The Removal of the Citizen Journalist

In the summer of 1972 during the Munich Olympics in West Germany, eight members of Black September, a splinter group of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, kidnapped eleven Israeli athletes in the Olympic Village and held them hostage. During the kidnapping, two members of the Israeli Olympic team were killed. Following that, during a failed rescue attempt by German police at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, the terrorists killed all nine hostages including several German policemen. In the coming years, Israeli Secret Intelligence Mossad would track down most of the remaining terrorists who were not arrested and killed them.

All were living in other countries outside of Germany where the crime actually occurred. In 1986, Mordechai Vanunu, a nuclear technician, was kidnapped in Italy after being lured by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad from Britain. Vanunu claimed he was drugged and abducted and subsequently taken to Israel to stand trial. Vanunu would spend 18 years in jail for revealing details of Israel’s nuclear weapons program, which Israel to this day has neither admitted nor denied having. He revealed the information, along with a number of documents and pictures, because he was opposed to weapons of mass destruction.

In both cases, while some may have seen what was done by the Israelis as justifiable, it broke every international law regarding due process, extradition, and the rule of law. But we live in a real world which is imperfect and sometimes consequences catch up to people. What must be realized is that while there are laws, sometimes they will be broken to get to people who otherwise are a challenge to arrest and prosecute. It may not be right, and some will argue that the end justifies the means, but nevertheless the practice is done and will continue to be done by both nations and organizations, and there is not much that can meaningfully be done about it because the world is not a perfect place.

For a while during the 1980’s, Joseph Budna’s family lived across the street from my home in PG. The house was a wooden bungalow that was owned by a gentleman that I believe was a merchant marine. I don’t remember the gentleman that much either since he would have always been at sea for months at a time. Over the years, the property was rented to people from all over the country, but mainly to people who were temporarily living in PG, like policemen who were transferred there.

I can’t recall if Joseph was born in PG, but I can recall his mom, his older brother, his special needs brother, and I believe a sister. From my young recollection, his mom was a hard-working, family-oriented woman who took care of her children and was an excellent cook.

I can still vividly remember that her cakes were absolutely the tastiest and to this day, despite all my travels all over the world, remain some of the best I have ever eaten. I cannot recall when his mom and his family arrived in PG, and neither can I remember when they left. Suddenly they were no longer living across the street anymore.

The records will show that Joseph has a criminal record both in Guatemala and Belize and was on indictment for several other alleged crimes in Belize. The crimes were not petty in nature, but pretty severe ones and would have carried heavy sentences if he was convicted.

But Joseph, if not anything else, was crafty and brilliant in his own way. Having escaped from prison in neighboring Guatemala, which is no easy feat, for being the leader of a kidnapping ring spanning Guatemala and Honduras and firearms possession, he returned home and completely reinvented himself as a citizen journalist and what appeared to be some sort of crusader or activist.

The term citizen journalist is a recent creation where people can just say that they are a quasi-journalist, post a few videos, make a few comments and bam! They qualify as doing journalism and are basically accepted into the profession. Imagine if one day you picked up a law book, studied and memorized a bunch of laws, advocated in people’s defense and then one day told the Bar that you were now a citizen’s attorney and they accepted you. Go figure, right? But strange enough it happens in the journalistic industry.

Budna was crafty enough to identify that the one thing that aroused Belizeans’ passion revolved around a couple of things: the shortcomings of the politicians and the system they control, corruption, nepotism, and the constant struggle between the haves and the have-nots. Branding himself as our ‘Humble Servant,’

he milked that for all it was worth and created a sizable audience for himself. Whether you love or hate Joseph Budna, what he did was brilliant because he was able to tap into the Belizean psyche and exploit it. If there are any doubts, the traffic on social media and his constant appearance on the conventional media, plus his continued buzz to this day on social, is proof enough.

I am certain that Budna made both friends and enemies with the work he did. While he sometimes seemed to remain at the fringes of Belizean journalism, he was popular enough to be known nationally. Brave, undeterred, in your face, egotistic, and with a ton of arrogance, there was very little that he was not afraid to tackle. But the same thing that made him popular and probably in his own mind invincible, protected, and untouchable became his demise.

Budna calculated that his popularity as a public figure was so large that that one thing in itself would be his protection. He calculated wrong. Joseph Budna was a wanted man for crimes that he was charged, tried, and convicted for in a foreign jurisdiction.

Escaping back to Belize, he showed no signs that he had changed. His carefully crafted façade rather just concealed the same criminal behavior he always cultivated. Budna is no altar boy and was convicted of some very high crimes and by all accounts was not the model citizen in his own country. He only saw Belize as a refuge when it was convenient and to his interest.

While we may mourn for the way in which he was returned to Guatemala to rightfully face the rest of his sentence, the Guatemalans or whomever took him may have actually done us a favor. Allegations of state-sponsored kidnapping or the infiltration of Guatemalan intelligence agents to get him or plain old bounty hunters seeking to collect on a reward, Joseph is now in a better place. A better place for him and a better place for Belize. There he may really have a chance to think his life over and really become a better person.

One of Guatemala’s greatest allies is the state of Israel and one of the most efficient intelligence agencies globally is Mossad. I am certain the Guatemalans possess both the capabilities and the operational capacity to have gotten Joseph Budna, who chose to hide in plain sight.

In a world that is imperfect and where there are scores to settle, like the Israelis did with Black September and Vanunu, it may not be legal, but his kidnapping settles scores.

As a fellow Belizean and a human being, I cannot wish bad for our dear ‘Humble Servant.’ I trust his rights are respected in Guatemala and he will have 30 years to rethink life, and hopefully when he returns to Belize, he is a completely changed man.

It’s all about the people!