Drug & Human Trafficking Belize not a Tourism Paradise A DEA map that came to our attention reveals San Pedro and other water-accessed locations in Belize are stopover depots for drugs, mostly cocaine, en route from South America to the US. What’s bad about the San Pedro situation is that ORT already red- flagged it for a concentration of bars featuring human trafficking victims. It’s important that travelers know there were 100 drug-related murders in Belize last year. We think travelers considering a holiday in... read full review »

With respect, I have followed the blog entry re “Appeal to Stop Human Trafficking in Belize.” First, thank you for taking the time to discuss this important issue of human trafficking victims forced into prostitution in Belize. The Organization for Responsible Tourism’s campaign is talking about young women who have been lured away from their homes outside of Belize and are now trapped in bars, many of them in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. To make a long story short, they are there because of a system of corruption, which... read full review »

INTRODUCTION The Organization for Responsible Tourism (ORT) issues this appeal to cruise lines bringing passengers to Belize, a superhighway for human trafficking. We are asking for your help in stopping human trafficking in Belize. In particular, we appeal to Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Lines, which bring a combined 700, 000 tourists to Belize annually. Cruise lines have a moral responsibility to help stop human trafficking in Belize. Each year thousands of human trafficking victims are transited through Belize via... read full review »

Most recently, she got busted for human trafficking when she was outed by an 18-year-old woman who claimed to police that Ms. Orella had press-ganged her to work as a waitress and have forced sex with male clients. Charged and released without bail, as above-noted. No notice of charges dropped, no notice of pending trial. It’s just disappeared as if it never happened Last May, a 15-year-old girl reported to police and a justice of the peace that someone known as Nancy from Santa Elena Town had recruited her as a domestic. Guess who... read full review »

We’ve pointed out to the American and Belize governments that 30 percent of US-bound Human trafficking victims get to the US via the Belize trafficking superhighway. We arrived at these numbers using recently released United Nations information and US Justice Department data. The most recent Justice Department numbers available are from 2003. The Attorney General’s annual report to congress on human trafficking no longer offers estimates of annual incoming victims to the US. Six years ago, they estimated as many as 17, 5000... read full review »

Our legal sources say Pitts rarely appears in the Supreme Court and no one could recall seeing him appear in the Court of Appeal. According to the Prime Minister of Belize, Pitts will be required to carry out the necessary police and judicial reform. The biggest surprise came in the appointment of Bernard Q Pitts as Belize Attorney General. Pitts, is an old adversary of the Prime Minister and during the disturbances of the Heads of Agreement he was expelled from the UDP Party for corruption. Pitts is an old man, out of touch with the... read full review »

Wanting a work visa so you can stay in Belize and start a business and not interested in the long interview process? And you’re not interested in dealing with the pesky paperwork required by immigration: purchase agreements; bank information; lease; and licenses etc? No patience for waiting the two months normally required by immigration for processing all this. Presto. With the Expeditor’s help, it takes one day, and a fee and you get a passport stamp indicating you have a one-year visa. Residency status can be granted... read full review »

July 10, 2010 -- Belize immigration staff regularly issue work visas to ficha bar owners for illegal residents trapped in ficha bars – specifically, human trafficking victims. It is estimated the Belize immigration department obtains remuneration from ficha bar owners for approximately 6, 600 human trafficking victims annually. Work visas cost bar owners $1, 500 (Belize) if they are issued by immigration for a human trafficking victim. By comparison, a legitimate visa has a price tag of $150 (Belize). The bar owners treat... read full review »

Organization for Responsible Tourism (ORT) has learned the Belize immigration department profits directly from human trafficking by extorting more than $1.3 million annually from San Pedro, Ambergris Caye bar owners, ORT President Vivian Trill today announced. The Town of San Pedro, with is unusually high concentration of ficha bars, is a major contributor to the nearly $10 million (Belize) the country’s immigration officials wrest from bar owners across the country. Ficha bars, which offer human trafficking victims forced into... read full review »