Mother Rejects Gang Claims in Belmopan Double Murder

Two cousins were gunned down in Belmopan on Friday night, and a grieving mother is rejecting claims that the incident is gang-related. Twenty-one-year-old Zamar Alvarez and 20-year-old Calvert Webster were murdered after a gunman opened fire on them as they walked with a group along a neighbourhood sidewalk.

According to police, both men “were walking with other persons when someone pulled a firearm and shot in their direction, causing their fatal injuries.”  

In a Sunday interview, Minister of Home Affairs and Area Representative of Belmopan, Oscar Mira, described the shooting as a “spillover” of violence from previous incidents in La Democracia and Belize City.

“It is a responsibility for us as a community and for the families to come forward. We are having a lot of pushback from the public. They don’t want to come and say anything,” Mira said. “For the people of Belmopan, I would say that we are doing everything possible to ensure that these things don’t happen.”

Alvarez’s mother, Alina Alvarez, rejected claims that link her son to crime. She told News 5 that Alvarez had returned from a church trip to Guatemala.

“I want justice for my son,” Alina said, adding that she is working with the police with information she knows. “I miss my child… I tried my best. I did my very best. Nobody in my family are gangbang person or gang members. I always told him. I am your gang. You are my gang. I work hard for my son, so please, I am begging you guys, the lies you are saying about my child, please stop.”