Minister Musa Says Consequences for Rogue L.I.U Members

On Wednesday, Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams indicated that the police had charged three persons in connection with a stash of drugs and high-powered weapons on an island. The island turned out to be St George’s Caye. The men are Edwin Flowers, also known as “Drive”, Gaston Barrow and Kenyon Dominguez. They have been remanded on drugs and gun-related charges until July twenty-second. But Flowers, who was employed by the Leadership Intervention Unit, will also be cut off from that office. Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa, explained that when the members of L.I.U. relapse to crime and violence, removing them from the unit is a natural consequence.

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“It pains me a lot as Minister because we have been working a lot over the past few years with some of these young men. It’s not all of them who have indicated that they do not want to lead this life. And I could tell you right off the bat that last year, PIV was extremely quiet, was extremely dormant. They were complying. They were a part of the L.I.U. They were active in positive ways, and so it is very disturbing. But if you have been following the trends lately with the passing and the murder of Jose Matus, there was left a huge void. As you might have known, Mr Matus was a major supplier in Belize. And so perhaps the temptation got the better of them and based on these high-powered weapons, it’s quite possible that this new group is working along with cartel elements. And so we have to look at that possibility because these guns just don’t show up just like that. And as the cartels are always looking for someone to work with for the illegal supply of cannabis. And it’s been something I’ve been saying since day one when we got into office. This illegal trade of cannabis is killing so many Belizean young men because of the turf wars that were happening. And so if you analyze the situation, there seems to be some sort of a transfer of power when it comes to this particular trade and we will do our very best from the police department to nip it in the bud and to go after these bad actors. Because while last year you might have been complying, clearly this year you’re not.”