A quiet agricultural district in northern Belize is reeling from an unprecedented wave of violent crime this week, after two separate fatal robberies killed innocent residents within a 24-hour window, leaving tight-knit communities stunned and fearful of what may come next.
The first deadly attack unfolded off Santa Martha Road, where local law enforcement discovered the body of 70-year-old lifelong resident Francisco Perfecto Garcia, known affectionately to neighbors as “Sac Sac”, not far from his family farm. Garcia suffered multiple fatal chop wounds during what investigators have classified as a botched robbery.
Less than a day later, a second pre-planned attack claimed the life of a second local resident, this time targeting a pair of working delivery drivers. According to officials at Zeta Water, where 42-year-old victim Roberto Villafranco had worked for four years, the pair were lured to a remote location on Chan Pine Ridge Road by an unknown caller using a private phone number. The unlogged request for a water delivery was never processed through the company’s central system, because the call came through during the sales team’s lunch break when the work phone was left charging at the store.
When the two drivers arrived at the requested location, a masked gunman flagged them down using an empty five-gallon water bottle as a ruse, before opening fire. Felipe Vasquez, Villafranco’s 42-year-old coworker, managed to escape with a non-fatal gunshot wound and is currently receiving treatment at a local medical facility. Villafranco was shot inside the company delivery truck and pronounced dead at the scene.
What makes the attack even more senseless, Zeta Water officials say, is that delivery drivers carry almost no cash or valuables that would make them worthwhile targets for robbery. “Each five-gallon bottle sells for just three dollars, and the maximum a driver can collect on any route is $180 for a full 60-gallon load,” explained Eliezer Escalante, the company’s route supervisor. “That’s barely enough money to cover a week of groceries, yet a man lost his life over that. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Escalante, who was the first company official to arrive at the scene after receiving a panicked alert from witnesses, described the moment he arrived as surreal. “I felt disbelief. I just stood there blank, I couldn’t find any words to process what I was seeing. Roberto had been with us for four years — he was a humble, hardworking man who loved his job. He talked about staying with us for years to come. This shouldn’t have happened to him,” Escalante said.
For Orange Walk Town Mayor Ladrick Shepherd, the two killings hit particularly close to home. He had known Garcia for decades, from his early days working at the local BSI facility where Garcia was a senior colleague who offered guidance to the young new employee.
“These are two good, humble people who didn’t do anything to deserve this,” Shepherd said in an interview. “This is like a dark cloud hanging over Orange Walk these past few days. This is not what our district is like. This kind of back-to-back violence never happens here.”
As of Thursday evening, Belizean law enforcement had not announced any arrests in connection with either killing, and investigations are still ongoing. Shepherd has sought to reassure shaken residents that police are working around the clock to identify the perpetrators and prevent further violence.
But for the two grieving families, no reassurance can bring back their loved ones. Adin Garcia, the elderly victim’s son, told reporters that the family had just gathered to celebrate his father’s 70th birthday on April 18, spending a quiet day together by the river that the Garcia family loves. His only regret now is that no one thought to take photos of that final happy gathering — memories that will have to live only in their minds forever. As the community mourns, many are left asking the same terrifying question: who could be next?