Belizeans Executed in Mexico Over Stolen Cartel Money

Commissioner of Police Chester Williams confirmed that two Belizeans, Aron Tunn, 18, and Michael Whittaker, 27, were found dead among the five bodies near the Rio Hondo River in Sacxan, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Williams confirmed they had fled Belize to evade the “effective” anti-drug operations in the North, which have put pressure on individuals who affiliate with cartel operations. “The incident involving those individuals is drug-related,” Williams stated.

The victims showed signs of torture and had gunshot wounds to the head, with two bodies displaying cardboard signs. One read, “This is for all those who are charging protection fees and those who do not allow businesses like cigarette vendors… Stop stealing. Sincerely, you know who.”

According to police investigation, Williams said, “These people seemingly are operating for the cartels in Mexico, and they are collecting fees. And the fees being collected is being stolen by them. So they’re not reporting to their bosses on their collections.”

Police are looking for one person of interest they believe escaped the same fate. “There’s another person of interest that we’re looking for: one Joshua Hall. He, from what we understand, was along with that group, but he was able to escape. And from what we are getting is that he is back in Belize, and we are looking for him. We do have a bench warrant for his arrest. So once he’s found, then he’ll be taken into custody,” Williams said.

Williams clarified that while these deaths were drug-related, they are not connected to Raheem Usher’s case. “We are certain to some extent that Raheem Usher was killed by locals,” Williams told reporters, adding that police “have good information in terms of who those locals are.”

Investigators believe that the persons responsible for Usher’s death are dead. “Two of them we believe are dead,” Williams said.