No Suspects, No Arrests, No Charges in Budna Abduction 

It has now been three weeks since the abduction of Joseph Budna, and the investigation has yielded no suspects, no arrests, no charges and no meaningful answers.

On August 22, Budna was taken by three men in the heart of Orange Walk Town, just steps away from the town’s police station. Within 24 hours, images surfaced from Guatemala showing him in police custody there.

On Monday, August 25, Commissioner of Police Dr. Richard Rosado rejected claims that local officers played a role in Budna’s abduction or transfer across the border. “Let me be unequivocally clear, the police department was not involved,” Rosado said.

Prime Minister John Briceño also declared the state’s involvement, stating, “No, the government did not and would never sanction any such thing on any citizen of this country.”

After visiting the abduction site and confirming the presence of surveillance cameras, News 5 was the first to call for the release of the footage. Six days later, a grainy, heavily redacted clip of the kidnapping surfaced online.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francis Fonseca confirmed on September 3 that Belize’s embassy in Guatemala made contact with Budna in prison.

Prime Minister Briceño demanded a police report with a deadline of Friday, September 5, at 4:00 p.m. Briceño once again insisted that the abduction was not state-sanctioned.

Exactly 7 days ago, on Friday, September 5, the Association of Defense Attorneys called for an independent investigation. That same day, Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa said the video of Budna’s capture “leaves a lot to be answered” and agreed the matter “warrants an independent investigation.”

While the police report was delivered to the Prime Minister on September 5, the report fell short. Sources say the document was only two pages long, with no key findings, little supporting evidence, and glaring omissions.

The report did not include testimony from officers who witnessed or engaged with the kidnappers, one outside the Orange Walk Police Station and the other stationed at the Arenal border.

On September 8, PM Briceño announced that he had received an “incomplete and therefore unsatisfactory” report. His response included sending Commissioner Rosado on 45 days’ leave with immediate effect. The release, however, offered no explanation regarding the security footage that is believed to be central to the case.

It’s been three weeks, and the core questions remain unanswered. No suspects have been named. No charges have been filed. No full report has been made public. No security footage has been released.

And no independent investigation has been declared.