2 days ago
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Authorities and residents in the Toledo District are tonight on high alert following the disappearance of Indian Creek Village Alcalde, Marcus Canti. The 41-year-old community leader was officially reported missing after he was last seen yesterday. Reports indicate that prior to his disappearance, Canti sent a message in a chat group requesting assistance, but communication with him abruptly stopped shortly after. Since then, there has been no confirmed contact. Search efforts were immediately launched by villagers, who have been combing nearby areas in hopes of locating him. That search has since intensified, with support now coming from the Belize Police Department and the Belize Defence Force, as authorities widen the scope of the operation. Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Dr. Louis Zabaneh, addressed the matter earlier today, dismissing reports that surfaced last night suggesting that Canti had been found. He confirmed that, up to news time, the search remains active.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Dangriga Area Representative: “We had received some misinformation that said that the Alcalde was found earlier last night and unfortunately that turned out to not be so. We continue to be prayerful and hopeful that he will be found safe and unharmed. We were, I was also informed just recently that last night by the chairman that his house was visited by members of the other side who were opposed to him with threats to him and his family. Then also a facility from Ya’axché was um also tampered with if you will by some members of the community as well and that the police were there last night to try to maintain safety in the village. This morning in Punta Gorda they held the second Alcalde and the chairman I believe there might be a couple other members that the police have taken to Punta Gorda for their safety and indeed we are very concerned that it has gotten to this point. We hope that we could get good news about the Alcalde sooner rather than later. A number of different allegations are going and being allegations that we can’t entertain them until we know the facts. And so this is now a police matter.”
The disappearance comes amid an ongoing land dispute in the community. Canti had reportedly been issuing parcels of land in a manner said to be contrary to established government policies, prompting a cease-and-desist directive from authorities. It is further understood that some of the lands in question are legally titled to the Ya’axché Conservation Trust, adding another layer of complexity to the situation.
“There’s a spectrum, as you know, there are over 30 villages, Maya villages in Toledo. And there’s a spectrum. Some villages will heatedly want to have their traditional right respected and that they’re able to have land tenure the way that their ancestors have done on one end, and then on the other end you have people who, for example in Big Falls they want to have the modern system of land tenure with titles and leases etc. Then in the middle you have a few that are split like Indian Creek for example you have half the village that wants the traditional system and half the village that want the modern system. The half that want the modern system support the chairman and his team and the half that want the traditional system support the Alcalde. And it’s not been just recently that the situation has been tense. In the past tensions have risen, we have been there with them. I met with them a few months ago in the community center with both the Alcalde and his team and the chairperson of the village and his team and we pleaded for us to move forward because the only entity that has legal authority to issue titles and leases is the Ministry of Natural Resources. The issue is that where it’s being demarcated is on third party, what third parties claim is their land having titles from the modern system. So that and potentially some public lands were being demarcated and given to people to settle in without having the right process completed that would determine how that should be done.”
As the hours pass, concern continues to grow within Indian Creek with residents awaiting answers and hope for his safe return. Acting Alcalde Victor Mas, who has since stepped in, spoke with our senior correspondent Paul Mahung earlier today on the mood within the village and the ongoing search efforts.
Village Member: “Yesterday at 3:42 p.m. we receive a voice record or voice clip from a group chat of from the Alcalde’s team as village police and Alcalde we receive a voice recording. He is asking for help and he in his native native language Kekchi he asked his village police to assist him. So while he was on the recording you can tell that someone has been tortured or beaten and at the same time struggling. So then I was one of the first responders to reach at his residence and I met his wife and then she told me that the Alcalde is in his farm. So then we proceeded with some other members of the community at his farm. Upon reaching of this farm we observed that all his belongings were discovered including his kosh tal, a traditional bag, his machete and scabbard. These items has been scattered. And then there is a part of the area where you can see there is a struggle. So then, but again, the Alcalde is nowhere to be found. So immediately we have alerted, we call all of our village members, search parties. We acted immediately because we have a missing person and he’s not just an individual of the government, but he plays an important role within our community as the Alcalde. So immediately we have all our villagers on the scene and we informed the Punta Gorda police for their assistance as well. So today, again, the search continues, and we will continue day and night.”
Canti is no stranger to controversy. Just last September, he was at the center of a major dispute within the village when approximately 200 residents publicly declared that they no longer recognized the authority of the alcalde system. Villagers alleged that Canti had not been collaborating with the village council or his deputy, leading to growing dissatisfaction.
At the time, Deputy Alcalde Manuel Ack indicated that a petition bearing roughly 240 signatures had been submitted, calling for the abolition of the alcalde system altogether. While the matter drew national attention and reached the desk of area representative Oscar Requena, it eventually subsided, with Canti remaining in his post.
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