Tonight, there is more evidence of corruption in the issuance of nationality certificates, this time directly implicating insiders in the Vital Statistics Unit, and likely the nationality section of the Immigration Department. Salvadoran national Rafael Vasquez Medina was detained by Police on December fifth because of a false document in his possession. That document was a Belizean nationality certificate which was issued to Medina on September nineteenth, 2013. Medina was in the process of using that certificate to take out a Social Security card when a discrepancy was observed and Police were called in. The subsequent investigation has revealed a well organized scam, where one nationality broker was able to facilitate a valid Belizean nationality certificate for a non-Belizean in one week, with the certificate processed in one day. Mike Rudon has been connecting the dots and has the story.
Mike Rudon, Reporting
This is a copy of a nationality certificate which was issued to Salvadoran national Rafael Vasquez Medina. It’s a valid document signed by Director of Immigration Maria Marin conferring what is called nationality by descent to Vasquez-Medina, since he has a Belizean mother – Roberta Medina. But Vasquez-Medina doesn’t have a Belizean mother. He and Roberta Medina, a resident of Guinea Grass, have never met.
Here’s what we’ve uncovered so far in a nutshell. Vasquez-Medina and his aunt work out of the Michael Finnegan Market. In September they were approached by an unidentified woman who offered to get nationality for Vasquez-Medina. He handed over five hundred dollars and his Salvadoran birth certificate to the woman, and one week after she delivered his nationality certificate. Like we said, it’s valid, except for Roberta Medina listed as the mother. According to sources, when Vasquez-Medina queried the name, he was told that it didn’t matter, he was now a Belizean.
The scheme is quite ingenious. The female nationality broker apparently used the name of Roberta Medina, a Belizean, and through connections managed to obtain a birth certificate for Medina from the Vital Statistics Department. She then managed to produce a false Salvadoran birth certificate for Vasquez-Medina which listed Belizean Roberta Medina as his mother. That’s when the nationality section enters the picture. Those documents were somehow delivered, processed and signed by Director Maria Marin, all in one day. And then they were delivered back to Rafael Vasquez-Medina.
Here’s how the scam was uncovered. Convinced that his nationality document was valid in all respects, Vasquez went to the SSB to get his Social Security Card. He had one already, issued to him on the strength of a work permit, but that one listed his Salvadoran mother. The clerk at the SSB immediately noticed the discrepancy in the mothers’ names – the first on his Social Security Card and the second on his brand new nationality certificate. And the gig was up.
Tonight there are more questions than answers. One of those questions is the identity of the broker, and another has to be how the nationality certificate was processed in one day, delivered and picked up without Vasquez-Medina ever showing his face. We’ll keep stirring the pot to see what comes to the surface. Mike Rudon for News Five.
Today the Police were unable or unwilling to provide any information in what we are told is an ongoing investigation. Minister Godwin Hulse would only say that they are investigating the matter, and Director of Immigration Maria Marin did not respond to any of our calls or texts today. Rafael Vasquez-Medina was charged for uttering on a false document and possessing a false document. He was offered and met bail of five thousand dollars and is to reappear in court on March third, 2014. The copy of the nationality certificate was provided to us by our friends at Krem News.
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