PM Maintains Belize is not a Major Drug Transit Point  

The United States government has listed Belize as one of the countries used for major drug transit and illicit drug-production for the fiscal year 2025. Other countries listed include the Bahamas, Costa Rica, and Haiti. This designation comes after evaluating the country’s geographic, commercial, and economic factors that facilitate drug transit or production, regardless of a government’s commitment to drug control. We spoke with Prime Minister John Briceño about the label, which he claims isn’t an accurate representation of drug transit in the region.

 

Britney Gordon

“How can you respond to other countries labeling Belize as a major transit point for illegal drug transport?”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“But that’s not true. We have been working very closely with the United States government. We work very closely with Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico to try to discourage the use of Belize as a transit point. If it notices since we got into government, the number of planes that have landed in Belize has decreased dramatically.  Now what has been happening now is that these drug lords, they have all the monies available in the world when you cover, an area or you stop an area, they’ve tried to find another way. What they’ve been doing is they’ve been using the high seas so when they come from South America, they would probably go somewhere that has a coastline like Costa Rica, Nicaragua, probably Honduras. And then from there, then they go straight on to Mexico to the United States. The bust that, that Honduras did, I think it was probably about two tons, if I mentioned of cocaine. All people were chucking it, and I was keeping informed by the Minister of Defense and the Minister of National Security Kareem Musa. And they were checking that, and then when the bust happened in the Honduras water, again they were informed. We are doing our part. Belize is not a transfer point, not anymore. And but right now they’re using the high seas and they probably are going through the exclusive economic zone. We have gotten some drones and we’re hoping that we can get even bigger drones that can go even farther. We’re negotiating right now either with Taiwan or the United States to be able to get boats that can go all the way out there. That’s what I think.  We can help more with the interdiction of drugs passing through our waters going on to Mexico and the United States.”