Last Friday, we told you about the 43 wanted men who the police are looking for. As soon as they are detained, they will be jailed under the Southside State of Emergency, which was implemented last week to suppress a spike in gang violence and murders in Belize City.
Well, over the weekend and yesterday, 10 of those men were detained and the 11th, Jervis Diamond Valencia, handed himself into police custody. The others are Kashawn Gentle, Jason Anderson, Jalen Babb, Albert Valentine, Kent Flores, Ainsworth Foreman, Verris Ventura, Kenyon Flores, Kenrick Gordon, and a minor.
They will be imprisoned for 30 days, and in that time, they will have to participate in gang intervention initiatives, which will be led by William Dawson, the Director of the Prison's Wagner's Youth Facility. Yesterday, Dawson granted us an interview to discuss what these interventions will look like:
Dawson was also involved as one of the chief mediators during the Southside States of Emergency which were declared under the former Barrow Government.
