Narco and Human Trafficking Flying High in Belize Tourist Paradise

Belize has removed the muzzle from its news media, letting them report on the latest big narcotics and human trafficking busts in that country.  Why is that?  There are many things in the air over Belize, none of it good.  All of it leads back to what we’ve been reporting for months, specifically Belize’s corrupt, national security, immigration and police forces.

Recently, more than 2.6 tons of cocaine literally fell out of the sky on a road near Punta Gorda when a narco twin engine made an emergency landing.  Arrested in the aftermath were seven police officers and one customs officer implicated in the unscheduled arrival of the estimated $140-million cargo.

This latest news installment joins reports of big drug plane busts in a Corozal village, one in Caye Caulker and another in the Northern Two Caye on the Lighthouse Reef atoll.  All got into Belize airspace with the help of paid government officials and their “business” partners.

The Punta Gorda incident tops off a string of reported Belize national security breaches, all indicative of the systemic corruption that continues to characterize this country as a dangerous home for its citizens and perilous destination for tourists.    It’s the same brand of corruption that allows human traffickers easy passage for their “products” through Belize borders.

Followers of this blog will know that that we revealed a DEA map showing that San Pedro Ambergris Caye and other seaside locations in Belize are busy access points for the drug trade.  It’s mostly cocaine, on its way from South America to the US.   We also pointed out that there were more than 100 drug-linked murders in Belize last year.  This flies in the face of the Belize Tourism Board’s come-ons to enjoy sunny beach holidays.

There’s more over the air in Belize.  It’s ironic that a recent well-publicized aerial shot of a beach art installation on Sergeant’s Caye got a lot of traction worldwide for its inclusion in the eco documentary “Harmony.”  Overhead photographers capturing the bird’s-eye-view of the eco shore graffiti could just have easily spotted planes full of drugs and/or illegal passengers, their flights greased with bribery dollars for Belize officials.

News coverage of Belize immigration rackets continues apace.  In this blog, I’ve reported on the many Belize channels for easy immigration scamming. It’s the same sanctioned criminality that allows the famous “Expeditor” to maintain a lucrative business providing everything from passport stamps to residency status for those who can pay.

It’s clear the latest stories on human smuggling activities relate directly back to people like the “Expeditor,” many of them located in Belize embassies.  For a fee these embassy officials in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti, for example, work with their own government to produce visas for foreign nationals.  Once in Belize, the short-term “visitors” can use their Belize visa to more easily enter the US, Canada and elsewhere.

This sleazy system got some unwanted spotlight this fall when three flights, all using Haiti as the take-off point, brought a combined 34 Chinese nationals to Belize.   Previously, phony visas were also issued through the same embassy bribery system to Japanese and Sri Lankan travelers.  These are the ones that got reported on.  It’s just the thin edge of the wedge.

I’m talking about the peculiar homegrown appetite for graft among Belize authorities that never gets dealt with.   No one at the top gets even so much as a knuckle wrapped when it’s obvious that they are responsible.  Small players, such as police rank and file and the odd customs officer, take the blame.  No one at the top takes responsibility for what their news media are calling a national security system in great peril.  It’s a loud message saying that Belize’s citizens continue to go unprotected by its government and a national security department, a force that escapes accountability for his actions or lack of them.

Remarkably, these news reports, which chronicle a deeply rotten national security system, appear at the same time Belize has released its latest strategy to attract tourists. The “Belize Tourism Board Action Plan 2010-12” calls for deployment of social media to increase Belize tourism.  ORT plans to continue its own deployment of social media, using it to equate Belize travel with endorsement of human trafficking.  We will also continue to remind potential tourists that Belize is under tourism boycott and that they travel there at great personal risk.

Tagged: Ambergris Caye, Belize, Belize Human Trafficking, Belize Immigration Corruption, Belize News, belize tourism boycott, belize tourism news, Belmopan, betty philips, Betty Philips Human Trafficking, British Columbia, Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Line, drugs, Fight Human Trafficking, Human Trafficking, Illegal drug trade, US Government Human Trafficking, vivian trill on Belize Boycott, Women, Women’s rights

BELIZE NEWS: HUMAN TRAFFICKING CHARGES FILED (TWICE)

We have two reports of the same women in Belize being charged with human trafficking, two different cases, two different bars, same story. She is walking around doing this over and over again. What are the Police doing??

Businesswoman Narcisa Orellana of Santa Elena Town has been charged for two counts of trafficking in person. An 18-year-old domestic reported to police that between March first and May 10 she was working as an unpaid waitress for the businesswoman. She said Orellana forced her to work and have sexual intercourse with male clients against her will. As a result of the report Orellano was arrested and charged.
And while on the subject of human trafficking, it is important to note that just last Friday, July 9th the Organization for Responsible Tourism, ORT, filed formal complaints with international human rights bodies, registering petitions on behalf of the Campaign to Stop Human Trafficking in Belize. The organization has filed complaints with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States; and the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The ORT is asking government for three specific actions including enforcing Belize’s quote, “own human trafficking laws; tighten border protocols to stop traffickers bringing victims into Belize; and strengthen and enforce liquor licensing laws so that bar owners cannot profit from forced prostitution of human trafficking victims”. The ORT has also offered partnership with Prime Minister Dean Barrow to negotiate the ORT recommended actions with the US so as to help avoid the Tier three status for Belize and its potential economic sanctions.

Now we have the first part of the story.

Police have detained two women and charged one of them in separate reports of trafficking in persons.

In the first report, dated April 25, 2010, a 22-year-old domestic of Santa Elena Town visited the station around 3:30 p.m. and reported that a female minor was being abused, exploited and kept against her will at Riverside Bar in Bullet Tree Village, and was being compelled to provide labor at the residence of the bar’s owner.

Police located the minor and transported her to the station and subsequently detained Estella Pinelo, 33, pending continued investigations. The minor was released to personnel of the Human Development Department.

In the second report, police say they have arrested and charged Narcisa Orellana, 54, of Santa Elena, for attempted trafficking in persons following a report by a 15-year-old of Valley of Peace on May 10, 2010.

The minor visited the police station along with a justice of the peace and reported that on April 26, 2010, around 9:00 a.m., a woman known to her as Nancy recruited her to work at her house in Santa Elena as a domestic. The minor alleged that while working at the residence, Nancy allegedly attempted to recruit her as a prostitute for a bar located at the same premises.

UN told Belize profits from human trafficking

Organization for Responsible Tourism (ORT) has filed formal complaints with international human rights bodies, registering petitions on behalf of the Campaign to Stop Human Trafficking in Belize, ORT President Vivian Trill today announced.

July 9, 2010 —
“ORT’s complaint petitions tell a story about the thousands of girls and women who are trapped each year in the Belize human trafficking industry,” said Trill. “We have also conveyed our recommendations for simple and inexpensive ways to block those who profit from human trafficking in Belize.”

The Campaign to Stop Human Trafficking in Belize has a worldwide following via Internet and other social media. The Campaign never asks for money, only for action. Strengthening and growing daily, the Campaign urges Belize to demolish its human trafficking superhighway, the main conduit for human trafficking victims in Central America.

The Campaign asks the Belize government to: enforce its own human trafficking laws; tighten border protocols to stop traffickers bringing victims into Belize; and strengthen and enforce liquor licensing laws so that bar owners cannot profit from forced prostitution of human trafficking victims.

Offering partnership with Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow, the Campaign urges Belize to avoid Tier 3 status, and its potential economic sanctions, by negotiating with the U.S. the ORT-recommended actions to address human trafficking

ORT has filed complaints with: the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States; and the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

ORT promotes traveling for a better world.

Belize Tourism Board Profits from Human Trafficking

The Belize Government and Belize Tourism Board requires that in all forms: Types of Business Subject to the Act Hotels and Resort Apartments, Condominiums, and Villas Guest houses, lodges, and Inns Community based tourist establishments Campsites Live-aboard vessels Religious, educational, and research facilities.

The “Sugar Daddy” Phenomenon Lands Belize on Human Trafficking Watch List, Again.That a tax is to be collected and paid on a monthly basis to the Belize Government Tax Department. With an estimated 20 million in total tax revenue coming in from tourism in 2009 the question remains why is Belize on the top of the US government TIP Report in Human Trafficking for 2010? Belize has income and revenue from Taxes, Oil and other resources. The 2010 US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is out, and again it places the country of Belize on the Tier 2 Watch List — the last before hitting the rock-bottom Tier 3 status — for a second consecutive year, alleging that the Government of Belize has not only failed to meet the minimum standards, but has, among other things, not landed a single conviction in 2009, despite existing cases of forced prostitution and forced labor, as well as the existence of child sex tourism as “an emerging trend in Belize.”

As suggested by Vivian Trill: “Increase efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses and convict and punish trafficking offenders, including any allegedly complicit public officials; increase law enforcement efforts against forced labor; continue to improve victim services and assistance; and increase penalties for sex trafficking crimes so they are commensurate with penalties for other grave crimes.” If the Belize Tourism Board took a more active role or even cared about Human Trafficking funds could be made available to individuals like Judith Alpuche for her work in this area in the Ministry. Admitting to the fact that Belize has done little to deal with human trafficking problems. Judith Alpuche, the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Human Development and chair of Belize’s anti-trafficking committee, told the Amandala that Belize is doing all it can and has made significant progress, though she concedes that indeed, there were no convictions in 2009. “We are doing the best we can,” Alpuche told us, noting that Belize has already made its position, that it rejects the ratings in the US TIP report, known to the US through their embassy here. The 2010 TIP Report says that Belizean authorities conducted five anti-trafficking raids over the course of the year, but turned up empty-handed. A practical conclusion would be to follow the guidelines of Vivian Trills Organization for Responsible Tourism and to attach the problem of Human Trafficking and Sex Tourism in Belize. If Tourism is one of the driving forces of demand for women then, The Belize Tourism Board has a requirement to become involved with this problem of Human Trafficking in Belize.

human- trafficking, world news, btb, belize tourism board, organization for responsible tourism, vivian trill, Judith Alpuche

Vivian Trill: Belize Hattieville Prison Profits from Human Trafficking

Belize Prison Profits from Human Trafficking

Belize’s Hattieville Central prison is where 400 human trafficking victims are sent each year. Usually, it’s for 90 days on remand for being an illegal without passport or other identification documents. This nets this foul and inhumane institution over $400,000 a year. They are paid by the Belize government for their services.

Trafficking victims have no identification. That’s how they are kept prisoner, usually by bar owners profiting from forced prostitution of victims. So they are easy prey for the immigration officials and police who regularly find them. Corrupt immigration officials are paid off to find these victims and ensure they wind up in Hattieville for the profit of the Kolbe Foundation, which runs the prison.

How the girls wind up in Hattieville: First, immigration or police who are on the take sweeps them up. The more prisoners the Kolbe Foundation gets for housing prisoners, the more the money they have to spread around. Some goes to the immigration staff, some to police and some to magistrates.

Here’s the scenario for a girl trafficking victim who’s been picked up.

These women have no legal representation, required by law in Belize, but rarely enforced for these girls – a violation of their human rights, but things are just getting started.

They have no one to help them and no one to call. They are simply left in the system by the ficha bar owners who can always get replacements – pretty well immediately. They don’t care.

At the hearing, the charges are read and if the woman pleads not guilty, the bail is set at $3,000 (Belize) – always the same amount. What the girls don’t know is: if they plead guilty the fine is only $500 (Belize) – which is absurd, bail is so much greater than the fine.

Needless to say, almost all the women cannot make bail. So they are sent to Hattieville Central Prison. The prison gets $1080 (Belize) for girls who are remanded to their “care” for 90 days. It’s in the Kolbe Foundation’s interest and everyone in the system that’s on the take to keep the easy marks – the human trafficking victims – steadily supplied to the prison.

The Foundation’s website depicts a picture perfect story of what appears a clean well-run facility with a number of remarkable programs and belief-based activities. However, Amnesty International and others have documented the human rights violations, including torture, which regularly takes place in Hattieville.

Former Belize Prime Minister Said Musa basically ran the prison from Belmopan while making his Kolbe Foundation cronies rich. One other crony, Michael Singh is still a Foundation board member.

Life in the hell of the ficha bar is still better than life in Hattieville. Even though a ficha bar trafficking victim can have forced sex with up to 15 men a night, it is still preferable to the life in Hattieville.

While the women in Hattieville are kept separate from the men, life is a living hell.

Women in their cellblock target attractive girls for sexual assaults. The guards are corrupt and without money you women sell them to survive or face rape or worse.

The food can best be described as leftovers of rice and chicken that could not be sold to humans. It is delivered by the Hattieville staff in a wheelbarrow and is dished out into whatever container a prisoner can find to hold food. Most have no containers so use their hands. That is the main meal of the day. The rest is milk and stale bread.

If a prisoner has money purchases can be made at the Hattieville store by paying a runner to fetch items. Even with money, prisoners are only allowed a limited number of items per week.

Prisoners have no access to the outside world, no phone calls, no lawyer, no family nothing but counting the days.

At nights they are locked down. Drugs flow freely from cell to cell using a string with a saved plastic container as the receptacle. Perhaps the keepers understand this is the only way women can survive.

Kolbe Foundation’s describes a number of programs for inmates. Those in on immigration charges are on remand where they are locked down for 23 hours a day in a concrete box. In some cases the box is shared by as many as ten other women, with no bathroom facilities — only a bucket. Prisoners are let out of their cage for 30 minutes a day to showers in salt water. The human trafficking victims are thrown together with women detained for everything from murder on down.

Women must concede to the fact that in order to survive they must submit to guards selling them for sex. If women don’t comply they are beaten and raped. Some small favorable treatments may come a prisoner’s way through co-operation.

When the 90 days are up, there is no court hearing. It is just lost in the legal process and forgotten about.

After release from prison, the women have two days to leave Belize. They have only the clothes on their backs when they leave Hattieville, their belongings long ago stolen by staff. With no money and no resources, many of the women wind up back in the ficha bars simply for survival. Many simply disappear once they leave the Hattieville gates.