Ben Loria Caught in U.S., Mexican Cartel Links Alleged
For years, Belizean police kept their eyes on Benigno Loria, a man whose name surfaced again and again in quiet briefings and ongoing investigations. But while he managed to stay a step ahead locally, his run came to an end in the United States, where federal agents say his connections stretch far beyond Belize’s borders. U.S. immigration officers in Houston arrested Loria on a 2024 removal order, but it’s what they say they uncovered behind the scenes that raises bigger questions: documented ties to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico’s most violent and fast‑expanding criminal networks. Back home, senior Belizean officials, including Commissioner Dr. Richard Rosado, had long hinted that Loria was no small-time player, describing him as someone who repeatedly surfaced in investigations but never quite landed in handcuffs. His detention in the U.S. now casts a new light on those past suspicions and raises the lingering question: How deep did those connections really go during his time in Belize?
Richard Rosado
Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police
“All I can say for now is that during his time in Belize he was a person of interest for the Belize Police Department.”
Paul Lopez
“What do you know about his departure from the country and police search for him during their investigation?”
Dr. Richard Rosado
“Like I said, he had been a person of interest in several incidents in the north and was a person of interest in the police department.”
Paul Lopez
“Did police actively pursue him while he was here?”
Dr. Richard Rosado
“Well, we were trying to build cases against him, but we know that he was involved in several activities that is questionable.”
Paul Lopez
“Was any of those activities linked to cartel operations?”
Dr. Richard Rosado
“All I will say is that he was a person of interest for the police department.”
Paul Lopez
“Now how is the department working with U.S. authorities to get him back to Belize to answer to crimes, if a case was built against him?”
Dr. Richard Rosado
“I would have to check with my investigators to see if we have anything to charge him. But as far as I know, he was a person of interest in Belize.”
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