Was Herbert Belloso’s Murder an Act of Retaliation?
A daylight ambush in Ladyville has deepened concerns that deadly rivalries are driving violence in the community. Thirty-one-year-old Herbert Belloso was reportedly chased down and shot near his mother’s store on Saturday morning after three men arrived in a blue SUV. Belloso had previously been questioned in another recent Ladyville murder, but police never charged him. Investigators are now searching for the vehicle and the gunmen as they examine whether the killings are connected. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
The killers gave Herbert Belloso little chance to escape. Police say three men arrived near a Ladyville store in a blue Chevrolet Equinox on Saturday morning. When Belloso saw two of them carrying firearms, he ran, but the gunmen chased him and opened fire. The brazen attack unfolded in broad daylight, claiming another life during a surge in deadly violence across Belize.
Stacy Smith
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“Police are seeking a vehicle of interest that has been identified as a part of the ongoing investigation into the murder of thirty-one-year-old Herbert Belleso of Ladyville Village which occurred at eleven fifteen a.m. on thirty-first October 2025 in the vicinity of Compassion Lane, Ladyville. Belloso was at a store and a blue in color Chevy Equinox stopped and three male persons, two of whom were armed, exited the vehicle and upon observing this Mr. Belloso attempted to flee. He was pursued and fired upon, resulting in his fatal injury.”
Darrell Thompson
Belloso was near his mother’s shop on Marage Road, only a short distance from his home on Compassion Lane, when the gunmen struck. His murder has intensified concern about public safety in Ladyville, where police acknowledge that several rivalries are playing out. Police have not confirmed whether Belloso’s killing is connected to another recent murder. He was previously detained for questioning in the October twenty-third murder of construction worker Darrell Thompson in Vista Del Mar, but police did not have enough evidence to charge him.
ASP Stacy Smith
“I cannot conclusively say so, but what I can say it that Mr. Belloso was previously detained in relation to a murder that preceded his in the Ladyville area. However the extent of the investigation did not lead to the department proffer any charges, but he was still considered a person of interest in the course of the investigation.”
Belloso also had a previous drug-trafficking conviction. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to possessing almost twenty-nine grams of crack cocaine with intent to supply. The court sentenced him to two years in prison and fined him ten thousand dollars. Police, however, have not said that drugs played any role in his murder. Authorities are now confronting what they describe as several rivalries within and between groups in Ladyville. Parts of the community have since been placed under a State of Emergency. The declared zone stretches from Lord’s Bank through Los Lagos and Lake Gardens and includes Vista Del Mar.
Isani Cayetano
“Is it safe to say then that there is a rivalry of some sort taking place in Ladyville?”
ASP Stacy Smith
“As I indicated, there are several rivalries inter and intra. And the declared areas, you would have heard in the press briefing that rural Belize would be one of those. So, yes.”
Initial reports suggest that Belloso was shot with a shotgun, but police have not confirmed the type of weapon used. Investigators are still searching for the vehicle, the gunmen and a clearer motive, while police continue efforts to remove high-powered weapons from the streets. Britney Gordon for News Five.
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