ComPol Says Anti-Cartel Efforts Successful in Northern Belize

While the police are investigating the clear message sent by cartel operatives, we asked Williams for an update on how effective the police efforts are in curbing these activities in northern Belize. The government has invested over a million dollars in this effort. Williams said the department has used the funds to buy various police equipment and protective gear for officers patrolling the borders alongside the Belize Defense Force.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“The government has spent over a million dollars, not a million – a million was in the first instance. Since then, we have gone back to the Prime Minister and made requests of additional funds, and those were also approved. As I’ve said before, the government has shown the commitment in making sure that we’re able to police the Northern corridor as well as the northern border areas. And so the monies have been spent in that area, looking at resources for the team to operate effectively. We have purchased ammunitions, we have purchased firearms, we have purchased vehicles, drones, body armour, you name it, we have done it. So, what I do is to make sure that officers who work along the northern border, are equipped and safe and yes, one can say that we still see incidents now and then, and certainly the border area is extremely huge and very porous. And so there are going to be incidents now and then, but truth be told, we have seen a tremendous reduction in those incidents. I think that the team, the police and the BDF, working along the northern irregular border area are doing exemplary work and the work that they’re doing have yielded great success, and we have seen a significant reduction in the activities of cartels coming over into Belize.”