BELIZE CITY, Tues. Dec. 29, 2015–As we come to the end of 2015 and reflect on the year that was, the unofficial count of homicides in Belize to date stands at 120. Amandala’s preliminary analysis of the statistics reveals that there were twice as many murders by gunshots than there were by stabbing.

Minister of National Security, Hon. John Saldivar, in his speech at the National Police Training Academy recruits’ graduation on December 18, revealed that the total homicides stood then at 116. Saldivar went on to express confidence that this year’s murders will be fewer than those in 2014 and he believes that this year will turn out to be the second best since he took over as Minister of National Security.

He went on to say that most of the murders took place in the first part of 2015 and the murders were reduced during the latter part of the year due to a plan executed by his ministry and the Police Department in deploying well-trained patrol teams to arrest the situation on the ground.

Amandala obtained a breakdown of the data from the Joint Intelligence Coordinating Center, within the Police Department. That report indicates that the total number of homicides as of November 30, 2015 stood at 114. The report further illustrated that for seven of the eleven months, the Belize District led the other districts in the murder rate. In fact, roughly 6 in 10 of the homicides happened in the Belize District.

Seven persons were murdered in Belize in January 2015—five of them in the Belize City area. On January 13, at approximately 7:00 p.m., one of the most brazen homicides occurred in which Pedro Aldana Ayuso, 29, a father of three and a well-known fisherman, was gunned down while travelling by boat near BelCan Bridge.

Then on January 17, there was another murder—this time it was Private Denver Villafranco, 22, an officer of the Belize Defence Force Volunteer Battalion. Villafranco died at the hands of four men who brutally beat him, hit him in the head with a crowbar, slashed the right side of his abdomen open, exposing his intestines, and stabbed him in the chest. The incident occurred only 150 yards from his home.

On January 21, the decomposed body of, 24, a well-known resident of Roaring Creek, Cayo District, was found, three days after he went missing, floating face-down in the Belize River, in the Never Delay area of Cayo. He had been stabbed multiple times and shot once in the face.

The first month ended with three less people being killed in comparison to January 2014, when 10 homicides were reported.

However, there was an increase in the amount of murders the following month, February, which saw 2 more homicides than January, for a total of 9 that month.

February saw a continuation of the gruesome killings. One such was that of Feliciano Noralez, 60, a security guard who worked for Anchor Security Company in Belmopan. It was reported that he was “hacked to death” while on duty on February 3.

Then on February 14, the body of, 29, an ex-BDF soldier of Hattieville, was discovered by police near Marage Road, Ladyville. A fatal gunshot wound had been inflicted to his left cheek.

Four days later, on February 18, the bodies of two men who had been reported missing, Benjamin Molina, 23, and Sylvin Chi, 41, were found by a police search team in a shallow grave approximately 11½ miles north of San Pedro Town. The duo had apparently been executed.

Then at approximately 1:30 a.m. on February 25, yet another murder occurred in San Pedro, in the San Pedrito area. Charlie Daniel Espat, 2, was in bed with his parents when he was fatally wounded by gunmen who had sprayed his home with bullets.

Then on February 25, Ian Adolphus, 21, came under attack near his home on Freedom Street, in the Port Loyola area, by a gunman who had ambushed him.

This February saw 3 more murders than last February, with a total of 9. March saw a further uptick in the numbers, with a total of 12 murders reported.

The first two victims for the month of March were Japheth Martinez, 23, of Y and M Street in the Lake Independence area, and Michael Welch, 24, of Maxboro, Sandhill Village. At approximately 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 1, Martinez was shot multiple times while riding his bicycle on Alicia Street. Later that night, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Welch was socializing with Kingsley Morrison, 23, in Morrison’s yard on Periwinkle Street, Belize City, when two men entered the premises and opened fire on them. Welch succumbed to his injuries 20 minutes later at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH).

Before the first week of March ended, two more persons were killed by gun violence. Pablo Barbosa, 35, of San Pedrito, San Pedro, a businessman, was shot four times in his head and chest by a gunman who had attacked him inside his store.

Meanwhile Moses Ervin Gonguez, 36, was sprayed with bullets by a gunman whilst socializing with friends at #7 Sibun Street, Belize City, at approximately 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, presumably as a result of gang rivalry.

On March 21 in Orange Walk Town, at another social gathering, two teenagers of that town, Oscar Daniel Valdez, 16 and Michael Usher, 17, were killed by a trigger-happy gunman who had fired a barrage of bullets into a crowd. They later died from their injuries at the Northern Regional Hospital.

On March 30, it was reported that Jaime Chavarria, 25, of Ladyville, who at the time was living in Belize City, was shot multiple times whilst walking on Berkeley Street and was pronounced dead on arrival, at approximately 9:00 p.m. at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH).

The number of homicides for this month doubled the total reported for the same time last year: 12 this March versus 6 last March.

The first four months of 2015 (January to April) saw consecutive increases in the number of murders reported, with the number of homicides reaching a peak of 18 in April – the most murderous month for 2015. Six more persons lost their lives to violence during that month.

On April 7, the body of , 18, of Belize City, was discovered floating in the Lagoon behind Seine Bight with stab wounds to his heart and chest.

The following day, April 8, Mark Anthony Rhamdas, Jr., 25, a father of 4 who resides on Albert Street West, Belize City, was fatally shot while riding his motorcycle along with his girlfriend near Southside Meat Shop.

On Saturday, April 11, gunshots rang out again, in Belize City, fatally wounding Edward Usher, better known as “Ghost.” Reports are that upon entering a property at #5 Mayflower Street, Usher was ambushed and killed. Police suspect the murder may have been due to gang rivalry.

Leon Dennis, better known as Leon Leslie, 31, of Maxboro, was discovered on April 13 by his children who went to visit him. He had reportedly been stabbed about 7 times in the chest and his throat was slashed.

Another homicide occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Friday, April 17. Vern Magdaleno, 35, was fatally shot in his head while sitting in his car, parked at the corner of Fabers Road andthe Central American Boulevard.

Then on April 19, at approximately 1:00 a.m., Coleen Sharp was shot and killed by her common-law husband, Michael Estell, at their home in Ladyville, then he later turned the gun on himself, in what ended up being a murder-suicide.

April ended with a minor being shot to death by another minor. On April 30, Travis Polanco, 6, was shot in the head with a 16-gauge shotgun by his neighbor, 9, in the Valley Community on the Hummingbird Highway, Stann Creek District.

There were 6 more homicides reported in April 2015 than in April 2014, when 12 persons died from violence.

May 2015 saw a slight reprieve in the level of homicides, with the number falling to 16 during that month. Still, two of the most gruesome murders for the year occurred in May: Edelberto Madrid, 28, a tattoo artist, and Steve Hyde, 51, were both decapitated and their internal organs ripped out. Madrid’s body parts were discovered floating in the Belize River on May 26 while Hyde’s body was found the day after, on Wednesday, May 27, in a shallow grave.

The Cayo District had the majority of eight homicides for the month of May—the most seen in that district for 2015.

The murder count continued to decline in June, when 5 cases less than the previous month were reported.

At about 1:30 a.m. on June 4, Paula Zaharias, 46, a mother of 5 children, was shot in the head by one of three “pig thieves” at a farm located on the More Tomorrow Road.

Also in June, Hilbert “Ketchi”, 18, died whilst in the custody of the Caye Caulker Police. It was reported that police had beaten him to death.

Carrington Bodden, also known as “Ice,” 43, was stabbed in his heart while trying to end an altercation. The incident occurred on Sunday, June 21, at a house located at the corner of Kelly Street and Freetown Road, where they were socializing and drinking.

The month of June 2015 had four more homicides in comparison to June 2014, with a tally of 11. July recorded an increase by two, bringing the count to 13—the same as last July.

It was the month in which well-known Kremandala journalist, Kareem Jabbor Clarke, 27, was gunned down at approximately 1:00 a.m. on July 6, while riding his bicycle on Vernon Street in Belize City. Clarke’s murder had touched the media to its core, since he was one of their very own.

On July 4,, 21, was celebrating his birthday with friends on Roches Street, when he became the next victim of another trigger-happy gunman who fired a barrage of shots into the crowd. As a result, Rivas received multiple gunshot wounds and later died at approximately 1:18 a.m. while undergoing treatment at the KHMH.

On July 10, another young man was gunned down: Anthony Ashton Smith was shot in his abdomen, upper body and leg whilst riding his bicycle on Central American Blvd. and later succumbed to his injuries.

There were also some homicide cases linked to domestic violence, and two such cases happened in July. Keisha Buller, 25, of Benque Viejo Del Carmen, a Customs officer, was stabbed to death in her home on Thursday, July 9, by her common-law husband.

Then on July 29,, 21, a Salvadoran, was stabbed to death by her ex-common-law husband in front of her grandmother and four-year-old child from a previous relationship.

Of note is that for the months February to June 2015, the homicides recorded were higher each month than the same time in 2014, but that trend began to reverse in August, when year-on-year, Belize began to see a lower homicide rate.

While March to July saw murder counts in the double digits, August 2015 saw a sharp decline with 8 murders, a reduction of 5 murders when compared with the previous month.

Briton Tharique Polanco, 15, was shot dead after a home invasion on Friday, August 21, at his grandfather’s farm, located at Mile 35 on the Hummingbird Highway. One of the robbers shot Polanco in his chest with his grandfather’s stolen 12-gauge shotgun.

Then at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Friday, August 28, Russell Hyde, Sr., 45, and his girlfriend Marcy Marie Humes, 27, were returning to Hyde’s home in Camalote Village, when they were shot multiple times and later died.

Also in August, Malique Jair Dixon, 20, was attacked while riding his bicycle on Flamboyant Street, Belize City. Dixon was shot multiple times by his attacker and later died at the KHMH.

Edwardo Manuel Perez Sanchez, a Nicaraguan, died at the hands of a police officer. His body was found on August 31 in Teakettle, Cayo. Police arrested and charged Corporal Ryon Wagner, who at the time was the Prime Minister’s wife’s driver.

Both August and September reported 8 murders for the month, but this time Corozal was the district with the most homicides.

On Thursday, September 3, Glenford Vernon, 26 was shot multiple times by a 15-year-old gunman while getting a tattoo on Castle Street, and he later died.

Police reported that on September 10, Vance Edward Cabral, 45, a businessman of Placencia, was shot by his cousin whilst socializing and drinking onboard a boat.

On September 28, Carlos “Paraquat” Griffith was sitting on a stool near the fire station in Orange Walk Town when he was approached by two men. An argument ensued over the stool upon which Griffith was seated and it escalated into a fight. Two men beat Griffith, causing him to suffer a fractured skull and injuries to his face and back. He died four days later at the KHMH.

September 2015 saw four murders less than September 2014. The same was true for October 2015, which saw 7 murders, as opposed to 11 recorded in October 2014 and 1 less murder than the previous month.

In Orange Walk Town on Saturday, October 10, yet another life was claimed; this time it was that of Rafael Abel Rivas, a Belize Defence Force soldier. Rivas was socializing at Pandas Bar and got into an altercation, during which he was stabbed to death.

Ervin Osbert Franklyn, 25, was stabbed to death, in Lords Bank on Sunday, October 11. Police visited Edwin Parks Street and found Franklyn with multiple stab wounds.

November has so far seen the least murder cases – a total of 5, down from 8 the same time last year. This time Cayo had the majority with three.

On November 13, another young life was struck down. This time it was that of Ivan Chuc, 16. Chuc was at home with his parents and siblings having a meal when two intruders entered their home and one of them pointed a pump action shotgun on Chuc, who pleaded for his life, but to no avail.

Then Kevin Peters was murdered at approximately 8:30 p.m. on November 26, after having a thanksgiving dinner with his family. Peters, 37, was in front of his family’s yard in Leadville smoking cannabis when a gunman pounced on him and shot him multiple times in the head and body.

Another senseless killing was that of businessman Ruben Perez, which occurred on November 26 at his business establishment on Vernon Street. Reports are that he was shot in the chest and head.

The senseless killing continued in December. Our reports indicate that there have been 6 murders so far for December, as of the time of this report.

On December 8, there was a gruesome discovery of an unidentified decomposed body in the Mennonite community. Then on December 13, Alberto Briceno, 22, was socializing at a fair in Paraiso village, Corozal, when he was fatally stabbed.

Two days later, on December 15, Antonio Rodriguez, a taxi driver of Eldrige Village, Toledo District, was found dead with multiple stab wounds.

Linbergh Wallace Brown was also stabbed to death during an altercation at approximately 2:23 a.m. on December 23, when an assailant struck him with a broken bottle.

On December 26, two more persons were killed: Lennox Flowers, 18, of Belize City travelled to Burrell Boom Village, Belize District, to watch the annual horse race and it was there that he was stabbed to death, after three men attacked him.

Then in the Toledo District, Evaristo Bul, 55, was found on the Jalacte Road by police, chopped multiple times to the left side of his head and shoulder and shot to the left side of his chest and right elbow.

So far, the number of homicides this December has surpassed the November 2015 count, and the tally now stands at 120, with two more days left in the year. The year 2014 saw a total of 121 murders, up from 99 in 2013.

One can only wonder what 2016 will hold. Death seems to be looming over our nation. What is the antidote? Certainly, it will require not just the Government but the entire Belizean community to want the change bad enough. We cannot allow these horrific acts to continue under our watch and stand by idly and allow it.