A key leadership transition is underway at Belize’s only maximum-security correctional facility, the Belize Central Prison, as the Board of Directors of the Kolbe Foundation — the non-profit organization that manages the institution — has appointed George Gomez as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Gomez takes over the role from outgoing CEO Virgilio Murillo, who has dedicated 24 years of his career to transforming the country’s correctional system. In his first public remarks following the appointment, Gomez reaffirmed his commitment to steady, forward-looking leadership at the facility. He highlighted that his top priorities will be collaborating closely with the prison’s entire staff team and expanding evidence-based rehabilitation programming that supports incarcerated people to build stable, law-abiding lives after their release.
Both Belize’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Enterprise and the Kolbe Foundation Board issued public statements praising Murillo’s decades of exceptional service. Under his transformative leadership, the Belize Central Prison shifted dramatically from its historical focus on purely punitive incarceration to align fully with the Kolbe Foundation’s core mission and vision of restorative justice. Murillo championed the expansion of accessible education, accredited vocational training, and mental health counseling programs, all designed to cut recidivism rates and give inmates the tools they need to successfully reintegrate into local communities post-release.
Far from stepping away entirely from the institution, Murillo will stay connected to the Kolbe Foundation as a Special Advisor to the Board of Directors, bringing his decades of institutional knowledge to support Gomez and the leadership team during the transition.
This report is adapted from a transcribed evening television news broadcast, with all Kriol-language commentary rendered using a standardized spelling system for the online publication.