ORT Escalates Belize Tourism Boycott Charging Drug Trafficking

Part of the two-stage process that sends drugs, mostly cocaine, to the US, San Pedro, Ambergris Caye welcomed 257 drug boats last year to its island landings. The island and the Town of San Pedro, which are not limited to freight port status on the US-bound drug routes from South America, experiences dangerous spillover of the trade into its community.

"ORT condemns in the strongest possible terms the danger to local residents and tourists resulting from drug-related crime in San Pedro," said Trill. "We are expanding our Belize tourism boycott to include an anti-drug trafficking awareness drive, complementing our founding anti-human trafficking cause. We feel responsible tourists want to know that Belize, and in particular San Pedro, are dangerous double offenders."

The actions of the San Pedro Anti-Drugs Unit do not follow accepted police protocol. Last year the unit, claiming information from a local resident, were tipped off to a 25-kilogram cocaine find with a street value of $500,000 (Belize). Five men were killed in the aftermath; the drugs disappeared along with the money. There has been no follow-up investigation of the drug and money disappearances.

Further spillover of drug-related crime into the San Pedro area involved torture, gunfire and murder for small time operators who got caught by higher-level dealers. To-date, there are no arrests and no convictions related to this case.

Previously red-flagged as tourism no-go human trafficking zone under the ORT Belize tourism boycott, San Pedro Ambergris Caye is a concentration zone of ficha bars that offer human trafficking victims in forced prostitution. The Town of San Pedro, population 12,000, supports 90 ficha bars and is a Central American human trafficking hub.

"The ORT is renewed in its resolve, urging tourist to boycott Belize for its indifference to the pain of human trafficking victims and its role as a port-of-call for US-bound drugs."

ORT promotes traveling for a better world.