In a major cross-border law enforcement success announced Tuesday, a 14-year-old Guatemalan girl who endured more than 100 days of kidnapping captivity has been rescued in a coordinated police raid in southern Belize. The joint operation, carried out by regular Belizean police forces and the department’s special assignment tactical unit, targeted a remote farm in the Stann Creek District, just across the border from Guatemala.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith, a senior staff officer with the Belize Police Department, confirmed that the early-morning mission, codenamed Operation Safe Return, was launched after investigators received credible intelligence pinpointing the missing teen’s location. Smith noted that the rugged, challenging terrain of the targeted area led law enforcement to deploy specialized tactical operators to ensure the mission’s success and minimize risk to the captive.
The teenager was first reported missing in January 2026 from Guatemala’s northern Petén Department. When raiding the property, officers located the teen inside a private building on the farm behind San Roman Village, bringing her 100-day ordeal of unlawful confinement to an end. Smith confirmed that the teen was being held against her will, officially classifying the case as a kidnapping.
Despite the successful rescue, the operation did not end with the main suspect in custody. Police identified the primary person of interest as Jose Gilberto Duarte, who managed to evade capture during the raid and remains at large. Law enforcement teams have launched an active manhunt across the region to locate and apprehend the escaped suspect, with cross-border coordination between Guatemalan and Belizean authorities ongoing.
Full additional details on the case, including updates on the investigation and the teen’s current condition, will be released during the prime-time broadcast of News 5 Live at 6 p.m. local time the same day. The operation highlights the growing cooperation between Central American law enforcement agencies to combat cross-border crime and recover missing victims.