SAN PEDRO TOWN, BELIZE – A violent confrontation linked to narcotics trafficking has claimed three lives in a targeted shooting incident south of San Pedro Town. The Belize Police Department has identified the deadly attack as part of an escalating territorial dispute between rival drug factions operating on the island.
Law enforcement authorities responded to distress calls shortly before 10:00 PM on Thursday evening at a residential property in the Mosquito Coast sector. Upon arrival at the elevated wooden structure, officers discovered two male victims with fatal gunshot wounds: 29-year-old fisherman Karim Nazim Espat and 35-year-old carpenter Oscar Modesto Mas.
A third victim, 21-year-old Honduran national Yerlin Marisol Bueso Alvarez, was transported to San Pedro Polyclinic with critical injuries but succumbed to her wounds approximately two hours after the attack. Investigators confirmed that Espat’s wife, who was present during the assault, managed to escape physically unharmed.
According to police reconstruction, three assailants wearing hooded jackets approached the property before one entered the dwelling and initiated gunfire. Crime scene technicians recovered ballistic evidence including multiple 9mm shell casings and twelve-gauge shotgun cartridges.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero disclosed that Espat had been previously known to law enforcement and was likely the primary target. “This tragedy represents the latest escalation in an ongoing narcotics-related rivalry between organized groups in San Pedro,” Romero stated during a press briefing. “We have already detained multiple suspects from a competing faction.”
The Police Department has deployed additional resources including the Major Crimes Unit and reinforced patrols throughout the island to prevent retaliatory violence. Authorities have urged community members to cooperate with investigators while maintaining heightened security vigilance.