A devastating incident at Belize’s Western Border has claimed the life of Naser Reyes, a Mango Creek resident who was denied entry into his home country while critically ill. Reyes had previously traveled to Honduras for specialized surgery following a diagnosis of advanced cancer, with his family arranging for his medical repatriation via Honduran ambulance.
The carefully coordinated transfer plan involved a Belizean medical team scheduled to assume Reyes’ care at the border crossing. Despite being fully informed of his grave medical condition, Belizean border officials reportedly refused him entry. Honduran medical personnel subsequently pronounced Reyes deceased at the border facility.
The tragedy has triggered an outpouring of grief from Reyes’ family and community members. His sister expressed profound anguish through social media, stating: ‘My brother just wanted to make it home. My emotions are too much to bear; I’m so lost. I’m so sad I’m confused. We had so many future plans.’ Another relative memorialized Reyes’ fight against his illness, writing: ‘Not the news I was hoping to hear; you fought till the very end, cuz.’
The incident represents the second recent tragedy to impact the small community, following the death of 38-year-old Brandon Coleman in a motorcycle collision just days earlier. One resident captured the collective grief, noting: ‘I swear we village they mourn. All the ones dying dah who we grow up with like breda.’
News 5 has initiated contact with Belizean immigration authorities seeking official comment regarding the circumstances surrounding Reyes’ death and the border decision-making process.