The SOE's - two in just a few months - do carry faint echoes of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's "mano dura" style - except he labels them terrorists and locks them up indefinitely.
So are decision makers in Belize considering going full Bukele?
Musa rejected that? He says that this SOE has more to do with solving these most recent murders than disciplining those detained.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I think when you speak about full Bukele what you are referring to is picking up everyone and not observing their rights to natural justice not observing the right to a trial. This particular state of emergency is to ensure that the police is able to carry out investigations regarding the murders that have taken place over the last 5 months which is why we have assembled that specialized team with all the relevant units to carry out these investigations in addition to resolving those murders they will also be investigating those individuals who have been active in gang violence and gun violence and then of course levying gang membership and gang leadership charges during this period."
