From the Desk of the Leader of the Opposition

Hon. John Briceño

Listening to the new Minister of Police talk about pot-bellied Police Officers with their guts hanging out and the need for them to start exercising seems like a ridiculous issue to pick up on when you consider all that is happening within the Police Department.

There are serious problems in the Police Department, many of which must be addressed immediately.  Far from the most urgent is the need to deal with overweight officers.

In a recent meeting with some members of the Belizeans for Justice it was terrifying to hear that in the streets of Belize City there are allegations of police involvement in the drug trade and stories about the influence certain gang lords have over some members in the Police Department.

Such circumstances give cause to the question: how can our young democracy survive this onslaught of lawlessness and corruption in our society?

Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, the reality is that we in Belize take our democracy for granted. In this connection, Belizeans have always had a superior attitude over our neighbors, who after years of despotic leaders, are now struggling with their democracy.  For many Belizeans the issue of mordida, petty hustling and corruption in government and the Police Department was a Central American issue, not a Belizean one. Drug cartels and gang lords, executions and the like were things that only happened around us, never Belize.

Unfortunately these Cartels have slowly crept into our society like the “mata palo” vine, a parasite that slowly kills the tree. Almost daily the news reports of young Belizeans being senselessly slaughtered and there seems to be no end to the senseless violence.

Looking at Central America, our neighbors are fighting to regain control of their countries and it has been a very difficult and costly fight.  Three years ago, Mexican President Calderon declared open war against the Mexican cartels. It has been a battle that is defining his presidency and the future of Mexico’s democracy.

A few months after assuming office in 2006, President Calderon deployed 50,000 troops in a frontal battle against the narcotics cartel. He had crooked cops removed and in some cases incarcerated while he fought the drug cartels.  Three years later, the pace of killings is soaring and public security worries are beginning to affect the tourism industry, which employs one out of every eight Mexicans.

While the Mexicans are fighting to restore law and order, Guatemala is also in the middle of its own battle with the drug cartels.

In March 2010, the US State department informed that between 275 to 385 tons of cocaine are transshipped yearly through Guatemala, enough to supply US demands.

Drug gangs operate largely unhindered and homicides continue to soar. Last year of the 6,451 people murdered, only 230 persons were found guilty. Ninety six percent of the killers got away with their crimes.

According to International Crisis Group from Brussels, as many as seven of Guatemala’s twenty-two provinces may not be under government control.

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom has fired more than 2,000 corrupt cops; jailed two of their last Police Chiefs and two Interior Ministers are fugitives.

With everything that is happening around us, it was inevitable that eventually our peaceful way of life would be affected. The question for us then is what can we do?

As a society we have to first start to obey the law, not just a few, but all of them.  Second we need to stop glamorizing drug dealers and gang leaders; from the music we listen to, to the friends we keep. Next we must all report when government officials and police officers demand a bribe from us.

As government we must become a lot more serious about stomping out corruption among political leaders and among government employees.

Yes, we need a fit and health conscious Police Department, but let us start by dealing with the more important issues.  And all of us must understand that unless we as a people urgently start to protect the rule of law, we will lose our country.