PM Briceño, “Belize Has Been Fighting Cartel Threats from Day One”  

And, during his trip to Mexico, Prime Minister John Briceño also spoke with President Lopez Obrador about border security issues, specifically the reported increase of cartel activities in southern Mexico. He told us how those discussions went, but also noted that the fight is not new to Belize. He says Belize has been tackling these border security issues in the north from day one.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“We spoke about many issues but certainly the issue with the threat from cartels is nothing new to us. We have been dealing with this. When I met Secretary of State Blinken,  Secretary of Home Land, the Deputy of the CIA and all of the officials my message had been to them that we need help now that if we did not get help then we are going to have a totally different place. We have to do everything possible to keep out the organized crime from Mexico or the cartels. We do not have the money or the rootlessness they have and what is so ironic to me is that the Leader of the Opposition dares to criticize the government. I remember last year when we did a supplementary budget for about a million dollars to help us boost our presence in the north he was there criticizing that here we are coming for more money and now here he is saying we are not spending enough. I think he needs to get his act together. The point is that we have been fighting this from day one and we have been working on some plan, but this is not something you could invite the NGO and media and say hey this is what we are doing. This is national security.”