Jamaican national Christopher McIntyre is currently detained in Belize. When McIntyre arrived in Belize last month, customs officials flagged his accommodation. American Sheila Williams, who had invited him to Belize, told News 5, “The allegation is that he did not have the, um, hotels in his name. They were in my name. But I had invited Baby Bro to Belize for his birthday, which was on the 31st of December.”
Williams was the partner of McIntyre’s older brother, who passed two years ago. She considers McIntyre her little brother.
They had planned to visit a Mayan spiritual healer in San Antonio and enjoy a short vacation.
Upon McIntyre’s arrival on December 30th, Williams and her Belizean friend, Sheldon, waited outside the airport. Concerned about the delay, Sheldon enquired with the immigration officer and learnt that McIntyre was being detained.
“I mean, he’s never left Jamaica. He’s got to be scared. So they did bring me in and let me talk to him. I was there on the phone trying to get them to change the reservation to Christopher’s name.”
She continued, “That was the issue. And then this woman, she said she was a supervisor. She came, and she says, Time’s up. We don’t have enough time for that. She pulled me aside, and she basically told me, I’m American. I have no rights in Belize. I have no right to invite anybody to Belize because I am not. And I said, Well, I’ve got my friend outside. He’s a Belizean citizen. Can he speak? And she says, The matter is done. You need to leave and go back outside. He’s being detained.”
Williams then contacted attorney Norman Rodriguez for assistance.
Williams believed McIntyre would be released and placed on a flight to Panama, where they intended to continue their vacation. She rebooked their itineraries, but upon boarding her flight, she discovered that McIntyre was not on the plane.
“And I got on the plane, and there’s no baby bro. My Chris isn’t on the plane. I’m on the plane. I’m stuck. I’m going to Panama. And he’s not on the plane. I know they changed his itinerary because I bought the ticket. They changed it for him to be on the plane.”
Later, she learnt that McIntyre had been prevented from boarding and allegedly assaulted during the incident.
After arriving in Panama, Williams immediately began arrangements to return to Belize via Miami and Minneapolis to ensure her little brother’s safety and advocate for his release.
McIntyre remains in detention in Belize, and the family is exploring their legal options to resolve the situation.
