Police Link Cayo Murders to Fierce Drug War
Police say a violent drug turf war may be driving the latest bloodshed in western Belize. Investigators believe rival groups operating in Santa Elena and nearby villages are connected to a string of murders, as well as a recent shooting that injured a minor. In response, police are stepping up operations across the Cayo District, targeting illegal firearms and drugs. But the mayor of San Ignacio and Santa Elena says authorities must go even further and take aggressive action against known drug houses before more lives are lost. Shane Williams reports.
Shane Williams, Reporting
Mayor Earl Trapp first warned of a brewing drug war following the murders of two special constables. Now, police believe those concerns may have been justified, linking several recent killings across Cayo to rival groups fighting for control of the drug trade. Investigators say the conflict stretches from Santa Elena into surrounding communities, where the battle for territory continues to fuel deadly violence.
Stacy Smith
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“ The department has always been cognizant of the issues that are attendant when it comes to the sale of drugs. And that is why, as minuscule as it may seem to some, that when persons are arrested for drug trafficking, that matter is made public. And I make it my business to have those persons who are alleged to be engaged in such activity be known to the public because, as stated, we know that it is the sale of drugs that fuels these rivalries. Not only does it causes the loss of life of persons in terms of the violence, but the degradation of the family structure, the fact that persons in neighborhood are not at peace when they are being their properties are being hunted for persons who want to have a quick fix.”
And while investigators work to connect the dots between the killings, police say they are going after the weapons and drugs believed to be fueling the conflict. ASP Stacy Smith says operations have been intensified across Cayo, resulting in several recent firearm and drug seizures.
ASP Stacy Smith
“Police have formally arrested and charged thirty-eight-year-old Roy Thompson of Santa Elena Town for the offense of kept firearm without a gun license, kept ammunition without a gun license, as well as drug trafficking. These charges stem from a joint operation executed at the residence of Thompson, located on Abaya Street at around midday on Friday, twenty-eight August, sorry, 2026. This operation led to the discovery of a nine-millimeter Taurus brand pistol, three magazines containing a combined total of forty-six live rounds of nine-millimeter ammunition and three hundred and seventy-six grams of suspected cannabis. Police have formally arrested and jointly charged thirty-year-old Darwin Dawson and thirty-year-old Carlton McCoy, both of the Cayo District, for the offense of kept firearm without a gun license, kept ammunition without a gun license, possession of firearm with a serial number tampered, as well as possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply. The charges stem from an operation that was conducted at a residence in the Boiton area of San Ignacio.”
But Mayor Earl Trapp says police cannot stop at arresting those caught with guns or drugs. He wants investigators to target the source of the illegal trade by raiding and shutting down known drug houses.
Earl Trapp
Earl Trapp, Mayor, San Ignacio and Santa Elena
“I would hope that the relevant authorities, which is more the police department security, would, Would take some harder actions, because I think everything trickles down. For example there are many drug house or some drug house here within the municipalities. And at times I happen to be passing by and I see the, some of the drug addicts coming in and out of certain places, and I see police vehicle might be passing behind, in front or behind them, and there’s no actions, nothing taken, so I think the police will have to do their part.”
Smith also provided the latest operational figures for Cayo, showing the extent of police activity in the district so far this year.
ASP Stacy Smith
“As it relates to the assertion that much is not being done by the police in relation to targeting drug base, what I can say is that our data shows that over thirty-five thousand grams of cannabis, two thousand, four hundred and sixty-eight grams of cocaine, one thousand two hundred and fifty-three grams of crack cocaine, as well as a thousand and forty-three grams of methamphetamine have been removed from the streets within the Cayo District. And that has resulted in a number of persons being charged, namely seventy-six for cannabis, forty-eight for cocaine and fifty-two for crack cocaine for the Cayo District. So much is done. Certainly there continues to be a need for more to be done and more innovative ways, and that is why we have been investing in technology in that regard.”
For police, the challenge is now twofold, dismantling the drug networks, while preventing retaliation between rival groups. Shane Williams for News Five.
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