LIVING IN BELIZE – “Justice for Jasmine”– 6/21/12

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While Nige and I were enjoying ourselves in Hopkins two weeks ago, a 13 year old girl named Jasmine Lowe was kidnapped and murdered here in San Ignacio Town.  The horrific crime reminded me a lot of the senseless acts that used to go on in the United States all the time, which I saw on the news all too often. 

Jasmine Lowe

Unlike the U.S. though, where you tend to get desensitized to it because of how often it occurs, something like this in Cayo is very rare, and it has caused a huge amount of outrage by the citizens of our twin cities (San Ignacio and Santa Elena). Several protests and rallies have been held since her death, and the public wanted the police to know that they want action. That they want this creature caught so their daughters can once again walk the streets and be safe. 

Angry crowd demonstrating against crime in the Twin Towns.

On Monday, a monster named Bert Vasquez was arrested, after several girls came forward saying he was driving around town that day, offering them $30 bze to get in his car because he was lost and couldn’t find certain locations. Luckily, all of them were smart enough not to get in the car, and their parents took them to the police to report it. In no time at all, the description of his car was released, and he was found (allegedly with a young girl in the car) and arrested. 

This is only a portion of the crowd that gathered in front of the San Ignacio police station yesterday to have their voice heard.

After searching his car, they found young Jasmine’s ring, which her mother has positively identified (they have other evidence too, which they’re not releasing). Thus began a town vigil, where literally hundreds of people gathered in front of the San Ignacio Police Station and Court House, demanding “Justice for Jasmine.”  Vasquez was supposed to be arraigned in the afternoon, so Nige and I went to support the community and Jasmine’s family and have our voices heard as well. 

Vasguez's car-I have no idea why the police allowed people to peer through the windows (even saw some people standing on it!!). I sure hope they processed it already.

The scene was amazing! I’d really never witnessed anything like it in my life. About 500 people were there, lining the streets and standing on balconies. They literally had to close the Hawkesworth Bridge down and stop all traffic in that area. 

The Belize Special Police Force were guarding the front door of the police station before the prisoner was moved.

The Special Police Force was there for crowd control, and eventually they asked everyone to move off the front steps and parking lot area of the courthouse so that they could bring the prisoner from his cell to the Magistrate for his arraignment.  Everyone complied, but I honestly thought when they walked him out all hell might break loose and people may try to attack him, because folks were mad! 

The police ask the crowd to move back and be calm or they won't move him. A lot of people were there just to see what he looked like, so they complied.

But that didn’t happen. Everyone stayed put, but the screaming and yelling at him as he was escorted from one building to the next was deafening.  He was charged with murder and is being held without bail, thank goodness. 

This is the best photo we could get of them moving Vasquez to the court house. It happened so fast! That's him in the background with his head bowed forward.

Crime happens everywhere in the world, even in Cayo. But I was proud of my fellow citizens for making sure their voices were heard loud and clear, and not stooping to the level of the criminal by committing any more crimes.  I certainly hope this guy gets the key thrown away. 

One of the many, many signs people were holding in support of Jasmine-may she rest in peace!

Have you ever been involved in a protest like this before?

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  • http://ibelmopan2.blogspot.com/ iBelmopan Admin

    I conquer with you my friend! The monster got what he deserved and Justice is done. Thanks God for this

  • http://www.wealthships.com Sharon Hiebing

    Definitely!

  • Brian Fletcher

    Sharon – Very sad story. And another case where a “monster” doesn’t exactly come across looking like a monster. But, he is innocent until proven guilty.

    At a link (http://visual.ly/jasmine-lowe-effect) from the link in your post there’s a graphic that states that “Belize is now ranked among the most dangerous places in the world.” I was surprised to read that because while I was aware of some usual petty crime, I didn’t now that there was much violent crime. Anything you can add to that?

  • http://www.wealthships.com Sharon Hiebing

    Yes, Brian, there is violent crime in Belize, and it occurs mostly in Belize City, where lots of gang members and drug dealers are killing each other. But there still is a fair share of innocent life being lost in Belize too, and that’s why the Belizean people have been taking to the streets all over the country to have their voice heard.

    The police are woefully under-staffed due to budget issues, are inadequately trained, and lack the necessary investigative skills and equipment to many times catch the bad guys. These protests are an effort to get the funding prioritized so the situation can change.

    99% of the people in Belize are wonderful, and they hate having their beautiful countries reputation tarnished by the evil few.

  • Brian Fletcher

    Sharon – thanks for your insight. Let’s hope that the good people of Belize will have their voices heard.

  • desertmanfred

    I’d like to know if anyone considers ways to prevent this type of violence, whether it’s against children or adults. All of the laws I know of only treat these crimes and criminals after the fact.

    None of these criminals were born heinous. How did they get this way? Were they influenced by their biological conditions or their environmental conditions? Why do they believe they have the right to harm others? If there was a witness to their first malevolent act, no matter what their age or how small the offense, did the witness report it? Could we detect a trait in them or an action by them that would alert us to their possible future crimes?

    Something to think about…

  • http://www.wealthships.com Sharon Hiebing

    It’s an excellent question. This particular guy seems to have lived a life of privledge. He’s Belizean but has a wealthy family, He went to USC, which ain’t cheap, and most Belizean families could not afford that. There’s some talk that his mother thinks he can do no wrong. This isn’t his first time in trouble, yet she continues to defend him. He’s probably never learned about consequences.

  • desertmanfred

    Can you give me a link to a newspaper that is covering the trial?

  • Alan Slater

    HI Sharon,
    I’m baaaaack, after 6 weeks in the U.K.
    My heart goes out to the parents of Jasmine. No one will ever know the terror she experienced during her ordeal.
    There is a tribe in Papua, New Guinea that has a law for such a crime. Simply put, if a man is convicted of rape against a female ,or male, of their tribe, they cut off his meat and 2 veg. stuff them in his mouth and sew his lips shut. He now has the option of bleeding to death, choking to death, or eating his own vitals. Whichever he chooses, he will never rape again. Soooo simple!!!
    Alan S.

  • http://www.wealthships.com Sharon Hiebing

    The trial probably won’t start for a year. When it does, I’ll be happy to give you a link of whoever is providing the best coverage.

  • http://www.wealthships.com Sharon Hiebing

    Hey, nice to see you back! The Papua are on to something – I bet they don’t get a lot of rape in their tribe!