PM Briceño Says Crime Stats Improve Amid Budna Controversy

Major crimes are down by three percent in 2025, and murders have dropped by twenty percent compared to the same period in 2024, a sign that the fight against crime may be turning a corner. But as the Belize Police Department celebrates progress, questions remain. How deep does this success go? Are these numbers the start of lasting change, or just a temporary dip? And in the shadow of the Joseph Budha controversy, can the public trust that justice is being served without compromise?

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“The security forces, and especially the Police Department, continue to push back against domestic and transnational crime, with gathering success. Major crimes have fallen by 3 percent this year and murders are down, by 20 percent, through the end of August compared to last year. With regard to the recent controversy surrounding citizen Joseph Budna, and his alleged abduction and re-appearance in Guatemalan custody, I wish to reiterate that this Government did not and would never sanction an extra-judicial extradition of any Belizean, no matter their station. The law of the land applies to every citizen alike and without prejudice. Wherever the police investigation leads into that matter, justice will be applied, and justice will prevail.”