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For 20 years, Aaron Castillo has been more than just a vendor at Belize City’s Michael Finnegan Market — he has been an institution. When the space that now houses Jun’s Meat Shop was nothing more than an unused, undersized plot originally earmarked for a fish market that never materialized, Castillo poured his own money into expanding it into the thriving stall it is today. Generations of local shoppers have relied on his business for meat products, and through decades of growth, Castillo has stood by the market as it evolved into the busy community hub it is in 2026.

That longstanding connection was abruptly severed earlier this month, when Belize City Council enforcement officers changed the locks on Castillo’s two connected booths without prior warning, barring him from his business. The lockout came just one day after the council issued an immediate vacate order, a move that has left the 20-year veteran vendor furious and fighting to get his livelihood back.

Castillo acknowledges that he has not fully paid the 2026 trade license fees required to operate his business, but he argues that the council violated a prior agreement that allowed him to pay off the outstanding balance through a court-approved payment plan. He has produced receipts proving he made ongoing installment payments through July 2026, and says he continued meeting his payment obligations even as the council moved forward with the lockout. With the new school year just starting in Belize, Castillo says the sudden shutdown has stripped him of the income he relies on to support his family and cover basic living expenses, calling the council’s actions unfair and unnecessary.

“I built this place. That spot was nothing before I took it over,” Castillo told reporters. “They come in by force and locked me out with no warning, when I was still holding up my end of the agreement to pay what I owe. This takes food right out of my mouth with school starting right now. This isn’t fair, and I’m calling on the government to step in and fix this.”

The Belize City Council says the lockout is not a personal targeting of Castillo, but part of a wider city-wide crackdown on unlicensed business operations. Council officials confirmed that Castillo is one of 39 vendors across the city that have received stop orders this cycle for operating without valid 2026 trade licenses.

Jermaine Hyde, municipal court manager for the Belize City Council, explained that while Castillo did make a partial payment toward his 2026-2027 license, the payment did not cover the full outstanding balance, and no complete active license application is currently on file with the city’s Trade License Board. Hyde argued that treating Castillo differently because of his long tenure at the market would be unfair to the hundreds of other compliant business owners across Belize City who have already paid their full license fees to operate.

“We understand he has been here for decades, and we recognize his history at the market,” Hyde said. “But he has operated long enough to know the rules and requirements to do business here. It would not be fair to every other business that complied with the rules and paid what they owed to make an exception for one vendor. The Trade License Board meets every three months to review applications and compliance issues, so there have been multiple opportunities for him to resolve this.”

The lockout has sparked local debate over how municipal governments balance enforcement of regulatory rules with flexibility for longstanding small business owners who have contributed to the growth of public markets. For Castillo, the immediate concern is regaining access to the business he built from scratch, before the financial impact of the shutdown becomes irreversible.

As a small Central American nation renowned for its Caribbean coastlines, ancient Mayan ruins and biodiverse rainforests, Belize has long carved out a niche as a premium travel destination — but that reputation for high-end travel has come with a catch: the country is already widely recognized as one of the more expensive vacation spots in the region. Now, a new policy implemented in early August 2026 is adding fresh uncertainty to Belize’s $1.8 billion tourism industry, which accounts for nearly 40% of the country’s gross domestic product and supports tens of thousands of local jobs.

The Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA), the leading advocacy group for the country’s travel and hospitality sector, has launched a public campaign opposing the newly introduced $10 per-flight aviation security fee, arguing the new charge will erode the nation’s ability to compete with neighboring travel destinations that already offer comparable experiences at lower price points.

In an official statement following the policy’s rollout, BTIA President Efren Perez stressed that any new cost added to travel at this moment poses an outsized threat to Belize’s tourism market. “I have to make it very clear that the BTIA is completely against any increases at this time, be it through taxes or this fee,” Perez said. “The reason for that is because Belize is relatively considered as a high priced destination. If you are looking at air fares coming from the U.S. market, it is not a cheap airfare you will get in most instances. So adding a ten dollars might seem like just ten dollars. But if you are looking at a family coming in, five, six people and on every leg they are paying that ten dollars it does accumulate.”

Beyond the impact on international tourists, Perez also highlighted that the new fee hits local residents just as hard. Domestic air travel is no longer a discretionary luxury for most Belizeans, he explained, noting that many locals rely on domestic flights to access remote communities, reach medical facilities, or travel for work. Like international visitors, local travelers are extremely price-sensitive, and the new added cost will strain household budgets across the country. Perez also pointed out that neighboring Mexico draws millions of international tourists each year by offering similar coastal, cultural and adventure experiences at a far lower total cost than Belize, making any price increase for Belize-based travel a dangerous competitive disadvantage.

Industry analysts note that Belize’s tourism sector has only recently fully recovered from the massive disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, when international border closures saw tourist arrivals plummet by more than 90% in 2020. With rising global inflation already putting pressure on travel budgets worldwide, the new fee could lead to potential visitors choosing cheaper regional alternatives over Belize, creating ripple effects across hotels, tour operators, local restaurants and small businesses that depend on tourism revenue. As of late August 2026, the Belizean government has not yet issued a formal response to the BTIA’s opposition to the new aviation security fee.

A renewed push to raise Belize’s hotel occupancy tax has reignited widespread anxiety across the country’s key tourism sector, with industry leaders pushing back hard against the plan that they warn would threaten the fragile recovery of the nation’s top economic driver.

The proposal under debate would lift the current 9% hotel tax to 12.5%, a move that industry representatives argue delivers unnecessary risk at a moment when global travel markets are already under cost pressure. Efren Perez, president of the Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA), has emerged as the leading voice opposing the increase, saying that government leaders are taking the easiest rather than the most responsible path to boost public revenue.

Instead of raising taxes on tourism, Perez argues that the government could secure additional funding by cutting wasteful public spending and closing long-standing gaps that allow public funds to leak through unregulated or poorly managed expenditure channels. He notes that the BTIA does not dispute that the government requires additional operating revenue, but rejects framing tourism as an easy target for incremental tax increases.

Perez outlined the far-reaching ripple effects that a tax hike would trigger beyond just hotel owners, explaining that higher room rates would make Belize less competitive against competing global travel destinations that are currently cutting prices to attract visitors. Fewer inbound travelers would translate to lower occupancy, reduced operating revenue for hotels, and subsequent job losses for low-wage workers whose livelihoods depend on tourism. He specifically highlighted the risk to housekeeping staff, who rely on steady visitor numbers to maintain employment and support their families, as well as local agricultural producers that supply fresh produce and other goods to hotels across the country.

“ There are a lot of loopholes in the government system, especially when it comes to expenditure. This year alone, reports of unaddressed waste and mismanagement have surfaced across multiple public sectors, ” Perez said in his remarks.

If the government ultimately moves forward with the tax increase despite industry opposition, Perez confirmed that the BTIA will push for a policy mandate requiring that 2% of the new tax revenue be allocated to a dedicated climate adaptation fund, which would support tourism infrastructure projects designed to address the impacts of climate change on Belize’s coastal and natural attractions.

This report is a transcript of a televised evening newscast, with all Kriol-language statements transcribed using a standardized spelling system.