The United States has revoked the visa of Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith, the Belizean jurist chairing Guyana’s Commission of Inquiry into the MV Barima sinking. Smith says he will neither challenge the decision nor apply for another U.S. visa.
The U.S. Department of State revoked the visa on Saturday, November 7, 2026, according to a consular notice from the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan. Greater Belize Media reported the decision today.
The notice cites Section 221(i) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. It says information that surfaced after the visa was issued indicated Smith might be ineligible. The portion of the notice reviewed does not identify that information or specify the grounds for his possible ineligibility.
“I have no intention or interest in appealing,” Smith said. “I have no intention or interest in reapplying for a US visa.”
Smith acknowledged that the revocation could cause him inconvenience in the future but said he had no interest in asking U.S. authorities to reconsider. “The people say they don’t want you in their country. I’m okay with that. I won’t beg them to let me into their country,” he said.
Smith, a former attorney general and foreign minister of Belize, chairs the panel examining why the state-owned ferry capsized on July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. The inquiry is also examining whether maritime safety requirements were followed and how authorities carried out the search and rescue operation.
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