Jaguar Declared Extinct

What Next?

The much ballyhooed Operation Jaguar, launched in mid-May has now been officially declared extinct, even as the city descends once more into violent lawlessness and unchecked crime. Mr. Barrow lauded the initiative as his own, a bold move to put a stranglehold on crime and control the streets by sheer force and presence. But even as the leader of the nation patted himself on the back and preened in front of the cameras, logical minds maintained that Jaguar could be nothing more than a stopgap measure, a finger in a dyke with a thousand cracks. Political observers speculated that Jaguar was only so much dramatic posturing from the master of grand gestures, with no real substance behind it and no real plan to ensure efficiency and durability.

While the operation has for some time now shown signs of faltering badly, it was emphatically placed on the endangered species list with the broad daylight execution of Southside Gang leader Andre Trapp in front of the Court in downtown Belize City with heavy Police presence nearby. Since that time, the fragile seams of the operation have burst wide open, as the defanged Jaguar has been powerless against the spate of murders, shootings, robberies and other major crimes. In just the past week, two teenage girls have been murdered, one shot in the head and the other brutally killed and dumped; a popular cyclist was gunned down and another man lies in the hospital after being riddled by bullets. Gunshots are ringing out all over the city.

Belizeans quite justifiably are asking what next. Mr. Barrow spoke most forcefully about Jaguar, but now that the death knell has rung he has gone ominously silent. The leader of the nation has made no public statement to reassure citizens that there is some concrete plan in place to stave off this surge of criminal violence. Just as he patted himself on the back for Operation Jaguar, Mr. Barrow is now lauding the so-called Operation Restore Belize, which so far has shown itself to be nothing more than a well-written, brilliantly worded intellectual exercise.

And even as blood is running in the streets and business owners are declaring that they cannot wait for Mr. Barrow to get serious but must take steps to ensure their own protection, the public is bombarded with ads promoting Restore Belize, created by the Government’s Press Office at taxpayer expense, of course. Perhaps these ads are designed to offer some sort of hope or comfort, but there is none of either as gunshots ring out all over the city and residents become prisoners in their homes once more.

Mr. Barrow must provide Belizeans with some real relief sooner rather than later. His record has shown that his eloquence is exceeded only by the lack of substance enshrined in his offerings. Operation Jaguar is no more. Operation Restore seems nothing more than a public relations exercise and Belizeans once more have been left without real hope in a city paralyzed by crime and violence.

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