7 News Belize

7 Soldiers, 1 Cop Detained For Beating OW Man To Death
posted (February 23, 2018)
Tonight Orange Walkeños are still reeling from the news that masked soldiers and a policeman stormed into a town resident's home - and beat him so badly that he died within hours. And, it's all because they were looking for someone's cell phone. 7News broke the story last night and tonight we'll have the full update on the 7 BDF soldiers and one policeman from the Belize Special Assignment Group who are detained in the investigation.

But first, we have a recap of the almost unbelievable home invasion - slash - search that happened at the corner of San Antonio Road and Staines Alley at 3:40 on Thursday morning. The family found their loved one badly beaten and dying on a septic tank:

Courtney Weatherburne reporting
Yesterday Orange Walk residents gathered around professional Standards Branch Commander ACP Chester Williams - all eager to tell of the gruesome early morning police raid. Ariel Salazar was killed in the beat down. His sister was among the crowd, carefully arranging and spreading out the clothes - his shorts dusty and frayed - it's something she never thought she would have to endure. Now she is pleading for justice.

Manuelita Salazar, Sister of Deceased
"All I want is justice, please I need justice at least let them pay for what they did to my little brother to God please."

The ruthless raid happened around 4:00 yesterday morning. The report is that two Belize Special Assignment Group officers along with one Orange Walk Special Patrol Unit officer stormed into Ariel Salazar's house. He was hanging out with Noe Sanchez and a female friend. An eyewitness who was with Salazar's nephew downstairs says she was awakened by the loud wail of agony and that started the night of terror.

Voice of: Edith Miranda, Eyewitness
"I heard a lot of noise right, like someone was bawling like they were in pain, they were moaning a lot. Me and my boyfriend got up we are right there trying to listen. We hear like something happening upstairs because it was upstairs it start first."

"A little while after that they came down, they brought them down here because one of the boys shouted my boyfriend's name right and they brought two of them to the front there so."

"When I push open the door I see the man the stand up there the hold up his uncle and his uncle was already bloody up already and like he was staggering, like he was going front way and then he hail my boyfriend and my boyfriend come out and he say, or he ask him where is the thing that he wanted so he said he doesn't have it, he said his son has it and his son stay in the next little front room right."

"They already have my boyfriend on the side the try open a door because his son wasn't inside the room, the room was locked with a padlock outside so he is trying to open it."

"Like how he couldn't find the key one of them knocked down the door, they went into the room they were trying to find what they wanted to find, they couldn't have found it."

Reporter
"That was the phone they were looking for?"

Voice of: Edith Miranda, Eyewitness
"Yes that is the phone they were looking for."

Reporter
"This phone that they were searching for were you able to hear who was the person who the phone was stolen from?"

Voice of: Edith Miranda, Eyewitness
"I hear that it was for a girl, a girl that works at a spot out of town and the girl came with them to come look for the phone but she said that it was the next guy who was in blue have, it wasn't his uncle that have the phone."

In the end, the masked officers didn't get the phone. But the Salazar family suffered a terrible loss. They now have to carry the memory of his vicious death.

Manuelita Salazar, Sister of Deceased
"The whole of his body is broken, the men broke him up, I don't know how they call them, the B's or what I don't know, they broke all of his insides, all this bone here broke up internal bleeding kill him."

"My little brother they killed him for nothing because they got a fuss over a phone why will they come and beat up my brother, they come and beat up the 4 boys who were up there and then they could have taken them to lock them down but they beat up all of them, my little brother they put bucket a water and they pushed his head in there and take him out, they drown the man in there, no man that is not right and they are law for them to be doing people those things no man."

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize