Salvadoran National Fined and Ordered Removed From Belize After Immigration Offence

A Salvadoran national who had been living in Belize without proper documentation was fined and ordered removed from the country after pleading guilty to an immigration offence in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court.  Twenty-seven-year-old Jose Neftaly Senteno Quintanilla, an unemployed Salvadoran national, appeared unrepresented before the court yesterday afternoon on a single charge of failure to produce a visitor’s permit to an Immigration Officer on demand.  Quintanilla wasted no time in entering a guilty plea.  The court fined him one thousand dollars plus five dollars cost of court, which he was ordered to pay forthwith. In default, he faces six months’ imprisonment. Immigration authorities have since moved to have him returned to El Salvador.  According to reports, Quintanilla was detained yesterday morning in the Gungulung area of Belize City. Police initially picked him up on suspicion of possible gang affiliation; however, subsequent investigations confirmed that he has no known gang ties.  At approximately 9:30 a.m., the Immigration Department was called in by CIB police. During questioning, Quintanilla was unable to produce a valid visitor’s permit or any legal documentation authorizing his stay in Belize.  Authorities say checks of his Salvadoran passport revealed no Belize entry stamp. Further records indicated that Quintanilla entered Belize via the Benque Viejo river area in the Cayo District in 2018 and had remained undetected in the country for more than six years.  Quintanilla is expected to be processed for removal to his home country.