Operation Jaguar Kicks Off…

Carlos Kicked Out?

The Belize Times has received very credible reports that embattled and battered Minister of National Security Carlos Perdomo will be relieved of his portfolio in the very near future. Those reports have been made even more credible by the very conspicuous absence of Perdomo in Operation Jaguar, which was launched on Monday, May 17. An official release stated that the operation was launched at the direction of the Chairman of the National Security Council, Prime Minister Dean Barrow. There was no mention of Minister of National Security Minister Carlos Perdomo.

According to the release, “the Operation, which will be conducted for a sustained period of time, will target high crime areas in Belize City and is intended to provide safety and security for residents in these areas and restore public confidence in the Government’s anti-crime efforts. It is expected that this Operation will be successful in identifying and disrupting gang activity that is primarily responsible for the violence in the city.” Observers have stated, however, that such an operation cannot possible be maintained for any meaningful period of time, and since it does not carry with it any social component, will do little to deal with the causes of crime and will deter crime to some extent only as long as it is maintained.

While there are Belizeans who will be happy to see anything being done rather than nothing at all, those same Belizeans realize that the Prime Minister of Belize has become well known for showy gestures which in the end mean nothing at all. Those Belizeans well remember the Prime Minister's last press conference, when he revealed to a grateful nation that there would be no more blatant robberies because through sheer brilliance they had cracked a crime ring and business owners could sleep easy. What a joke that turned out to be. The conference was bogus, there was no such crime ring to speak of and business owners continue to be the victims of rampant violence. Despite the fact that he stole the limelight to make the bogus proclamation, when the truth was revealed Mr. Barrow was nowhere to be found.

And Belizeans are well aware that for more than two years, Mr. Barrow's administration attempted to fool the people into believing that crime was actually going down, despite the evidence to the contrary. In fact, up to last week the top cop appointed by Mr. Barrow himself tried to tell Belizeans that crime had gone down by an astounding 30%, even when everybody knew better. It was only in the face of a tremendous public outcry that last week Mr. Barrow FINALLY decided to concede that crime had reached 'crisis proportions' and that the public had lost all confidence and faith in the Police. Even then Mr. Barrow attempted to deflect blame onto the Police Department and did not concede that people have also lost faith in his government and his National Security minister who is responsible for drafting the policies guiding the Police Department.

Operation Jaguar is nothing more than a band-aid measure, a finger stuck in a dam with 1000 leaks. While the military rules the streets of the city some criminals will go to ground and others will take their violence to the districts. But what happens in a week or two when government can no longer sustain the operation? It is no secret that the government is broke and does not have the resources to run Operation jaguar indefinitely. Operation Jaguar is nothing more than the brainchild of a man who has no other ideas and no vision; the same man who would not meet with cane-farmers in Orange Walk to resolve an issue, but instead ordered the Police to use all force necessary. Look how that turned out. The pity is that we all will be the losers when the operation folds, violence once again overtakes the streets and the government is still devoid of a plan.

And on the future of Minister of National Security Carlos Perdomo – the Belize Times has received word from several sources that the Prime Minister is looking to bring former Prime Minister Sir Manuel Esquivel back into the fold to head up that portfolio. We'll keep you updated on any developments.

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Source: The Belize Times