Bauer Urges Tougher Drug Trafficking Penalties

Repeated U.S. travel advisories are once again putting concerns about crime in Belize under the spotlight. Ambassador Andre Bauer says tougher penalties for drug trafficking could serve as a deterrent and help protect the country’s youth. He is now calling on Belize’s elected officials to take action.

 

Andre Bauer, U.S. Ambassador to Belize

“And I don’t think it should just be U.S. standards. I think Belizeans should have an expectation level of safety and security. So, if we can be a partner in that, look, the safer Belize is, the safer the United States is. There is a reason why we care about safety in this whole region in the world, this whole hemisphere. That is why we invest so much American dollars in the Western Hemisphere, because you are our friends, the western hemisphere is our friend and we like the fact that we have been a very safe region of the world, versus other regions of the world, because we work together in partnership for immigration. Drugs is definitely a concern. So, it has been something we have addressed. I would love to see Belizean elected officials on both sides of the aisle raise the penalties for getting caught with large amounts of drugs. We have got to do things to try and deter this type of activity if we really want to protect our youth.”

 

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.

 

Watch the full newscast here: