US to Donate Air Asset to Assist with Intercepting Narco Trafficking Activity

Jermaine Burns

The guessing game in tracking illicit activity when it comes to drug plane landings is soon to be over. The Belize Defence Force will shortly acquire an air asset, by way of a donation from the United States government, to assist not only in the expansion of its air wing, but also the improvement of its capacity to detect illicit drug planes and deploy soldiers to those often hard to reach clandestine airstrips. Acting Chief of Lieutenant Colonel Jermaine Burns spoke on the donation of a Cessna caravan that will improve the force’s fixed wing capability.

Lt. Col. Jermaine Burns, Acting Chief of Staff, Belize Defence Force

“It’s a platform that will carry radar system, it will also carry operators on board and the pilots will be able to track illicit movement coming by form or air or sea in the country to be able to steer ground forces to those particular vicinities once the threat exists.  It will work hand-in-hand with the Joint Intelligence and Operations Center here. And so we hope that this bridges the gap that we now have to respond to the correct area because as it stands what we are doing is prepositioning forces across the country, it eats up a lot of our logistics and these guys have to be guessing and gaming with the transnational organized criminals. The platform is going to bridge that gap where we are going to know exactly where to send our troops and of course hopefully interdict or intercept before these guys move whatever illicit they are bringing into our country.”