Around 2023, the BDF was supplied with 120 Taurus brand rifles which were not military-grade and quickly fell apart. They were supplied by a politically favored company, and the transaction, from what we are told, included dozens of sub-ten-thousand-dollar payments. But while the full picture of that dubious acquisition is still being pieced together by the Auditor-General, in 2025, the BDF turned a new page when it received a supplementary budget to buy military-grade rifles. But did they pay a fair price for them? That's what Jules Vasquez has been investigating-a tidy profit and a million dollars in what can only be called "profit plus":
These are Colt M4 carbines-they are military-grade rifles, good for a barrel life of 20,000 rounds. In June, the BDF and Belize Coast Guard got 350 of them-an acquisition welcomed by soldiers who suffered in the past with over 100 inferior Taurus brand rifles which were not military-grade and fell apart after only 10,000 rounds fired.
So the Colt rifles are a good thing-but is it a fair price? Not based on our research.
These Colt rifles sold online are almost identical to the ones which the BDF got. The CEO says the ones purchased by the Ministry of Defence are, quote, "military grade and had some modifications from the standard package."
We found the standard rifles retailing for just over $1,000 US. So then the bulk wholesale price would be less.
But how much did the Ministry of Defence pay for the weapons? Try $3,000.00 US each or $6,000 Belize dollars. That's more than twice the highest price we saw online. And, remember, the Government doesn't pay duty-so only the shipping and handling costs would be added to the cost paid by the importer.
The chosen supplier is Fort Point Security, and for them, selling 350 rifles at $6,000 each was a 2.1-million-dollar sale.
But did they make an obscene profit? Let's say the supplier bought the rifles wholesale for $1,000 US each and made a tidy 50% profit of $500 US each-that would still be $3,000 Belize dollars each. But not $6,000 dollars.
We asked the CEO if he felt the $6,000 price tag was fair and he said, "I definitely believe we got value for money."
But he could not tell us based on what.
He also told us that, "The procurement of the rifles followed the GOB tender process"-but we couldn't find the invitation to tender online, nor did he provide it to us when asked.
We note that a supplementary budget had to be approved for the purchase of those weapons. The CEO says the contract was approved by the Contractor-General.
And while these carbine rifles are supplied to the BDF for $6,000 each, we are told that the sub-military-grade Taurus rifles-120 of them-were sold to the BDF for $5,000 each-also a very inflated price based on the online purchase price.
