_{Michael Whittaker and Aaron Tunn, deceased}

Bodies of Belizeans found in Mexico

by Charles Gladden

CHETUMAL, Mexico, Mon. Mar. 3, 2025

The bodies of two Belizean men who had been wanted by police in Belize and who are believed to have been associated with the Mexican cartels, were found in that neighboring country on Saturday, March 1.

The bodies of Michael Whittaker, 27, and Aaron Tun, 18, both from the Corozal District, were discovered after 3:00 a.m. that Saturday under a shed on the Mexican side of the Rio Hondo River near Sacxan, Quintana Roo, Mexico, along with the bodies of three Mexican men.

Tape had been wrapped around the men’s faces, and there was a single gunshot hole in each of their heads, while their bodies were wrapped in black plastic, and a cardboard sign had been placed on top of all five victims with a message written in Spanish which, when translated to English, was as follows: “This is for all those who are charging protection fees and those who do not allow businesses like cigarette vendors…. This is for the rest of you. Stop stealing. Sincerely: You know who.”

_{Letter left by Mexican cartels}

The various aspects of the disposal of the bodies, and the message left at the scene all suggest that the men were executed by the cartel, which was confirmed by Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, who said that the murders of both Belizean men were indeed drug-related and likely carried out by the Mexican cartel.

“Those Belizeans [had fled] Belize and went to live in Chetumal to avoid the operation. It goes back to what I said before: you sleep with dog, you catch their flea. They went to Chetumal [and] they got engaged with the cartels,” he said.

Williams added, “… from what we have gathered so far, is that these people are operating for the cartels in Mexico and they are collecting fees and the fees being collected [are] being stolen by them. So, they’re not reporting to their bosses on their collections; and because of that, that is the reason why they were killed.”

The manner in which the men’s bodies were disposed of, bears many similarities to the way in which the body of 29-year-old Raheem Usher, of Libertad Village, Corozal District, a murder victim whose body was found on Thursday, February 27, was discarded.

Usher was found in a black garbage bag. His body had been wrapped in a clear plastic, and his wrists were cuffed together. Also, his face was bruised and bore signs of injury, and there were two gunshot holes to his head. A disturbing note was found alongside Usher’s body which read, “This is going to happen to all those who continue to be ‘Chapulines’ bringing down planes with drugs” and which mentioned the names of two police officers at the Corozal Police Station, one of whom is a relative of the deceased.

Commissioner Williams, however, told reporters that he does not believe that Usher’s death is connected to the cartel, and that he suspects that the murder was done by Belizeans.

“We believe that it is a separate incident. As I said before, we are certain that Raheem Usher was killed by locals.  I can say we have good information in terms of who those locals are,” he said.

Local police are seeking 23-year-old Joshua Hall of Corozal Town, who reportedly escaped from the cartel and is in Belize.