Mayaro murder victim's family devastated

Relatives of Dion Kyeon Mendoza say he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was executed along with three men in a forested area in Mayaro in the morning on March 11.

Mendoza, 29, brothers Jeremiah George, 20 and Marcus Buddy, 37, and their father Buddy George, 59, were shot dead by men in police uniforms at an agricultural camp at Basil Trace, Bristol Village, Mayaro. Two women and a one-year-old child were also in the camp but escaped with their lives.

Speaking to Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre on March 12, Mendoza’s relatives described him as a hard worker who loved agriculture.

One relative said Mendoza was enrolled in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries: Youth Fast Track Agricultural Finance Support Programme.

The programme aims to give a helping hand to young people between the ages of 18-35 by assisting them in developing their agriculture businesses.

The relative said Mendoza enrolled in the programme during the covid19 pandemic in 2020 but was selected and began in November 2023. He then started farming in Mayaro.

He said Mendoza only met Jeremiah, his brother Marcus and their father Buddy George in December. The relative says Mendoza would use their generator at times to charge his phone. The relative said Mendoza’s land was located at the back of the other murder victims’ land.

The relative said he was told that on March 10, Mendoza helped the family cut, burn and clear bushes on their land and when they were done, the group spent the evening together.

He said Mendoza’s mother and siblings are devastated by his death.

Reports say that around 12.30 am, six armed men, all dressed in police operational wear, stormed the men’s camp. The men ordered the four men to lie face-down on the ground before shooting them in the heads at close range.