And so, what does this mean for him as a doctor and a politician? He practices as a neurologist and a pediatrician - but will his medical license be suspended? Well that is a decision for the Belize Medical Council - headed by Dr. George Goff who we could not reach for comment.
As a politician, he remains the area representative for Orange Walk East - and only he can choose to resign this seat. If a member of the House is criminally charged he is not required to vacate his seat. In fact, if he is convicted - the sentence must exceed 12 months to force a member to vacate his seat. So, unless he resigns - and he is not expected to - he will continue to collect his pay as a member of the House of Representatives, and will continue to get his community vote of seven thousand dollars a month.
But today the PUP officially put distance between itself and Dr. Mendez. The party sent out a statement saying quote, "the Party Leader….has with immediate effect removed Dr. Marco Tulio Mendez from his position as Chairman of the Northern Caucus and has suspended him indefinitely from all other Party related duties, responsibilities, and activities."
The release adds, "our thoughts and prayers are with the alleged victim(s), and with our colleague and friend Dr. Mendez and his family…"
We note that in November of last year, the 51 year old Tulio Mendez announced that he would not be seeking another term due to medical issues.
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