by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Mon. June 9, 2025
After certain areas of Belize City, rural communities in the Belize District, and the Cayo District were being monitored as they were under a State of Emergency (SOE) due to the high rise of tension and violence, the residents in those areas can now move freely, as the SOE has been lifted.
The SOE was declared due to multiple gang-related murders that occurred in Belize City and the rural communities of the Belize District in the early days of May. It started with the attempted murder of 27-year-old Jimmy Rojas while he was on Tibruce Street in the St. Martin De Porres area, which is considered the territory of the Peace in the Village (PIV) gang.
From there things escalated, with the shooting deaths of 36-year-old Aaron Lindo in Double Head Cabbage, and 37-year-old Nelson “Mung” Henry in Ladyville, who were allegedly affiliated with the PIV and Back-a-Land Crips (BLC) (rival groups), respectively.
Then, there was the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Kadeem Orozco on Ebony Street, the third gang-affiliated murder within 24 hours.
Before the SOE was launched, it was suggested that it should last a minimum of 6 months; however, it was given one month. During that time, 118 allegedly gang-affiliated persons were picked up with 16 firearms and a large amount of ammunition and drugs.
Since the SOE was implemented a month ago, street violence in the city has subsided, with residents living in peace.
The SOE officially ended on Monday, June 2, with those persons detained being released.
“We did have a meeting last week with the Eastern Division, as well as the specialized unit, in terms of a plan moving forward; a strategy moving forward. I’m confident and comfortable with the plan that was devised by the commissioner and the officers, and so you’ll see some of the strategies playing out over the coming weeks and months. We have taken a lot of guns off the streets. So you could see where we were able to quell the crime and reduce the tensions in the streets,” said Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs. The SOE had been declared on May 6.