Deadly Violence in Chetumal Raises Concerns for Belizean Travelers

We begin our newscast tonight with an escalation in deadly cartel violence just north of the Belize border with Mexico, in Chetumal, Quintana Roo. The popular Belizean destination has become a warzone for feuding drug gangs that operate in that southern Mexican state.   Violent encounters between heavily armed gunmen have prompted the Mexican military to dispatch two hundred members of the Mexican army, air force, and national guard to the Othón Blanco municipality to quell growing insecurity among residents. This follows the murders of a businessman, as well as the head of the Secretariat of Citizen Security, and a minor whose father is a municipal police officer. Authorities have made several arrests and there has also been the kidnapping of a captain of the Mexican Army, who was released hours later. The rash of violence between the cartels has raised serious concerns among Belizeans who travel to neighboring Chetumal. News Five spoke with Oscar Arnold, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico, about the recent upheaval and his safety advice for Belizeans traveling to Quintana Roo.

 

Oscar Arnold, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico

“The official word coming out is that it’s two rivalling groups, two groups who are feuding and as such, the incidences have been targeted to people who supposedly are on a list. The entire Quintana Roo area as is a tourist hotspot, is a tourist destination. It includes everywhere from Calderitas, Bacalar, Xcalak, Tulum, Playa, Cancun. For Mexico, tourism is a $40 billion US a year industry, so it’s not something that they take lightly, and as far back as 2019, the federal government had dispatched national guards. They had dispatched 1500 national guards, so the Cancun and Tulum area to address and arrest the issues that were flaring up there in crime. So we’re seeing it at a smaller scale in Chetumal, and what they’ve been doing is that they’ve sent these National Guard men to try to support and assist and try to quell any further incidences from occurring. As it relates to Belizeans, I believe that the Government of Belize, the Foreign Affairs office as well as the security apparatus in Belize have been monitoring it. There’s been numerous meetings. I’ve been asked to send whatever, intelligence, whatever report that we have on the ground so that they can review it and take a look at it to see if there’s a decision that needs to be taken. I don’t think we are there yet, but Belizeans should observe some caution if they’re traveling across the border. I know that we go there for recreation we go there to shop we go there to visit family members, we go there for medical reasons. But I would advise them to stay on the major roads, don’t travel at night, don’t travel alone. Make sure that you have all your requisite paperwork. If you’re taking a vehicle over their insurance registration, and also to ensure that you check in formally at the immigration checkpoint at the border crossing. We’ve had several instances where Belizeans just drive across and then they run into a roadblock or a checkpoint later on down the road and then they get charged for committing some sort of immigration violation. Belizeans going over to Chetumal should expect to see increased security, increased roadblocks in and around Chetumal.”