The National Women’s Commission (NCW) has joined the Belize Defence Force (BDF) in the investigation surrounding the death of a soldier, Micah Miguel, who had been placed on suicide watch.
BDF Commander, Brigadier General Azariel Loria, said the authorities are also probing allegations that she had been sexually assaulted at the Price Barracks.
He told reporters that a full investigation is being conducted and the NCW is part of the team conducting the inquiry.
“We knew that Private Micah Miguel was having mental problems and she was getting treatment from our mental facility, our counseling section. She attempted to take her life last year and she was being monitored and she was given further counseling by our psychologist,” the BDF Commander said.
“When I was told that she committed suicide, I ordered an investigation. But in my mind, the investigation was a court of inquiry on what led to her doing that unfortunate step that ended her life. Later on, more allegations came up, so the Women’s Commission decided to take part of the investigation, which we readily accepted.”
He told reporters that it is a joint investigation being undertaken at present and that “it’s an internal investigation that we are doing jointly.
“They have had a meeting with the acting chief of staff, and I believe that the next step is to have that investigation going. I have not been formally told; I only saw it in the news that the police department is also conducting their own investigation so that is external, which is welcomed because we want to find out what is the real cause of that tragedy, correct and continue to improve.”
Asked by reporters how the BDF is addressing the allegations of sexual assault given it is not the first time such allegations have been made against the BDF, Brigadier General Loria acknowledged “we have been getting reports of sexual allegations.
“The investigation for this particular one is ongoing and if there are reports that indeed sexual assaults happen, we will get to know because we have the women’s commission now onboard, and we will do something about it. I am concerned yes. We have done, I think two years ago, we had allegations of rape. I think one or two cases are still with the police.
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