The Budna Kidnapping Investigation Timeline

Tonight, we’re taking you back inside the Joseph Budna saga, the shocking abduction, the bombshell twists, and the latest shake-up at the very top of the police department. It all started in August, when Budna was snatched right in front of a police station. Fast forward two weeks, and Belize’s top cop, Dr. Richard Rosado, is on administrative leave amid suspicions of police involvement. So how did this go from a cross-border handover to a full-blown scandal threatening the leadership of law enforcement? News Five’s Paul Lopez has the story.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Joseph Budna is behind bars in Guatemala and Commissioner of Police Dr. Richard Rosado has been placed on administrative leave, amid an ensuing scandal. On August twenty-second, three men kidnapped Budna from the heart of Orange Walk Town, near a police station, after he ended a live

 

Joseph Budna, Fugitive

“I hear something just now. I hear somebody say Budna.”

 

Within an hour, News Five received word of the abduction from an unnamed source.

 

Source

“We passed and see the scenes of crime for true on the black vehicle but I did not think it was Budna vehicle, and right now when the lady the say it they said they kidnap Budna.”

 

Urlese Gill, Facebook User

“This is about Mr. Ryan Budna that I just get from orange Walk. Mr. Budna was kidnapped and thrown in a vehicle and people say they were tyring to help him, nobody stopped them.”

 

The very next day, News Five confirmed with police that they had launched an investigation into what they’re calling an ‘incident’ right in front of the hospital. But that wasn’t the end of it. Later that day, shocking images started circulating from Guatemala, showing Budna in police custody over there. Fast forward to Sunday, August twenty-fourth, News Five pressed for answers: How exactly did Guatemalan authorities manage to detain Budna? That same day, the political heat turned up. Both the Leader of the Opposition, Tracy Panton, and UDP Leader, Moses ‘Shyne’ Barrow, demanded answers. And if that wasn’t enough drama for one day, a leaked audio recording, allegedly from Budna himself, surfaced from inside a Guatemalan hospital.

 

Voice of: Joseph Budna, Fugitive

“And as I done lock off the live police run from police station and Banquitas, with mask and whap me in my head, tape my mouth and throw me in a sky-blue SUV.”

 

On Monday August twenty-fifth, Commissioner of Police Doctor Richard Rosado shut down any allegation of police involvement in Budna’s abduction and subsequent hand over to Guatemalan authorities.

 

Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police (File: Aug 25^th, 2025)

“Let me be unequivocally clear, the police department was not involved in the apprehension or alleged extradition of Mr. Budna. Serious allegations were made and form our initial investigation, what is being alleged was not conducted by our police officers or sanctioned by the senior command of the Belize Police Department.”

 

Prime Minister John Briceno also declared the state’s innocence in the matter.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Let me just answer your question, obviously no, the government would never sanction such thing. We would not be a part of that, so no. the government did not and would never sanction any such thing on any citizen of this country.”

 

Just days before all this, Budna went live on Facebook from Orange Walk, even interviewing Prime Minister John Briceño. During that exchange, the PM urged him to be more responsible after Budna blasted the state of a local sports facility. Then, on August twenty-sixth, News Five visited Arenal, the same football field where Budna’s captors allegedly handed him over to Guatemalan authorities. We also discovered a heavily guarded police checkpoint at the village entrance We asked,  how did anyone get through with a kidnapping victim without serious connections? And on August twenty-seventh, Budna’s mother broke her silence, speaking exclusively with News Five.

 

Katherine Williams, Mother of Joseph Budna

“It is very hard, it is very hard.”

 

That same day, News Five pressed the Area Representative for Orange Walk East, Kevin Bernard for answers in Orange Walk.

 

Kevin Bernard, Area Representative, Orange Walk East

“I will not comment on that matter.”

 

After visiting the spot where Budna was taken, and confirming there were security cameras, News Five was first to demand the footage. Six days later, a grainy, redacted clip of the abduction leaked. That same day, Foreign Affairs Minister Francis Fonseca confirmed Belize’s embassy in Guatemala had contacted Budna in prison. Then, on September fourth, Prime Minister Briceño ordered a police report within forty-eight hours, insisting the abduction wasn’t state-sanctioned. Meanwhile, attorney Dickie Bradley blasted the police department.

 

Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney-at-Law

“It is increasingly looking like the police department in our country is involved in the abduction, kidnapping and rendering of a Belizean Citizen to a semi hostile neighbor.”

 

On September fifth, the Association of Defense Attorneys demanded that an independent investigation be conducted into the incident. Many organizations followed with their own statements, also demanding the release of surveillance footage. Notably, the Bar Association has been silent on the issue and has not responded to News Five’s request for an on-record comment on the matter. That same day, News Five grilled Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa, on the investigation.

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“You’re saying that me talk to one a deh and orchestrate something like this, man you to call me and kidnapper. I take insult to it, but at the same time, I know you have to ask the questions. You have to do your job.”

 

He backed calls for an independent probe and the release of security footage. At the time, ComPol Rosado was out of the country, but when he returned, he told News Five the alleged abduction wasn’t sanctioned by him or his top brass, and promised action if protocols were breached. That same day, police announced a press conference with Rosado, only to postpone it to September eighth. It never happened. Instead, on September seventh, PM Briceño confirmed he got the report, but wasn’t satisfied. His response? Rosado was sent on forty-five days’ leave while his future hangs in the balance. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.