7 News Belize

Another Suit Against the GSU
posted (March 17, 2014)
Belmopan businessman Miguel Menjivar will sue the state for the damages that the Gang Suppression Unit caused when the unit rained down bullets on his family home almost 3 years ago.

Today, 6 months after Menjivar was acquitted of trying to kill 9 different officers of the GSU, he and his family have started the process of suing the Commissioner of Police, the Attorney General and Sergeant #360 Santiago Gongora an officer of the GSU. As we we've reported, in May of 2011, the GSU, while under the leadership of Superintendent Marco Vidal, conducted a pre-dawn raid at Menjivar's family home outside of Belmopan. In that operation, the officers unloaded over 100 bullets at his home, supposedly in response to Menjivar who fired first. Menjivar thought that it was armed bandits who were trying to rob him, and he was trying to protect his pregnant wife and 2 children.

Well, after beating that criminal case in the Belmopan Supreme Court, Menjivar is going on the offensive, and today, he went to file the documents at the court. He spoke with the media about it:

Miguel Menjivar
"I think it's been a long waiting, it's almost 3 years now. I got some letters from my lawyers yesterday, printed out today, we signed them already and we are going to drop them to court. It's just a notice to the government that we are going to get back to them to get back all our losses and all damages they caused to the family business and properties."

Dickie Bradley, attorney
"In Mr. Miguel Menjivar's case, he testifies in court that he called the police station in Belmopan when persons were jumping over his fence and shooting up his dogs and shooting his house. The police station in Belmopan have a record that there were 4 or 5 calls coming from that house from that number from that person, calling out panicking when you all will come. They dispatched police officers from the Belmopan police station to Mr. Menjivar's house. The officers went and saw what was going on, they returned because it's the untouchable US sponsored GSU - they returned to the Belmopan police station. They each gave statements of what happened at what time and what they saw. The sergeant in charge of the station gave a statement to that effect. The GSU came and took those statements and they have disappeared. So if Mr. Menjivar was not able to convince a judge that in fact he did call the police station, he did not know who was jumping over his fence and shooting up his house - chances are he'd be sitting in a jail now for the rest of his life because he was charge for many counts for attempting to kill GSU officers."

Miguel Menjivar
"These people were really unprofessional and it's not just with my family, they have been all over. I think they made history in the country with what they did with my family, actually it was way out of the normal - it was way too much."

Daniel Ortiz
"Now sir, should you win this case you would be the second defendants to sue the Gang Suppression Unit and win against them with a claim that they acted unprofessionally. Are you prepared to go the length and breadth of this case because obviously it will be a very long trial - you have probably another year or so?"

Miguel Menjivar
"Like I said before, I don't have experience on this, I don't know how long it will take, but we are ready to stay here until we get back all our losses."

It is important to note that at this stage, Menjivar has only just given the Government notice of his civil suit. We understand informally that he is seeking millions in compensation for the GSU's conduct.

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