On June 15, 2026, law enforcement in San Pedro, Belize, announced an early breakthrough in its coordinated national campaign to remove unlicensed firearms from communities across the country. Two local residents are now in custody following a court-authorized search of a private residence on Ambergris Caye, carried out by specialized police intelligence and operations teams.
According to Assistant Superintendent Stacy Smith, Staff Officer for the San Pedro Police Department, acting on verified intelligence reports, officers served the search warrant at the pair’s home on Wednesday of this week. The operation yielded a Ruger 9mm pistol loaded with six live 9mm rounds of ammunition. Balbina Camara and Melissa Mendez, both residents of San Pedro Town, have since been formally arrested and jointly charged with two offenses: possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of unlicensed ammunition.
This latest seizure is part of a broader, sustained national crackdown launched by Belizean police to reduce the prevalence of illegal guns and curb rising gun-related violence across the nation. It also follows just two weeks after two separate anti-gun operations in Punta Gorda and Unitedville earlier this month that delivered their own successful results: six additional arrests, the seizure of two more unlicensed pistols, and the confiscation of dozens of rounds of unregistered ammunition.
This report is adapted from a transcript of an evening television newscast focused on local crime and public safety in Belize.