Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Marcel Cardona was in a slight fender bender in Chetumal this weekend. No one was hurt and the damage was minimal, so it’s not news really but footage posted on the internet by Channel 10 in Chetumal has turned it into a sensational story. The footage shows Cardona being harassed by the Mexican media inside the police station. It also alleges that he both caused the traffic accident and then tried to flee from it. We spoke with the Minister today to ask him if it’s true.
Jules Vasquez,
If you see the footage on the TV it looks sensational. Why were you acting like that, blocking the camera and refusing to face the camera and that sort of thing?
Hon. Marcel Cardona, Minister of Youth, Sports, Culture
“Jules for a very minor incident like this one, in particular where I was not the one to blame, for them to have
brought in a whole troop of camera people etc. and for them to be masquerading or parading around as if I am some sort of object of importance or object of curiosity, that was totally in my opinion most distasteful. There was a little what I would refer to as a minor traffic accident. I was driving very carefully and a Mexican driver was apparently coming full speed behind me. He lost control of his vehicle and it was a most regrettable situation which I have already apprised the Mexican Embassy of and they have assured me that they will launch a thorough investigation into this matter to ensure that incidents like these do not repeat themselves and that the friendly relations that exist between both of our nations remain strong and continues developing even more.”
Jules Vasquez,
But Minister the impression I got was that you were under threat of being jailed, that you were being blamed for causing this accident.
Hon. Marcel Cardona,
“Yes.
Cardona was not cleared to leave custody until after some high level intervention from the Mexican Embassy in Belize and even with that, an US$800 fine or compensatory payment still had to be made. The Youth Minister has sent a formal letter of complaint to the Mexican government. It alleges unfair treatment.
