US revokes visa of Belizean jurist

BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – The chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the fatal MV Barima disaster in Guyana, Justice Godfrey Smith, says that while social media “is crazy with speculations” regarding the decision of the United States to revoke his visa, he is urging Washington to reveal the reasons “freely”.

Smith, a Belizean jurist, who is also the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) High-Level Representative on Law and Criminal Justice, as well as an ad hoc Justice of Appeal in the Eastern Caribbean, said that no reason had been given to him regarding the decision to revoke his US visa.

Smith, who is the chairman of the University of Belize board of directors, said the email sent to him from the US Embassy consular section indicated only that the visa had been revoked.

According to the email, “information has come to light indicating that you may be ineligible for your visa…if you’re not physically present in the United States at this time, the visa revocation is effective immediately”.

Smith publicly questioned what the reasons could be, adding: “The usual reasons in this part of the world people’s visas get revoked or cancelled has to do with drug dealings or immigration matters.

“Let me just say this, because social media, I have not followed it, but I know it is crazy with speculations, as is expected, so let me say this. I do not take drugs. I do not traffic drugs. I do not represent drug traffickers, though nothing prevents me from doing it if that was my area of law.

“I do not engage in immigration hustling or trafficking, not ever, not now. I do not engage in representing Americans trying to evade taxes in the US. I have no such clients. I do not engage in terrorism or terrorism financing or any such thing, or money laundering for the purpose of terrorism finance.

“So, I say all of that to say, there can be absolutely no doubt that it is not related to any nefarious activity. What does that leave us with? Again, let me say this, if there is a reason, I call on the United States, the US State Department to reveal it freely, to say what those reasons are. I have no hesitation in saying it to do it to anybody they wish.”

Smith, a former foreign affairs minister, was asked whether he believes his US visa had been revoked because of his growing ties to China and whether his political advocacy may be behind the decision.

Smith said he has openly pushed for Belize to end its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan and establish formal ties with China, even as Washington works to limit Chinese influence across Latin America and the Caribbean.

“As you know, the starting point is that Belize has diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Belize does not have diplomatic relations with China. In January of this year, I made a visit to China. During that visit, I engaged with very high-level officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explore the opportunity for more Belizeans to get to understand what China is, to see the behemoth that China is.”

He said that the visit was also intended to “see the possibilities that China represents and to see the discussion was fruitful.

“The officials for the government of China said that notwithstanding the lack of diplomatic relations, they were prepared through me to engage in that collaboration. As a result of that, I travelled to Jamaica, where I met with officials of the Chinese embassy in Jamaica, since they do not have an embassy in Belize, and we formalised a programme.”

He said that the programme would be for Belizeans, young leaders in the media, academia, young professionals, “and so far, a number of Belizeans have gone.

“It came to my attention that representatives, or a representative of the US Embassy in Belize reached out to media personnel to find out if they had been invited or knew anything about it.

“So, I am aware that they are aware. And may I just add this point too, because I know what social media is like. I do not get paid by the Chinese government to do this. So, this is strictly out of belief, policy belief, philosophical belief, ideological belief,” Smith said, reiterating that his engagements with Beijing have been in the capacity of a private individual and not as a representative of the Government of Belize.

Smith told reporters that he has no interest in reapplying for his US visa.

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