After weeks of uncertainty, construction on the new Caye Caulker Police Station resumed during the week of May 11th. Islanders, along with the village council, had protested after work at the beachfront property was paused amid rumors that the land had been sold. While the property remains under the control of the Belize Police Department, the council has been requesting its transfer to them.
The Caye Caulker Village Council (CCVC) also noted that they were not properly informed about the construction timeline and were concerned over the uncertainty surrounding the possible sale of the property. CCVC Chairlady Seleny Villanueva-Pott said they were left in the dark and only wanted to be engaged in the process.
Belize Rural South (Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye) Area Representative, Honorable Andre Perez, refuted those claims and said the delay was related to logistics, as the contractor had mobilized equipment and workers to the mainland. Perez explained that the contractor was planning to return to Caye Caulker. He confirmed that an offer had been made to purchase the property, but the government did not proceed with the deal because it respected the wishes of the Hicaqueños, who want the police station built on the property. Regarding the request to transfer the land to the CCVC, Perez told the media that it is not feasible at this time.
Perez explained that because the construction of the new police station is being funded through financing secured from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the project must remain under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which oversees the police department, or the Government of Belize. “If we did not place that in the hands of the police, that project would not have materialized,” Perez said. “The project is happening and is there to stay for the community in the form of a police station,” Perez added that the will of the people was respected and that the police station will be built at its original location.
The official contract for the new police station in Caye Caulker was signed on January 13, 2026. The CABEI-funded project is valued at BZ$1.54 million. In the meantime, the Caye Caulker Police Formation is operating from a temporary base in the southern area of the island known as Bahia.