It's a pattern of armed assaults with very serious implications for the tourist industry. Advisories and warnings have been issued, and operators in Western Belize report a downturn in reservations. Because of the serious effect it has on tourism and domestic life, the armed assaults have been getting attention form cabinet. And while Cabinet met on it yesterday, the Minister responsible for police, Ralph Fonseca has had it on his hands for one year and the question we asked the PM, is: has he been doing his job?
Jules Vasquez,
At what point does this become the fault of the Minister of Home Affairs and his ineptitude or inability to inspire people or to come up with a strategy to contain this?
Rt. Hon. Said Musa,
"I don't think you can say it is the fault of anyone. We are dealing with a phenomenon of rising crime, whether it be through the trans-border problem that they are having with armed Guatemalan soldiers who have been de-marked, taken out or retired from the military, I think that is a large of part of the problem, or whether it be these deportees who are being sent back into our countries. We are dealing with a serious problem of rising criminal activity and certainly it affects the tourism industry. That is one major aspect that we have to address seriously but it's a national problem, it's not just how it affects the tourists. It's a big problem in terms of ensuring it does not destroy our tourist industry. But we have working on, the police have been getting, and to my mind, and to the Commissioner and all the Police Department people are doing a very commendable job and we must continue to support them."
Jules Vasquez,
Is there any strategy to contain the problem?
Rt. Hon. Said Musa,
"There is. In fact just yesterday we spent quite a bit of time in the Cabinet discussing new steps and additional steps we have to take to strengthen law enforcement."
And while well-meaning meetings will continue to be held, our field sources indicate that the problem on the ground boils down to resources, mainly off road vehicles which are always in great demand and limited supply. Police and BDF also face the problem of covering a broad area, with a vast number of back roads used, in this case, by a group of criminals who either have direct knowledge of the lay of the land, or assistance from local counterparts and use that knowledge and a good amount of vehicular resources to cover a large area, quickly enough to re-organize for next day strikes.
