By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 25-year-old Honduran national who told immigration authorities he had been living in Belize since 2023 has been sent to the Belize Central Prison after he was unable to pay a $1,000 fine for an immigration offence.
Franklin Estralin Guerra Jacinto, a construction worker of the Gungulung area, appeared unrepresented before the Chief Magistrate on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to failing to produce a valid permit upon demand by an Immigration Officer.
Jacinto was fined $1,000 plus $5 cost of court, which he was ordered to pay forthwith. In default of payment, he was ordered to serve six months in prison.
According to the facts presented in court, police at the Raccoon Street Police Station contacted the Immigration Department on Sunday, August 23, after Jacinto was detained.
Immigration officers interviewed Jacinto and requested identification. He reportedly produced a Honduran passport, but checks revealed that it contained no Belize entry stamp.
Jacinto allegedly told authorities that he entered Belize through the Mopan River area near Benque Viejo, Cayo District, in October 2023 and had remained in the country since then.
Immigration officials subsequently searched the Migration Information and Data Analysis System, or MIDAS, using Jacinto’s name, date of birth and passport number, but reportedly found no record of his entry into Belize.
He was informed of his irregular immigration status and later charged.
Jacinto was unable to pay the $1,000 fine and was escorted to the Belize Central Prison to begin serving the six-month default sentence.
The post Honduran construction worker jailed after failing to pay $1,000 fine for entering Belize illegally appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 25-year-old Honduran national who told immigration authorities he had been living in Belize since 2023 has been sent to the Belize Central Prison after he was unable to pay a $1,000 fine for an immigration offence. Franklin Estralin Guerra Jacinto, a construction worker of the Gungulung area, appeared unrepresented
The post Honduran construction worker jailed after failing to pay $1,000 fine for entering Belize illegally appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
