Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2025. 7:43 pm CST.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: A San Pedro businessman has been charged with 14 counts of immigration offenses after allegedly employing 14 Honduran women at his bar without valid work permits.
Nelson Raynaldo Gomez, 38, a business owner from the Emerald area of San Pedro Town, appeared before the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday afternoon at around 12:30 p.m. He was accompanied by his attorney, David McKoy, after being summoned to court.
In Court #2, Gomez was read 14 counts of employing persons not in possession of an employment permit. The charges stem from allegations that on Saturday, March 15, 2025, he employed 14 Honduran women at VIP Bar in San Pedro without legal work authorization. The women were identified as Yolanda Isabel Fuentes Valle, Wuendy Suyapa Flores Galindo, Daniela Alejandra Rodriguez Contreras, Sindy Nicole Garcia Nunez, Mariela Estefany Lainez Ramos, Belkin Elizabeth Duran Funez, Audrey Dayanara Cruz Lairez, Marlin Aracely Castillo Ramos, Angela Michelle Cantar, Melanie Luque, Ingrid Jamileth Maradel Rosalez, Karla Elizabeth Martinez, Katherine Nicole Hernandez Diaz, and Carmen Cristina Martinez.
Gomez pleaded not guilty to all charges. Since he was summoned to appear in court, he was released and instructed to return to the San Pedro Magistrate’s Court on May 14, 2025, as the case falls under that jurisdiction. The arraignment took place in Belize City due to the unavailability of a magistrate in San Pedro at the time.
The charges against Gomez followed an operation conducted by police and immigration personnel at VIP Bar, where the 14 women were found working without employment permits. The women were arraigned on Monday, March 17, 2025, in the San Pedro Magistrate’s Court and faced charges including failure to produce a visitor’s permit upon request by an immigration officer.
All 14 women pleaded guilty and were each fined $1,000 plus a $5 court cost. They were ordered to pay immediately or face six months in prison. The Belize Immigration Department successfully applied for their deportation, and as they have been unable to pay their fines, the women are currently being held at the Belize Central Prison awaiting deportation to Honduras.
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The post San Pedro bar owner arraigned for employing 14 undocumented Honduran women appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2025. 7:43 pm CST. By Breaking Belize News Staff: A San Pedro businessman has been charged with 14 counts of immigration offenses
The post San Pedro bar owner arraigned for employing 14 undocumented Honduran women appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
