An estimated 900 to 1,400 people in Belize were part of street gangs as of 2019, with some three dozen gangs active in the country. These gangs were formed in the 1980s in Southside Belize City, as offshoots of the American Bloods and Crips gangs. Most gangs in Belize remain based in the Southside, and retain at least loose affiliation with Bloods or Crips. They are widely deemed primarily responsible for sustained waves of violent, gun, and organised crime in the country since the 1990s, still unabated as of today (the 2020s).
In the 1960s, the economic devastation wrought by Hurricane Hattie (especially in Belize City) prompted scores of Belizeans to emigrate to America, resulting in a sizeable overseas diaspora (especially in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York). [n 1] Belizean emigrants to LA were there embraced by the budding Bloods and Crips street gangs, and subsequently spread them to Belize during holidays back home, or upon their deportation. [n 2]
Locals promptly took to the novel American gangs, ostensibly due to media influence. [1] The local 1970s premiere of The Wild Bunch , for instance, was credited as Belize's "first exposure to criminal street gang activities" by Home Affairs personnel. [2] A group of impressionable youths allegedly began "cop[ying] the behaviour [they had] seen in the movie", dubbing themselves the Wild Bunch. [n 3] The 1980s introduction of television (especially American programming) and premiere of Colors are also cited as inspiring locals to embrace street gangs. [n 4]
In addition to priming via media, the rise of gangs is further attributed to increased arrivals of US deportees from LA, and US-instigated eradication of cannabis farms, both in the 1980s. [n 5] The deportee-gang members founded the country's first Bloods ( George Street ) and Crips ( Majestic Alley ) gangs, while the eradication programme forced a switch to imported cocaine. [n 6] As a result, by the late 1980s and early 1990s the said street gangs were well-established, with "youths claiming to be members of the Crips and the Bloods [and] fighting over colours and turf". [n 7]
Initially, the official line by authorities was dismissive, claiming self-identified Bloods and Crips were "not real gang members, but only [people who] use the name". [3] As gang violence became more violent and visible, however, police (and even soldiers) were forced to act despite this official denialism. [4] The 1990 muggings and beatings of school children who had failed to pay protection money, for instance, prompted increased patrols and periodic sweeps, though these provided only brief respite, with said sweeps (like Operation Thunder) being "from a civil rights standpoint, highly questionable". [n 8] Similarly, the 1991 drive-by shooting and murder of a student (alleged Crip) at Excelsior High in Port Loyola (in addition to a string of other notorious crimes) prompted a joint BPD-BDF operation "to take back the city streets" (the country's first deployment of military for domestic law enforcement) and a commission of inquiry (the Crimes Commission). [n 9]
The "most visible initial event" portending the coming gang warfare came in 1992, with the murder of Derek Itza Brown (Crips leader) at the National Stadium in Belize City, and retaliatory murder of Lyndon Tunan Arnold (Bloods leader) in New York City. [5] The ensuing violence spurred a quick about-face by authorities, prompting the country's earliest parliamentary response to gangs (Crime Control & Criminal Justice Act 1992) and first gang truce (1995 Bird's Isle agreement). [n 10]
By the 2000s, efforts in Colombia and elsewhere had largely succeeded in blocking maritime cocaine traffic through the Caribbean Sea, leaving Central America (including Belize) as the only viable route to the US. [n 11] Gang activity in Belize thus ramped up, and grew even more visible and violent. [n 12] For instance, 2008 alone saw both the Putt Putt mass shooting (most casualties) and Mayflower grenade attack (first such). By 2009, the country's murder rate had doubled from the already-dizzying 16 per 100,000 rate in 2000. [6]
The worsening situation in the 2000s now necessitated serious, concerted effort by authorities. [n 13] Various attempts were then made to understand and address the problem of gang violence, including studies (Crooks, Gayle), preventative and rehabilitative programmes (Kolbe, Youth Cadets, YFF, CYDP, RESTORE Belize), policing reforms and operations (various), and parliamentary, judicial, and governmental measures (various). [7] Nevertheless, the spiralling crime wave continued into the 2010s and 2020s unabated, despite several attempts to address it, including three further gang truces. [8] By 2023, "comprehensive and long-term intervention continue[d] to elude public and private efforts". [9]
The earliest "gangs" (like the Wild Bunch) were small crews or posses of mostly lower and working class Creole baseboys who appropriated bases (street corners, alleyways, playgrounds) in Belize City for the sale or use of ganja (cannabis) and for petty crime. [n 14]
With the arrival of the Bloods and Crips, these disparate crews were purportedly coopted and consolidated into two large gangs, now properly street gangs composed of wanna-bes (baseboys) and true gang-bangers (experienced gang members). [10] By the early 1990s, these street gangs were seemingly being coopted by foreign drug traffickers to facilitate cocaine transshipment to America in exchange for arms (short arms and high-powered rifles) and a portion of the cargo (for local production, sale, and use of crack-cocaine). [n 15] They were also engaging in extortion, for instance, by demanding protection money from locals, including school children. [n 16] Further activities included assaults, robberies, kidnappings, stabbings, shootings, homicides. [11] There have even been allegations of gangs doing the illicit bidding of local corrupt politicians. [n 17]
When the first street gangs began to splinter, the offshoots originally retained strong allegiances to (and so strong rivalries with) Bloods or Crips. By the turn of the century, however, gang fragmentation accelerated, and rivalries no longer seemed to follow the old Bloods versus Crips line. [n 18] And so "a new generation of gangs emerged" in the 2000s which were neither (or only nominally) Bloods or Crips. [12] By the 2010s, the new gangs "look[ed] less to US gangsta iconography and more to Jamaican rude boy identities and music". [13]
Poor, urban, six to twenty-four year old boys not in schooling nor employment are thought to form gangs' core recruits. [14] These boys are especially found in Southside Belize City. [15] Their vulnerability to existing gang violence, poverty, and romanticisation of gangs, in addition to poor deterrence by authorities, have been cited as the primary reasons why youth join gangs, with the Gayle Report finding "boys join gangs because of the failings of the state and civil society". [16] Thus, gangs remain (in fact and fiction) these boys' only recourse for much-needed safety and welfare. [17]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, street gangs were a mix of inexperienced wanna-bes and experienced gang-bangers. [18] The former were mostly lower and working class Creole boys, aged twelve to early twenties, many with no or little secondary schooling, and with emigrant parents. [19] In 1989, one scholar estimated Bloods at some 300 and Crips at some 1,000 members, though the official Home Affairs estimate at the time was circa 75 members total. [n 19]
In the 2000s, official (Home Affairs) estimates found street gangs averaged 10 to 15 members, were concentrated in Southside Belize City, and were deemed responsible for a majority of the country's shootings and gun homicides. [20] Their members were predominantly 14 to 30 year old males, mostly from underprivileged or dysfunctional homes, with some being deportees themselves or else influenced by deportees. [21] Also, "limited numbers" of Mestizos were found to be associated with MS 13 or 18th Street. [22] The Gayle Report found gangs were predominantly present in Southside, with their ethnic makeup fairly reflecting that of the area (three-quarters Creole or Garifuna, and a quarter Mestizo, East Indian, or Maya). [23] They further found most members were not employable, had relatives in gangs, and could be classed into shottas or greens or soldiers (inexperienced members in their teens or 20s) and dons or bosses or generals (experienced members in their 30s or older). [24] They conservatively estimated the tally of gangs at "just under 30", with 10 to 30 "hard core members" each. [25]
Today (2020s), there are an estimated 900 to 1,400 gang members across some three dozen gangs, nearly all in Southside. [26] A 2023 snowball sample study found gang members were disproportionately school drop outs (despite overwhelmingly positive views towards education), were parents with generally positive views on the importance of parenting, had accumulated relatively little material wealth, and felt unjustly treated by law enforcement and the judiciary (but nonetheless viewed the institutions themselves as necessary for society). [27]
The most immediate effect of gang activity has been an unabated boom in violent crime, which has surpassed levels deemed epidemic by WHO. [n 20] Further notable impacts include a similarly unrelenting wave of organised crime, the corrosion of social and state institutions, negative health and education outcomes, and economic losses, among others. [28]
Scholarly attention to Belizean gangs has been relatively sparse (compared to Jamaican, Mexican, and Northern Triangle groups), but has nonetheless picked up since the 2010s. [29] The 2010 Gayle Report, by anthropologist Herbert Gayle, is deemed the earliest study to be based on primary data from gang members themselves, followed by a 2016 book (Like Bush Fire) based on the report, and a 2019 paper by ethnographer Adam Baird for Men and Masculinities . [30]
In popular culture, Belizean gangs were first brought to widespread attention by Ross Kemp in a 2008 episode of Ross Kemp on Gangs . [31] California Assemblyman Tom Hayden had earlier brought them to LA's attention in a 1995 article for the LA Times . [32]
| Date | Place | P [i] | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 May 2021 | Belize City | Yes | Gerald Tillett Jr (17; high-profile George Street member) shot and killed, allegedly by Taylor's Alley. | [33] |
| 1 Jan 2021 | Belmopan | No | Gang Intelligence, Investigation & Interdiction Unit (GI3) succeed GSU. | [34] |
| 19 Dec 2020 | Belize City | Yes | Terrence Rhaburn (30) killed (and four others injured) in drive-by shooting of mechanic shop (for youth escaping gang life) on Partridge Street Extension. | [35] |
| Apr 2017 | Belize City | No | Gang truce signed (plus joint police-gang March for Peace on 12 April). | [36] |
| 16 Apr 2016 | Dangriga, Stann Creek | Yes | Gerald Shiny Tillett Sr (37; George Street leader) killed on Mangrove and St Vincent Streets. | [37] |
| Apr 2014 | Belize City | No | Gang truce signed. | [38] |
| 8 Jan 2013 | Belize City | Yes | Four alleged George Street members murdered by throat slashing on Dean and Plues Streets, allegedly by GSU. | [39] |
| 22 Apr 2012 | Belize City | Yes | Arthur Young (38; Taylor's Alley leader) shot and killed by police on Northern Highway. | [40] |
| 20 Apr 2012 | Belize City | Yes | Sheldon Pinky Tillett (31; George Street leader) shot and killed on Northern Highway, allegedly by Taylor's Alley. | [41] |
| 4 Sep 2011 | Belize City | No | Gang truce signed. | [42] |
| 26 Aug 2011 | Belize City | Yes | GSU allegedly brutalise attendees at a George Street funeral. | [43] |
| 18 Jul 2010 | Hattieville, Belize | Yes | Giovanni Nose Lauriano (33; high-ranking Brick City member) killed, allegedly by George Street. | [44] |
| 10 Jun 2010 | Belize City | Yes | Andre Dre Trapp (24; alleged Southside leader) shot and killed near Supreme Court on Regent Street, allegedly by George Street. | [45] |
| 8 Apr 2010 | Belize City | Yes | Ervin Beans James (22; Ghost Town member) shot and killed on Ross Penn Road, allegedly by George Street. | [46] |
| Apr 2010 | Belmopan | No | GSU founded. | [47] |
| Jun 2008 | Belize City | No | National Commission for Families and Children (and others) commission Gayle Report (presented October 2010). | [48] |
| 18 May 2008 | Belize City | Yes | Mayflower grenade attack on Mayflower & Vernon Streets. | [49] |
| Apr 2008 | Belmopan | No | Home Affairs commission Crooks Report (presented November 2008). | [50] |
| 9 Feb 2008 | Belize City | Yes | Putt Putt shootings on Princess Margaret Drive, Belcan Bridge, Raccoon Street Extension. | — |
| 27 Aug 2007 | Belize City | Yes | George Junie Balls McKenzie Jr (33; Majestic Alley leader) murdered by lone gunman on North Front Street, allegedly by Jungle, and allegedly with police aid. | [51] |
| Nov 2002 | Hattieville, Belize | No | Kolbe Foundation (Kolbe; local charity) approved to run Central Prison (on Burrell Boom Road). | [52] |
| 28 Jan 2000 | Belize City | Yes | Anthony Trigger Adderley (27; Crips leader) murdered on Western Highway. | [53] |
| Nov 1999 | Belmopan | No | National Youth Cadet Service Corps (Youth Cadets) founded. | [54] |
| 1995 | Belmopan | No | Conscious Youth Development Programme (CYPD) founded. | [55] |
| 18 Feb 1995 | Belize City | No | Gang truce (Bird's Isle agreement) signed at Bird's Isle. | [56] |
| 1993 | Belize City | No | Central Prison (on Goal & Gabourel Lanes) relocated to Hattieville, Belize (on Burrell Boom Road) due to severe overpopulation. | [57] |
| 1992 | Belmopan | No | Crime Control & Criminal Justice Act passed (per Crimes Commission report). | [58] |
| 14 Jun 1992 | New York City, US | Yes | Lyndon Tunan Arnold (24; Bloods leader) murdered on Buffalo Avenue, allegedly by Crips. | [59] |
| 1992 | Belize City | Yes | Derek Itza Brown (Crips leader) murdered at National Stadium, allegedly by Bloods. | [60] |
| Sep 1991 | Belmopan | No | Crimes Commission appointed (report presented early 1992). | [61] |
| 1991 | Belize City | No | Joint BPD-BDF operation "to take back the city streets". | [62] |
| 1991 | Belize City | Yes | Excelsior High (on Fabers Road) student (Crips member) killed in drive-by shooting by lone cyclist. | [63] |
| 1990 | Belize City | Yes | "Many students commuting to schools" mugged or beaten by gang members. | [18] |
| 1980s | Belize City | No | Bloods and Crips form in Southside. | [64] |
| 1960s | Los Angeles, US | No | Bloods and Crips form in South Central. | — |
The accent, the jargon, the mixture of bravado and nihilism, the talk of gangs, street fights, drugs and muggings [of/by Big Russian, LA deportee and local Bloods member] -- all recalled the mean streets and troubled neighborhoods of Los Angeles. But the scene was this sleepy Caribbean port city [Belize City] in a country that has been a bastion of tranquility through years of war, economic dislocation and social unrest in the rest of Central America. "Bloods," "Crips" and crack cocaine have come to Belize, and authorities seem powerless to do much about it.
While Belize exports people to Los Angeles, it imports Bloods and Crips. Some Belizeans become gang members in Los Angeles, then return home in their new colors. They become a new "family" option for many street youth whose parents have gone to Southern California. Some act as couriers for cocaine flown from Colombia to Los Angeles. Crack cocaine addiction is prevalent for the first time. Guns are shipped from Los Angeles to the streets of Belize City. Shootouts and funerals follow, unprecedented in Belizean history.
— Tom Hayden, CA State Senator, in 1995, Hay
I had my aunty here [...] in Majestic Alley. First we were selling weed; crack-cocaine hadn't even touched Belize. I started selling and just hustling, whatever, just to make a buck. There weren't gangs then, just guys who hung out and tried to hustle. There weren't really any guns; we used to chase our enemies with stick and machete [...] Only the big people would have guns. The cocaine came in [about 19]85. [...] Then men came to trade guns for crack, guns for weed. [...] My friend started acting [like a] real gangster, the way America does it. He's the one that decided that Majestic Alley would be blue [Crips], and anything over the Swing Bridge [would be] red [Bloods] in [19]87–88. We used to fight at the local disco; if you [were] from over the bridge, we'd pick a fight with you, with knife and machete. They were serious fights, but not really with guns.
— Angel (first local Crips leader; deported from LA in 1981), Bro, p. 388