BELIZE CITY, Mon. Mar. 20, 2017–A man known as “El Tigre,” 62, reportedly originally from Corozal Town, a lover of Red Top rum who used to hang out at the Commercial Center on Regent Street with the homeless, and who, despite suffering with illness, refused to leave his beloved rum to go and seek medical treatment, died this evening on the sidewalk near his favorite spot under the Commercial Center.
El Tigre’s body has since been taken to the morgue, where it will undergo an autopsy to certify the cause of his death. Police have ruled out foul play.
He refused to leave the sweet taste of rum and seek medical attention
El Tigre’s friends, frustrated with his stubborn refusal to get medical assistance, told us that since last Wednesday, they had been telling him to go to the doctor, and they have been telling him to go every day, but El Tigre refused. He would drink and not bother to eat.
We were told that this morning, he was in a happy mood. They all pooled their funds together and bought Red Top Rum and they mixed it in a Crystal liter bottle. They then told him to go to the doctor again, but he refused again and began to drink.
El Tigre’s friends said that they left him and went across Albert Street, in front of Augusto Quan, and were relaxing there on the sidewalk when a woman came and told them that El Tigre had died.
They did not believe her and went back to where he had been seated, and he was still in the same spot, in a sitting position, but he was dead.
One of his friends also told us that El Tigre would quarrel with him because he refused to give him rum until he ate something.
About 8 of his friends who had gathered at their favorite spot under the Commercial Center were saddened by his death, but were calling for rum to start the drinking, to celebrate El Tigre’s life, since that was what he loved to do.
His friends told us that they have no photos of him and they do not know of any family that he has in the city.