By Belize Live News Staff: Aaron Gamboa ran the Special Patrol Unit for close to ten years. His name and the unit became inseparable.
As of this week, he is gone from that post, transferred to the National Operations Office. Neville Martinez takes over on an interim basis.
The move fits a pattern.
Julius Espat took over Home Affairs on an interim basis on June 22, after Minister Oscar Mira went on leave. Within days he was meeting senior commanders. Since then he has visited formations countrywide, sat with rank and file officers about working conditions, and convened former Commissioners of Police in Belmopan for a first of its kind consultation.
His stated focus is promotion and morale.
“I’ve spoken to a guy that’s a regular police, for the last 30 years and he has shown me all his credentials and all the training he gets, and he’s still at the same spot,” Espat said in a recent interview.
“All you could do is light a spark and try.”
Prime Minister John Briceño says he did not know about Gamboa specifically but backs the broader shake up.
Asked whether he had told Espat to stay away from the Budna case, Briceño was blunt.
“Don’t listen to rumors,” he said. “No I did not tell him.”
What do you make of the changes at the department?
