And while rural murders are up - murders in the City remain very low - which is a trend that started last year. The Compol and the Minister of Home Affairs routinely beat their chests and say it's proof of more effective policing - and indeed it may be. But, this newsroom has steadily held that it's also due in part to the fact that Belizean gangsters or gang affiliated persons have migrated illegally to the US - seeking asylum.
Our reports say as many as 93 gang affiliated persons migrated in 2023 - but today the Commissioner bashed that number:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I don't even know if we have a total of 93 Belizeans in total who would have migrated to the US in 2023. The last I would have checked, I think that our figures was around ten, in terms of persons with gang affiliation who might have migrated to the US and some are seeking asylum and some of them have been returned back to country. Maybe perhaps the person giving you that information is of the belief that Belize is like the United States of America, where each district is a state and maybe the person migrated from one district to the other. So they might think that Dangriga is a state, or Stann Creek District is a state, or Toledo District is a state because then I have seen migration yes, out of Belize district to other parts of the country. So maybe they think we are the United States of America. Then we have six states, right? I don't know."
