Any Intervention for Incarcerated Gang Members?

Dozens of suspected gang members from Belize City are spending their sixth night behind bars at the Belize Central Prison after being detained under a recent State of Emergency. But what will happen to these individuals while they are locked up for the next twenty-four days? Will the Ministry of Home Affairs undertake any strategic interventions with them before they are released back into society? We asked Kareem Musa, the Minister of Home Affairs, when we caught up with him on Wednesday.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

Kareem Musa

“I know that last year we had done an intervention along with Mr. Dawson. And, I think that proved to be quite fruitful.  I will speak with our new director of the Leadership Intervention Unit; Ms. Noralez to see if we can get some sort of intervention or mediation back there before the expiration of the SOE. But at the end of the day, we can talk to them as much as they want. But, it is up to them to make the decision that they will put an end to this crime and violence. It’s all senseless, but it comes down to them. Do they really want to change?”

Paul Lopez

“So where does the work of the LIU currently stand in light of the instated SOE and many of these young men being placed behind bars?”

Kareem Musa

“The LIU work continues on a daily basis. In this particular instance, and we have not had a flare up like this in quite some time, but in this particular instance with this flare up, we had to hit the pause button. And so, in that process, you will determine whether or not some of these individuals want to continue on the right path and whether some of the other individuals want to go astray. And so, that is, that is all SOEs, but the work of the LIU continues. The next ninety-five percent of individuals who are not under this SOE, they’re a part of the program. The program is a success story.”