Reports of Gang Affiliates Fleeing to US Dispelled by Police Commissioner

Street reports have indicated that many wanted gang affiliates have fled to the United States.  The reports have been heard on numerous occasions, although the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, has dispelled those reports.  While there is no official data to make this determination, Police Commissioner says there has not been a significant number of those who have fled.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police: “I don’t even know if we have a total of 93 Belizeans in total who would have migrated to the US in 2023. The last I would have checked I think that our figures was around ten in terms of persons with gang affiliations who migrated to the US and seeking asylum and some of them have been returned back to country. Maybe perhaps the person giving you that information is of the belief that Belize is like the United States of America where each district is a state and maybe the person migrated from one district to the other. So they might think that Dangriga is a state or Stann Creek district is a state or Toledo district is a state because then I have been migration yes out of Belize district to other parts of the country so maybe they think we’re the United States of America and then we have six states right ? I don’t know.”

In related news, in March 2022, alleged gang members Ellis and Tyrone Meighan were caught in Mexico while allegedly attempting to flee to the US.