Threats force journalist into exile

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 14 March 2003 letter to Prime Minister Said Musa, CPJ expressed concern about threats made against Belize journalist Melvin Flores, who has fled to the United States. Flores began receiving threats and menacing telephone calls following the publication of an exposé about corruption in Belize City, the country’s largest metropolis. Flores, […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 14 March 2003 letter to Prime Minister Said Musa, CPJ expressed concern about threats made against Belize journalist Melvin Flores, who has fled to the United States. Flores began receiving threats and menacing telephone calls following the publication of an exposé about corruption in Belize City, the country’s largest metropolis.

Flores, 33, is a prominent investigative journalist who has written for the Belize City-based biweekly “Amandala” for 11 years. A citizen of Honduras and a permanent resident of Belize, Flores travels on a Honduran passport.

On 26 January, Flores reported that a possibly stolen sport-utility vehicle, a General Motors Hummer, had arrived in Belize, allegedly with the help of government officials. US embassy sources in Belize later told Flores that the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) matched that of a Hummer in Pennsylvania.

According to Flores, the US embassy informed Belize customs officials that the Hummer was stolen. Despite the evidence, officials released the vehicle to a local businessman on 31 January.

With this additional information, Flores wrote a second article that should have run on 7 February, but “Amandala” never published the story. According to Flores, editor Russell Vellos claimed that there was insufficient space in the newspaper for the article. Vellos refused to comment on the situation.

On 7 February, says Flores, two men approached his wife, telling her that they needed to meet her husband in private. They later appeared to have the couple’s home under surveillance. That same day, Flores received threatening telephone calls. According to local press reports, people involved in a stolen-vehicle ring were attempting to intimidate the journalist.

According to Flores, “Amandala”‘s publisher, Evan X. Hyde, said he could not protect the journalist. Flores left for the United States on 10 February. Hyde confirmed this information on 14 March, and said that if Flores felt safe enough to return to Belize, he would have his old job back.

In 2002, Flores published a series of articles about Belize officials selling false passports. The investigations implicated then immigration minister Maxwell Samuels, who was removed from office but later appointed transportation minister.

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