U.S Official on SOE: It’s Critical to Protect, and to Ensure Due Process

Belize’s ninety-day State of Emergency matches a previous S.O.E. implemented under a previous government, but the measure has been received with a degree of criticism. Some have likened the action to El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, who in 2023 imposed a new siege on his country’s gangs. He did that by mobilising seven thousand troops and warning that he would not let up on the war on the criminal groups. Belize has not gone so far to bring out the B.D.F. on the streets, as has been done in the past, but some people are of the view that a ninety-day lock-down for some of the country’s most dangerous gang members is a band-aid approach. Today, Jacobstein shared his view that due process is important, as is citizen security.

 

Eric Jacobstein, Dep. Asst. Sec., Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S State Dept.

“Our view is that every country, every government has an obligation to protect its citizens, and security is essential. Especially as governments deal with high levels of crime and insecurity. At the same time, due process is also critical. And so our belief, and I’ve said this with regard to El Salvador, with regard to other countries in the region, our belief is that states of exception should indeed be exceptional. And so that while it’s critical to protect citizens, it’s also critical to ensure that there’s due process for all and that anything that is done in the citizen security space abides by the rule of law. Understand that the need to protect citizens, but state’s exception should indeed be exceptional.”