Tonight - there is anxiety in the senior and lower ranks of the police department after reports emerged of a damning watchlist circulated by the US Department of Homeland Security.
7News has seen the document which names over 50 police officers of all ranks. It says they are suspected of money laundering, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and transnational crime. The listing is for 2017 and 2018, and it says that the watchlist has been sent to all entry points in the US. The names are broken down into high and medium priority. The majority of the names we saw are listed as high priority.

Now, as we said it includes senior police officers. How senior? Well we counted four assistant commissioners of police and five senior superintendents. This is in addition to at least 45 other officers of various ranks. And the heading to the list makes clear that it is not comprehensive, and it states that there are other "risks" within the department.

If authentic, it's a heavy blow to the credibility of the police department - because of the number of names, their seniority, and public prominence. CEO in the Ministry of Home Affairs George Lovell told us that he knows nothing about the list. He said he has heard of it - and even asked the commissioner of police who said he knows of no such list. Lovell said as far as he is concerned, there is no such list. He raised the possibility that it could be concocted and he would have to see it directly from the Americans. We'll keep following the story.

Channel 7

Alleged Homeland Security List Is Bogus

Last night our headline was about a sensational document - supposedly from the US Department of Homeland Security - which listed over 50 police officers who have been placed on a watchlist.

Yesterday - a source only showed us the list on a portable device - and gave us a few minutes to review it. Well tonight, we have the original Word document in our possession - and we can tell you that it is BOGUS.

That's right - the document appears to be a case of quite creative mischief. It has none of the elements of an official document - no signature, date or seal. And, because it is an open document, it can be manipulated to delete the Homeland Security logo header, or add any name you please. Definitely not official, and definitely very suspect.

The US Embassy today told us, quote, "These allegations are baseless and the Embassy has no knowledge of such a document. The United States and Belize share a strong partnership and will continue to collaborate on initiatives to strengthen our bilateral relations and enhance citizen security in Belize and the region." That's pretty much the same thing the CEO in the Ministry of Home Affairs told us yesterday - when we quoted him as saying that the document is not real.

And while this kind of mischief hardly merits analysis, from the looks of it, we would say it was generated within the police department by someone seeking to impugn the credibility of a wide cross section of officers.

Channel 7