Northern Border Reopens After Cartel Disruption Halts Belize Mexico Trade

Tonight, there is a major update to a situation that, just yesterday, had severely disrupted trade at Belize’s northern border.  Reports now confirm that the blockade which had halted the movement of goods between Belize and Mexico has been lifted, and cross-border trade has returned to normal operations.  Last night, the situation appeared critical. Cargo movement had come to a complete standstill after criminal elements on the Mexican side reportedly imposed an illegal “tariff,” effectively shutting down the flow of goods. Belizean importers were left in limbo, with perishable items such as fruits and vegetables at risk of spoiling, while others rushed to cancel orders amid uncertainty over how long the disruption would last.  But today, authorities indicate that the impasse has been resolved, and trucks are once again crossing the northern border.  Earlier today, Prime Minister John Briceño addressed the matter, describing the reported involvement of cartels as a serious and growing concern, particularly as it relates to the potential spillover of criminal activity into Belize.

John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “I remember way back when I became Prime Minister in 2020 at my first meeting with the people at the officials at the US Embassy, the question to me was what is it that keeps you awake at night? I told them the cartels, because you know we cannot afford to get them into this country because the minute they get in, it will be very difficult to get them out. So we’ve been appealing to them to help us and I hope that pretty soon they’ll be able to give us, they’ll be giving us some help, but we need some serious help with equipment, with intelligence, you know, with transportation, mobility to be able to move from the north to the south, you know, in a very short time. And so that is the real help that we need. And on the Mexican side, we need to be able now to  from the president’s office for them to put the pressure here at the border and also probably the Americans can had put pressure on the Mexican government to say that, you know, whilst you’re looking at the North you have to ensure that you could keep the south clear from these people because once they get in, it’s difficult to get them out.”

Prime Minister Briceno also outlined how the situation was addressed, noting that his government engaged directly with Mexican authorities at the highest level to help bring an end to the blockade.

John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “We’ve been dealing this at the highest level, we’ve been dealing directly with the government, but also I have direct contact with the office of the president to be able to address these things. Because you know sometimes in the bureaucracy things get stuck there, it does not move fast enough. A few months ago I had sent Ambassador Oliver del Cid along with our Ambassador Oscar Arnold to meet with Lázaro Cárdenas who is the chief of staff in the president’s office for them to be able to give him a first hand view of what really is taking place at the border. You know in bureaucracies we give a report and it goes up the channel it’s always been sanitized that by the time it gets to the highest channels probably you do not get a full understanding of what’s really happening. And so for me, it was important for us to be able to get directly to the president. That’s when the sent in I think about 10,000 troops came in, federal and state, and they went and they managed to go after a lot of these people. Of course, as soon as they left these guys come back again. We have been talking again to the officials at the border and we felt that we’re not getting anywhere. And so we again sent a message directly to the president’s office a few days ago. So I’m happy to note that this has been cleared up. But I think that sooner or later we probably have to try to see if I can have a meeting with the president to say that this matter is getting really out of control and that they would probably see if I could urge them they could put a permanent presence at the border to ensure that the trade can be facilitated in and out of Mexico.”

While the immediate crisis appears to have been averted, the incident has resurrected concerns about regional security and the vulnerability of Belize’s supply chains to external criminal pressures.