BELMOPAN, Belize, May 29, CMC – The Belize government says it has requested a “full investigation” into reports that dangerous military ordinances are being removed by a private citizen from the Baldy Beacon area in the Cayo District, west of here.
A statement issued following the weekly Cabinet meeting did not name the “private citizen” but media reports over the alst few days have identified him as a former minister in the previous Unted Democratic Party (UDP) administration.
“ Belizeans are reminded that the Baldy Beacon area is restricted at times to enable military operations to be carried out,” the Cabinet statement said, adding that it had “requested a full investigation to ensure there is no further repeat of the incident”.
According to the media reports, the materials were part of an ongoing operation involving the destruction of unexploded ordnance recovered from across Belize following the deadly incident at the residence of businessman and former politician Dave Burgos.
The operation was being conducted by specialists from the Organization of American States (OAS) in collaboration with the BDF.
The media reported that approximately 90 per cent of the destruction process had already been completed when a fire broke out in the area and spread rapidly due to weather conditions, prompting emergency response efforts from the Belize Defence Force (BDF) and the Forestry Department.
The reports said that the situation escalated when BDF personnel allegedly discovered the former minister inside the restricted training area. Reports indicate that the former minister, enner, who is said to own property nearby, was allegedly attempting to remove charging wires and white phosphorus materials used in the controlled detonations.
CMC/ajir/ir/2026