Caye Caulker Land Tensions Persist Despite Police Ownership Confirmation

A public meeting is taking place in Caye Caulker at this hour tonight as tensions continue to simmer on Caye Caulker.  Even as new information suggests that the land in question, currently occupied by the island’s police station, remains under the ownership of the Belize Police Department.  As we told you yesterday, residents staged a second day of protest over concerns that the parcel may have been sold, potentially putting the future of the station at risk. However, official checks and government sources have since indicated that the property has not been transferred and remains in police hands.  But despite that clarification, questions persist, particularly following remarks from Chairlady Seleny Villanueva Pott, which appear to send mixed signals.  In one instance, Pott raised concerns about who the land may have been sold to, echoing the uncertainty felt by residents. Yet in that same interview, she acknowledged that Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde had personally reached out to her and confirmed that the land remains with the police department.

Seleny Pott, Chairperson, Caye Caulker: “We haven’t been given any update thus far, but we’re waiting to see if we get a response soon. We’re hoping that we do. We just want to know if it’s still ours. So far only the Deputy Prime Minister has reached out to me. He’s the only one, and I had somebody from the Prime Minister’s office reach out to me as well. But we really want to hear from our area rep and from Minister Mira. We’re hoping that they will reach out to us soon. He’s saying that the land is still in the police department name and it has not been transferred. That’s all he can tell me.”

Reporter: But he cannot show you any proof. 

Seleny Pott, Chairperson, Caye Caulker: “Well, we saw a document saying it’s still in the police department’s name. So that is what we know. No word from our area rep as yet. We’re hoping that by the end of the day we have some kind of update to give to the community. We will definitely have another town hall meeting to update the public on some of the progress that we have made with the other public assets.”

Love News understands that a concern by officials is whether the existing parcel, measuring approximately fifty-five by seventy-five feet, is adequate for a modern police station and living quarters for officers.  Love News will continue to follow this developing story.