Explore the latest developments concerning Belize Monitors Case.
Belize Monitors Case of Abducted National Convicted in Guatemala
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that it is now monitoring the case of 28-year-old Belizean national Sebastián Pop, who has been convicted of femicide in Guatemala following a controversial cross-border ordeal that began more than a year ago. Pop was abducted in February 2024 from the Dolores Village by a Guatemalan mob of vigilantes and forcibly taken across the border. Since then, he has been held in a Guatemalan prison, facing charges his family insists were never properly explained to them. Relatives say they have spent the past year seeking help from Belizean authorities, including the police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but claim they were repeatedly ignored. Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a formal statement acknowledging the case for the first time. The Ministry said the Embassy of Belize in Guatemala had provided documentation to support Pop’s legal process and has now been instructed to explore any remaining legal avenues following his conviction. The Ministry also expressed “extreme concern” about the circumstances of his removal from Belize and pledged to pursue his repatriation through diplomatic channels and international law.
Foreign Affairs probe into the 2023 case of Sebastian Pop taken to a Guatemalan prison
The case of Sebastian Pop, a Belizean man reportedly abducted from his home village and imprisoned in Guatemala for over two years, has finally reached the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Love News understands that Minister Francis Fonseca had only become aware of the matter this week and has since instructed his team to prepare a full brief on the situation. He has reportedly declared that his ministry will certainly treat the matter with the urgency it requires and deserves. Pop, who was 22 years old at the time of his disappearance, has been languishing in a Peten prison since he was allegedly taken from Belizean territory in the village of Dolores, Toledo District. The report is that he was taken by a Guatemalan mob of vigilantes in February 2023. Unlike the highly publicized case of Joseph Budna, Pop’s ordeal has remained largely unknown outside his community. According to a police report filed by his father, Francisco Pop, in July 2023, his son was forcibly taken from the Dolores Community Center on February 21, 2023, by Guatemalan civilians who had illegally crossed the border. The group reportedly escorted him towards the Guatemalan village of RIX TZUL. Despite the family’s multiple attempts to seek help from Belizean police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, they claim they were given the “run around,” with police even questioning Pop’s Belizean citizenship, which his family confirms he holds by birth. According to the Belize’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, its embassy in Guatemala has been in contact with Pop’s legal representative and has facilitated the provision of documentation for his legal process. The Ministry has been informed that Pop was convicted of femicide and has now instructed its embassy to inquire into any further legal recourse. The Ministry expressed “extreme concern about the circumstances of Pop’s removal from Belize” and pledged to “vigorously pursue his repatriation.”
1Set 5D Resin Diamond Painting Pen With Metal Replacement Pen Heads Multi Placers Point Drill Pens for DIY Diamond Nail Art Tool
Telling the story of the Atlantic's sargassum surge with 40 years of data
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's
editorial process
and policies.
Editors have highlighted
the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute have released a landmark review tracing four decades of changes in pelagic sargassum—free-floating brown seaweed that plays a vital role in the Atlantic Ocean ecosystem.
Once thought to be primarily confined to the nutrient-poor waters of the Sargasso Sea, sargassum is now recognized as a rapidly growing and widely distributed marine organism, whose expansion across the Atlantic is closely linked to both natural processes and human-induced nutrient enrichment.
For more detailed information and comprehensive insights, explore recent updates concerning Belize Monitors Case.
For more news, visit: For more news…