Major Adran Ramirez, Major Radford Baizar, Corporal Yassir Mendez, and Corporal Reynaldo Choco - three years ago these BDF soldiers were in a helicopter that plummeted into the western lagoon. They were part of a joint operation with the police after they'd busted a drug plane in the same area. But during those pre-dawn hours, the pilot lost his orientation, and four families were left without their husbands, fathers, and sons.
It was an almost unfathomable crash that was accompanied by a lot of scrutiny - was the use of the helicopter sanctioned? Were they shot out of the sky? Were the men involved in something nefarious?
But after it was discovered that the men were on a mission, the government was left to compensate the families - particularly the wives, some of whom had lost their breadwinners.
The spouses of Corporal Mendez and Corporal Choco decided to sue the government for the compensation they felt they deserved. But today, on the 3rd anniversary of the soldiers' deaths, they still have not gotten a cent.
Courtney Menzies spoke with their attorney today and has this story.
On this day, three years ago, a helicopter carrying four BDF soldiers went down in the area of the western lagoon. The military forces had been celebrating a major drug bust when they discovered that the helicopter and the soldiers that were supposed to be providing air support had gone missing. By the next day, they'd found their bodies.
It was a frantic day - the fear and confusion of the families, the questions of the public, and the heavy air of mourning that settled across the country in the BDF'S worst air accident in its history.
Now, three years later, two the four soldiers' wives still have not been compensated.
Audrey Matura, Attorney
"You all will recall that the then attorney general Michael Peyrefitte had offered $100,000 to each family like a gratuity he said, not compensation. My clients they never got that. We thought that that would have just been issued to them regardless or anything. We never got that, government change and everything, before government change, we has to sue the government to put in a claim within a year period, because if you don't sue them within the year, you can sue them again."
"We did file our claim, and the government filed a difference and in their difference they had said that we shouldn't be suing them, that it's not their fault, it was human error, that the error was by the two pilots, Captain Baizar and Major Ramirez, which we know was just a defense, they're trying to put up something to say, we blame them, but even if they were to be blamed, they were under the command of the government."
"The then commandant and some of them were saying it was always, well, really it was the minister who spoke mostly, it was always up to the captain, Major Ramirez, to make the final decision and that would have been something we argued at court, was it really up to him to make that final decision or was he under strict command to proceed. We don't know what the answer would have ultimate been if he'd been around to say what it was, but our position is he was under strict command to go and give the support."
That was the consensus arrived at by the Honduran Armed Forces, the US Air Force, and the Civil Aviation Department of Belize - and that the bad weather, lack of equipment, and lack of training contributed to their deaths.
After the government accepted the fault, all that was left was to compute how much would be paid out - and Matura says that's where the delay lies. She'd been hoping that by today, she would have good news for her clients - the wives of Corporal Yassir Mendez and Corporal Reynaldo Choco - but she says the government has been too busy haggling about the number.
Audrey Matura, Attorney
"The reason it takes so long is because I think honestly the government has acted in bad faith and I say bad faith because when the incident just happened, one, the 100,000 dollars that they were offered is an insult, two, if they really wanted to offer the 100,000 they would have done it immediately but they refused, they wanted the people to be unrepresented and so desperate and not knowing their rights they would have just gone and signed off everything and we resist that. Three, there was a change of government so when the new administration came in, they had to catch up and they had to figure out what to do. under the new administration, they finally accepted liability but still, they are fighting the amount so both of them, none is better than they other."
"My biggest concern at this point is, even if we reach settlement, we don't want a settlement where the government says we'll pay it over a period of three years or so much months, we already waited three years, let us reach the settlement and pay it up front."
And in that time, the women who'd had to endure the grief at their husband's deaths have had their lives completed upended.
Audrey Matura, Attorney
"Three years is a long time to wait to try and have some normalcy, in the case of Mrs Mendez, she was a stay at home mom taking care of her two children, she never worked, out of the home I mean, house work is a lot of work. She never worked out of the home but since then she has been forced to work out of the home, I know she started her own little business where she buy and sell things so that has been hard on her. She has had to move in with her parents."
"In the case of Mrs Choco, she was a teacher and remains a teacher so she has at least a career that has helped her but the truth is her lifestyle also change because she had plans to continue school, her husband was supportive, he had extra education, they would have taken turns, they didn't quickly have children because they were planning and building their life together, it has affected her as well, she gave up the house and rent and everything she had to pay here in Ladyville and she commutes."
"Emotionally both of them are devastated still and the one with the kids that she has to maintain and everything, she tells me her kids still ask her, like what happened to their dad, so that has been hard."
But Matura says that while the pay out certainly won't be in the millions - as she believes the women deserve - she still hopes that and agreement can be reached sooner than later, to finally give the families some closure.
Audrey Matura, Attorney
"I think he biggest message is to ask the government to have a heart and let's settle it, don't by cutting corners, don't be fighting over a minute issue here or there, please give these people closure, especially today."
The wives of Major Ramirez and Major Baizar had settled out of court for the $100,000.
