By: Omar Silva

Editor/Publisher: National Perspective Bz – Digital 2o25

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

Belize City: Friday 28th February 2025

Editorial:

For decades, the whispers of cartel infiltration within the Belize Police Department have been an open secret—until now. With his recent admission, Police Commissioner Chester Williams has openly acknowledged what has long been suspected: members of our security forces are aiding and abetting cartel operations. While this revelation may seem like a step toward transparency, it raises far more troubling questions about the state of our law enforcement and the government’s continued inaction.

A Commissioner’s Confession, A Nation’s Shame

Commissioner Williams’ statement that some officers are "in cahoots with these plane landers" is damning, yet it falls far short of the accountability that Belizeans demand. His response? Another reshuffling of personnel in the Northern districts, a superficial fix that does nothing to sever the deep-rooted ties between corrupt officers and organized crime. If the Commissioner's strategy is merely to move bad actors around rather than prosecute and convict them, then we are left with a police force that is more a cartel accessory than a protector of the people.

Where is the Minister of Police’s Strategy?

This crisis demands far more than just words from the Commissioner. It begs the glaring question: Where is the Minister of Police in all of this? Why, in five years, has there been no comprehensive strategy from the Ministry of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries to combat the infiltration of drug cartels into our law enforcement agencies? If there has been one, it has been an abysmal failure.

The PUP government, which came to power on promises of transparency and accountability, has done nothing substantive to clean up the force. The Minister of Police has yet to present a single viable plan requiring the Commissioner and his predecessors to launch a serious war on drug-related corruption within the department. Instead, we continue to hear the same tired rhetoric about ‘shuffling’ officers while cartel operations thrive, drugs flow freely, and the integrity of law enforcement crumbles.

Prosecute, Don’t Relocate

The Belizean public must no longer accept these weak gestures. Officers accused of cartel collaboration should not simply be transferred—they should be investigated, prosecuted, and if found guilty, jailed. Anything less is an insult to the honest officers who risk their lives daily and a betrayal of public trust.

How many officers named in cartel-linked incidents have been convicted? How many have even been dismissed from the force? The answer is glaringly obvious: not nearly enough. Until the Police Department treats internal corruption as the national security threat that it is, there will be no progress in the fight against organized crime.

A War on Drugs Requires More Than Lip Service

If Belize is serious about a war on drugs, it cannot begin and end at the level of foot soldiers in the police force. Cartel infiltration runs deeper, into the ranks of senior officers, legal circles, and political corridors. The Minister of Police must be held accountable for the lack of policy direction, and the Commissioner must present more than just another reshuffling plan.

We need:

1. An independent anti-corruption unit to investigate cartel ties within the Police Department.
2. Mandatory asset disclosure for all officers above a certain rank to identify those living far beyond their official salaries.
3. An overhaul of recruitment and vetting processes to prevent cartel influence from taking root in the first place.
4. Serious legislative reform to ensure that corrupt officers do not evade prosecution due to legal loopholes and high-powered attorneys.

The Time for Silence is Over

Commissioner Williams has admitted the problem. Now, will he act? More importantly, will the Minister of Police finally step forward with a strategy that moves beyond reshuffling officers and actually purges the force of cartel influence? Belizeans deserve answers. And they deserve action.

If the government continues to allow this rot to fester, then it is not just individual officers who are complicit—it is the entire system. And that, Belize, is the real crime.