Maybe the authorities should start roughing up people who are supposedly representing the country. Can of worms would be found and then you would see who the baddies are.

To Mr. Mcafee, I can only express my sincere gratitude for your contributions to Belize and say how sorry I am for the way you were was treated.. Hope you get a good Attorney and go after them for illegal arrest, defamation, and harassment… Get them Guy!!!!

Apparently there were 3 guns found but two of them were licensed and one of them may have been been planted by the GSU which according to many can be very heavy handed and purportedly corrupt.

This may be part of the territory they have to deal with which is dangerous and unexpected sometimes like guerrilla warfare where a youth on bicycle will ride up to his target which is usually another gang member and pull out a pistol and shoot until the target is dead, It is very sad to see. Belize used to be a very peaceful place. You could walk just about anywhere safely. There were maybe at the most 2-3 murders a year mostly domestic related. With the advent of satellite TV and broadcasting some of the worst programming from the US, including gang and a lot of violent shows and movies had a significant impact as well as a big influence on the youth.

Belize being like a small community, it was easy for everyone to see how those in power and anyone closely related would benefit far beyond their annual salaries many times at the expense of the Belizean people when attempts were made to increase taxes on certain staples etc.

The protest and shut down during a country wide strike in 2005 was the best example of a true democracy I had ever seen. When enough was enough, people stood up and marched peacefully while singing and carrying placards. It worked for a time but a people can never become complacent about how the country is being managed otherwise the old saying is true ” all that is required for evil to persist is for good men/women to do nothing about it”.

The spirit and gentleness of the people is still there and they have all suffered and toiled as a result of the increased graft that goes on. I think this started somewhat innocently as the country began to grow at a rate that far outpaced the capacity of Government departments to deal with it and thus began self appointed positions as lobbyists who would assist those seeking permits of one sort or another.

Even border customs officers were becoming wealthy. It was done semi legally but the applications were put at the top of the pile or duties for imports were reduced and a fee paid to the agent. It now permeates a lot of different branches of the Government and some of them are involved as well. It seems like it has become a frenzy and so many want to get their piece of economic peace of mind so they can have a decent living and then of course it goes beyond that and gets greedy and turns into more is never enough….and people suffer.

It is pandemic and part of what is happening everywhere, not just in Belize…..if you want to see corruption and violence, death then look no further than our own backyards. How many people are killed in a day, month, year in Chicago, New York, La or even in Toronto, Canada. Are Governments really managing for the sake of the people who voted them in……Sure does not seem like it.

Belizeans have just started to mobilize themselves and it will grow. People in Corozal have had enough and have organized patrols with the police using their own vehicles. The police do not even have the budget to buy flashlights and have only one vehicle. Citizens around the world are trying to organize and mobilize. There is a lot of polarity or opposition to each others views on a variety of issues. But their is a “listening” that is growing that constitutes the largest majority of the population who are coming out of complacency and joining the ranks of those becoming more conscious of the world, our interdependence, the environmental damages and government abdication to preserve it in favour of so called progress.

Despite all it’s problems and mismanagement, I am optimistic that Belizeans will once again come to a point of awareness and action and will collectively work for and create a better way. No one is winning. How far into the chaos it will go is to be seen but they do have the advantage of small size. Short-sightedness, fear of there is not enough for everyone that leads to selfishness, that begins to hide our good hearted compassionate humanness is at the root. Poverty after all is a man made thing. How long will it take to wake up?

Stupid GSU and Belize pols – those guys don’t have a clue about international public relations and how an event like this can undo years of tourism and retirement destination promotion.

Lan Sluder – FODORS Belize

Poverty is worse and our tour guide advised us how dangerous the gangs can be. The politicians were corrupt 30 years ago and that is life there.

I too thought about retiring there but no more. But, I am not a rich man so I would probably be left alone!

I personally will not advise tourists to go to Belize. It sounds like a police state. There are plenty of other competing tourist destinations to visit like Costa Rica or the Caribbean islands. Stay away from Belize with it’s crime, both government sponsored and civilian. Belize will reap what it sows.