Cartel Trade Shutdown Addressed; Imports Start Moving

Tensions at the Belize–Mexico border are finally easing tonight after several tense days in which cartel activity on the Mexican side brought cross‑border trade to a crawl. For most of the week, criminal groups reportedly held the northern trade route hostage, blocking shipments, demanding payments, and threatening anyone trying to move goods through the corridor. Mexican customs brokers were warned not to process cargo, and Belizean importers were left in limbo as trucks sat idle. The fallout was immediate: food products, construction materials, and key commercial supplies that Belize depends on from Mexico were suddenly stuck on the wrong side of the border. The disruption also exposed just how vulnerable Belize’s supply chain is, especially with cartel violence intensifying in Quintana Roo. Prime Minister John Briceño says his government jumped into action, reaching out directly to top‑level Mexican officials, including the Office of the President. Those conversations led to rapid intervention, with Mexican authorities deploying additional security forces to stabilize the corridor and get trade flowing again. Here’s more from the Prime Minister.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“ We are very grateful that it has opened and it’s very concerned. We’ve been dealing this at the highest level from, we’ve been dealing with directly with the government, but also I have direct contact with the office of the President to be able to adjust these things. Because sometimes in the bureaucracy things get stuck there. It does not move fast enough. A few months ago I had sent ambassador Oliver Delcin, along with our Ambassador Oscar Arnold meet with Cardinez, who is the chief of staff in the president’s office for us to be able to, for them to be able to give him a firsthand view of what really is taking place at the border. When in bureaucracies we give a report and it goes up the channel, it’s always being sanitized that by the time it gets to the highest channels, probably you do not get the full understanding of what’s really is happening. And to me, for me, it was important for us to be able to get directed to the president. That’s when they sent in, I think about ten thousand troops then came in, federal and state and they went and they managed to go after a lot of these people. Of course, as soon as they left and these guys come back again. We have been talking again to the officials at the border and we felt that we’re not getting anywhere. And so we again sent a message directly to the president’s office a few days ago. So I’m happy to note that this is been cleared up. But I think that sooner or later I would probably have to try to see if I can have a meeting with the president to say that this matter is getting really out of control and that they would probably see if I, we could urge them, if they could put a permanent presence at the border to ensure that trade can be facilitated in and out of Mexico.”

 

Opposition Leader Calls for United Approach to Cartel Threat

 

As the government races to keep the northern border situation under control, the Opposition is raising its own alarms, warning that cartel activity near Belize’s doorstep has grown into a serious national security threat. Opposition Leader Tracy Panton isn’t mincing words. She says this is far bigger than politics, calling the developments deeply troubling and admitting it’s the kind of issue that keeps her up at night. Panton is now urging a united, bipartisan response to confront what she describes as an existential threat to Belize’s safety and economic stability. Here’s how she put it.

 

Tracy Taegar-Panton, Leader of the Opposition

“If there is something that keeps me up at night  it has to be the what I see as the infiltration of a criminal element from Mexico in our border communities. We refer to them commonly as the Mexican cartels. They are seem to have seized or operations at the border and the functioning of our free zone, Corozal Free Zone in the Santa Elena border. They dictate when goods come in. They’re charging arbitrary fees for containers to be moved. Importers of necessary food items, including fruits and vegetables, have been threatened directly that if they move those containers without the clearance of the cartels they will be killed. And so it is seriously disconcerting what is happening there. I have received reports from members of the business community who are very concerned now about bringing goods by land. It only, it doesn’t only happen with importers for basic goods, but it is happening with our car dealers who are fighting to make a living and they bring these cars in so that they can have some kind of cash flow and revenue generation for themselves and their families. So it’s a big deal. It’s a big issue. And it needs to be addressed. There has to be a national response. There are certain things you don’t play politics with.”

 

PM Briceño Calls on US: Belize Can’t Face Cartels Alone

 

It turns out those sleepless nights aren’t just on the Opposition’s side. Prime Minister John Briceño says the rise of cartel influence in the region is weighing heavily on him too, calling it one of the issues that literally keeps him up at night. While Belize continues working with Mexican authorities to keep the northern border stable, PM Briceño is clear that this is not a fight the country can handle alone. He says Belize now needs stronger backing from the United States to help confront the expanding reach of organized crime in the region. Here’s more from the Prime Minister.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“We have to continue to engage the American, the American government. I remember way back when I became Prime Minister in 2020 when at my first meeting with the people -the officials at US Embassy their question to me was, what is it that keeps you awake at night? And I told them the cartels because we cannot afford to get them into this country. ’cause the minute they get in, it’ll be very difficult to get them out.  So we’ve been appealing to them to help us, and I hope that pretty soon they’ll be able to give us, they’ve been giving some help, but we need some serious help with equipment, with intelligence, with transportation, mobility to be able to go from the north to south, in, in a very short time. And so that is the real help that that we need. And on the Mexican side, we need to be able now to from the president’s office, for them to put the pressure here at the border. And also probably the Americans can help put pressure on the Mexican on the Mexican government to, to say that whilst you are looking at the north, you have to ensure that you could keep the south clear from these people because once they get in, it’s difficult to get them out.”

 

PM Urges Care; Opposition Says Stay Home This Easter

 

With Easter weekend almost here, concerns are rising about cross‑border travel. Belizeans typically flock to Chetumal, Cancun, and other Quintana Roo hotspots, but this year the trip comes with heightened security worries. We asked Prime Minister John Briceño and Opposition Leader Tracy Panton what they’d tell Belizeans still planning to head north. Briceño is urging caution, reminding travelers to stay alert. Panton is much firmer, saying that with the risks right now, it may not make sense to leave the safety, and beauty, of home. Here’s what they had to say.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“ I think, if you really have to go, then make sure that you go and be careful. Don’t be out in areas where you don’t think you should belong. Keep into the tourist areas. Those tourist areas are more safe than the others, than other areas. So just keep where you think it’s, where usually is safe. And I think generally you, I’m hoping that you’ll be fine.”

 

Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition

“I don’t know who in their right minds with the conditions that now exists at the border would want to cross the border, leave the freedom and peaceful land that we have here to vacation in Mexico. Considering all that is happening, it is very dangerous. It’s very dangerous in the Quintana Roo area where Belizeans ofte traffic, right? We go to Playa Del Carmen. Belizeans go to Cancun. We go to Chetumal. But that is where the cartels are concentrated. And it seems, from the reports I have heard, that Belizeans are not off limits, that they’re being targeted.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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