Mother’s Search for Safety in Belize Ends in Tragedy

A family in Bella Vista Village, Toledo, is mourning the loss of forty-year-old Franklin Arenivar De Alas, killed yesterday afternoon around two o’clock while riding his bicycle. Relatives say the fatal encounter followed an ongoing dispute over stolen work tools and other items belonging to his father. During a physical altercation, Franklin was stabbed to the left side of his chest; his sixteen-year-old son was walking behind him and, according to the family, heard his father’s final words. The suspect was identified only as “Chavo”, a Salvadoran who grew up in Belize. The investigation continues and a man is currently detained at the Independence Police Station. Here’s Tanya Arceo with the following story.

 

Tanya Arceo, Reporting

Tonight, a family is mourning the loss of Franklin Arenivar De Alas, and for his sixteen-year-old son, that pain runs especially deep. Relatives say the teen witnessed the attack and held his father in his arms as he took his final breath. The family says Franklin had confronted the suspect about returning a stolen fertilizer pump, a water pump, and other items belonging to his father. Witnesses claim the confrontation turned physical, ending with Franklin being stabbed in the chest and struck on the legs with the flat side of a machete. Franklin’s mother fled her home country nearly a decade ago seeking safety, only to lose her only son to violence here in Belize.

 

Cecilia Arenivar De Alas, Mother of Deceased

“Then my son left and asked him where his bombs were, and he said he didn’t know, and they started fighting, and my son slipped and fell because he was wearing sneakers and the ground was wet, and he took out his knife and stabbed him in the heart. No, we didn’t file a report, the police, no. People talk and report crimes, but they don’t take action. They want you to bring the person in and say, “This person robbed me,” so I’m the detective. Why file a report? It’s becoming like El Salvador here, because we fled from there because of the gangs and the pandillas, but you couldn’t live there because you couldn’t report crimes, and it’s becoming like that here because you report crimes and they don’t take action.”

 

The suspect is now in police custody in Independence Village, but relatives say no arrest can undo the pain of losing a son, a husband, and a brother.

 

Cecilia Arenivar De Alas

“My son and my grandson were together, but he headed a different block and my son went the other way, so he stayed at a distance because he saw them arguing. Then, after he had stabbed him because he slipped and fell, he took out his knife and stabbed him in the heart. Then he grabbed the machete that he was going to cut him into pieces with, and then a neighbor came out and told Justin to take the machete away. My son, already wounded, grabbed his hand, but he was already weak and had lost a lot of blood. He grabbed the hand of that guy, and Justin took the machete away. Justin came and started hitting his hands so he would let go of the machete.”

 

Franklin’s wife of three years, says she had just shared lunch with him before he left home that afternoon, never imagining it would be the last time she saw her husband alive. She recalls the ongoing tension with “Chavo,” who she says was well known in the area for repeated thefts.

 

Herminia Reymundo, Wife of Deceased

“They called me to tell me that he was dead. I couldn’t believe it because he had just been here at the house when they told me he had passed away, and I said, “No, it can’t be, but he just left and went to confront that man who had stolen his father’s things, and then he stood in front of him, The other guy didn’t give him a chance. He just pulled out a knife and stabbed him. I only know him as “chavo.” I only know that they call him chavo. I couldn’t tell you why because I don’t know his real name. Santiago, now that I remember, they call him Santiago, but they used to call him “chavo. But they had already said that he was stealing and breaking into houses to rob them, and he always carried a machete or knife.”

 

His sister arrived at the scene before police and found her nephew, Franklin’s son, in shock. She also wants the public to know her brother was not under the influence of alcohol when the incident happened and insists the attack was fueled by “Chavo” allegedly stealing their father’s work tools.

 

Voice of: Wendy Alas, Sister of Deceased

“My brother was in his right mind. My brother was not drunk. Nine years ago, we left our country, El Salvador, fleeing violence. We sought refuge here in Belize. My brother felt so good. My brother liked fishing. He was a hard-working man, a man who didn’t mess with anyone, and anyone who knew him knows what kind of man he was. So I ask for justice. I demand justice because this cannot be allowed to stand because any other family could go through this situation and this pain is a great pain I would not wish it on anyone may God have mercy on us and help us and may justice be done”

 

The family is relying on the justice system to hold the suspect accountable. Tanya Arceo for News Five.