Several dozen people arriving at the Philip Goldson International Airport (P.G.I.A) on Tuesday (Jan 18th.) were denied entry into Belize and are currently detained by the Dept. of Immigration.
Initial reports are that 14 women, 18 men and 5 children arrived on a COPA Airlines flight from Panama on Tuesday afternoon January 18th.
All indications are that they are all Venezuelan Nationals, and have been detained pending possible deportation back to their origin.
However the pilot did not allow them back on the plane, claiming safety concerns. According to initial reports, the 37 passengers were denied entry because they have been interviewed and a determination has been made that they are not visitors and or tourists.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration said that they will not be allowed to remain in Belize, and that a unique type of human trafficking is occurring throughout the region.
COPA Airlines is the largest airline serving Central America & The Caribbean and was welcomed back to Belize in June 2021 with plenty of fanfare; after discontinuing flights during the Pandemic.
COPA Airlines began flights to Belize’s P.G.I.A back in 2015.
But our research indicates that this is the 3rd. or 4th. occasion in which several passengers arriving on COPA Airlines were denied entry into Belize.
Written & Compiled by: channel1Belize.com / digitalBelize,LIVE Staff writer – Wednesday, January 19th. 2022 – channel1belize@gmail.com
