Indeed, Budna's situation and his steadfast insistence that his abduction was orchestrated and executed by the state is a heavy indictment against the Briceno administration - and one that cannot be ignored.
Today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said their embassy is doing its duty to him as a citizen -imprisoned in a foreign country:
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"Yeah. Two officers from the embassy in Guatemala. Belize's embassy in Guatemala, visited with Mr Budna, they provided us with a comprehensive report on that meeting. They described it as a very, you know, positive meeting, a very useful meeting. They were there, of course, primarily to ensure that Mr. Budna was in good health. One. So they were able to speak with him about that and address some of his concerns as it relates to certain medications that he needs and requires.So they are working on that. And they had an opportunity to speak to the director of the facility that is in the prison that he is in. And they were assured that his medical needs were being met. And, based on everything they observed and heard and even what Mr. Budna reported to them. They are confident and assured that he is being treated properly. His rights have not been, you know, in any way infringed upon. There at the prison, and then the second objective of that meeting was to ensure that Mr. Budna had proper legal representation. They were able to establish that that is being worked on. Mr. Budna indicated to them that he would be getting his own representation, legal representation. He was assured and informed that if he did not get legal representation, he should inform us, and we would try to help him with that. And of course, he can also be appointed a public defender. By the Guatemalan authorities. So from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, those really are our obligations. One, to ensure that he is in good health. And two to ensure that he, is his legal representation is in place."
