Belize Drops Out of Top 10 Most Violent Latin American Countries

Belize is no longer one of the ten most violent countries in Latin America, marking a major shift in the region’s crime rankings. Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa made the announcement during a sitting of the House of Representatives, citing international crime data that places Belize at number 14 in the region a decrease from previous years. According to Musa, this is due to the efforts of law enforcement, community policing, and targeted crime prevention programs.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs: “In major crimes recording 1,062 major crime incidents down by 231 cases compared to the previous year. This decline, Mr. Speaker, includes a 13% drop in homicides compared to 2022 and a notable 32% decrease in murders in the Belize district alone. I know that it might feel like decades ago under the United Democratic Party, Mr. Speaker, where we had John Saldivar and Michael Peyrefitte as the Ministers of National Security. Back then, let me remind those on the other side Belize was ranked the third most deadly country in Latin America. Since 2022, Mr. Speaker, I can report that we came out of that top 10 list to 11. 2023, we went to 14. And I can announce here today that we remain at 14 after 2024 was concluded. That is a huge jump in just a matter of years. And these aren’t my statistics, members on the other side. This is from Insight Crime, which is a trusted crime analysis center that reports on the figures globally.”
 

While challenges remain, the new ranking signals a shift in Belize’s trajectory, suggesting that ongoing reforms and crime reduction strategies may be yielding results.