violent mob, who then left the area.
In an interview on CTV3 Belize, Vasquez said that he believed that he was attacked and beaten by supporters of the United Democratic Party, because he was campaign manager for the San Roman PUP.
The second man to be beaten, Kevin Salazar, 24, a boledo vendor, was socializing with two friends on Sunday night on Zericote Street in Orange Walk Town. His friends then went into a house to relieve themselves, leaving him by himself for a brief period of time, during which a man came up and beat him in the head with a stick, fracturing his skull and leaving him unconscious. The assailant then escaped into the darkness.
Salazar was rushed to the Northern Regional Hospital, where he was given initial treatment and released. According to CTV3 Belize, shortly after Salazar was released from the hospital, his condition took a turn for the worse, and he was rushed back to the Northern Regional Hospital, and then to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he is fighting for his life in the Intensive Care Unit.
He has been declared to be in a critical condition and has been given a 50/50 chance of survival.
His friends say that they believe they know who attacked Salazar, and police are looking for the suspect.