The case of Sebastian Pop, a Belizean man reportedly abducted from his home village and imprisoned in Guatemala for over two years, has finally reached the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Love News understands that Minister Francis Fonseca had only become aware of the matter this week and has since instructed his team to prepare a full brief on the situation. He has reportedly declared that his ministry will certainly treat the matter with the urgency it requires and deserves. Pop, who was 22 years old at the time of his disappearance, has been languishing in a Peten prison since he was allegedly taken from Belizean territory in the village of Dolores, Toledo District. The report is that he was taken by a Guatemalan mob of vigilantes in February 2023. Unlike the highly publicized case of Joseph Budna, Pop’s ordeal has remained largely unknown outside his community. According to a police report filed by his father, Francisco Pop, in July 2023, his son was forcibly taken from the Dolores Community Center on February 21, 2023, by Guatemalan civilians who had illegally crossed the border. The group reportedly escorted him towards the Guatemalan village of RIX TZUL. Despite the family’s multiple attempts to seek help from Belizean police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, they claim they were given the “run around,” with police even questioning Pop’s Belizean citizenship, which his family confirms he holds by birth. According to the Belize’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, its embassy in Guatemala has been in contact with Pop’s legal representative and has facilitated the provision of documentation for his legal process. The Ministry has been informed that Pop was convicted of femicide and has now instructed its embassy to inquire into any further legal recourse. The Ministry expressed “extreme concern about the circumstances of Pop’s removal from Belize” and pledged to “vigorously pursue his repatriation.”
