“The Dark Side of the Caribbean”

A detailed news article published by “El Pais” looks at the dark side of the Caribbean. Belize is featured in two aspects: Blue Creek, the powerful economic engine of the Mennonites and Don Luis, an immigrant who fled Belize to Mexico due to the drug trade, specifically cocaine.  Belize is a transit point for international drug traffickers and recently many drug planes have been found in Belize, burnt and destroyed.  The article describes La Unión as a spot known as the “white trail” for being one of the most popular spots in the region to bring in cocaine from the Caribbean to the United States. A portion of the article focuses on Blue Creek where several locals were spoken to. According to Rubén Fonseca, who was interviewed for the piece, the area has become active again with drug planes. It says that up to two planes have been seen refueling in just one day. Fonseca admits that it’s the perfect place for an operation that is done in just minutes. He says the pilot sends the coordinates, a crew lights up the runway with canisters and rags drenched in gasoline.  The plane lands, unloads and in no time, the goods are on the Mexican side of the border on their way to Escárcega and the Gulf of Mexico, one of the main transit points for drugs and migrants.