Leaked video shows Budna’s abduction and confirms elements of his narrative.
Thirteen days later, PM still awaiting police report which he says will guide any order for an independent investigation.
BELIZE CITY, Thursday, September 4, 2025
  Perhaps as expected, it did not take long for Belizean self-styled freelance reporter 45-year-old Joseph Ryan Budna to get word out – from confinement in Guatemalan detention – that he had been kidnapped by elements of the Belize Police Department. He was abducted a stones’ throw away from the Orange Walk Police station at around 9:00 p.m. on Friday, August 22, and hours later, he was apprehended by Guatemalan police in the Guatemalan community of El Arenal.
  Just after 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 23, the first media report emerged from Guatemala that he was in the custody of Guatemalan police. By Sunday morning, a brief audio recording from Budna himself began circulating. A Belizean had recorded him at the clinic in Melchor where Guatemalan police had taken him for treatment of injuries which they made clear were not inflicted by them. Budna recounted that masked policemen beat him with batons, handcuffed him and taped his mouth before throwing him into a sky blue SUV and transporting him to Arenal. By Monday, he had released a more extensive recording of what transpired. He shared that he was approached by four police officers, one of whom waved away a couple officers who came from the Orange Walk police station when he shouted for help. He says the abductors identified themselves as police to the Orange Walk officers.
  Notably, Budna says that while in the vehicle travelling to Arenal, his abductors spoke on the phone, during which conversation he said the names of some high ups in the present administration were called, and one of them mentioned that “we got the man.” After approximately three hours of travel, Budna says that the duct tape used to cover his eyes was removed and he saw that they were in Arenal where he was handed over to three police officers from Guatemala who were already there waiting. He also reported that he was being taken to the Zone 18 Preventative Prison Center where he would await a court appearance. He added that he was badly beaten. One other detail he shared in the audio recording was that he had communicated information about the license plate and the make and model of the vehicle used in the abduction, which he says had been following him from the night before.
  Commissioner of Police, Dr. Anthony Richard Rosado did not shy away from addressing the media the Monday after the abduction, but he appeared agitated under sustained questioning on the matter. He reported that their investigation up to that moment did not reveal that any police officer from the Orange Walk Police Station had come out in response to Budna’s cries for help, and said that the Officer Commanding the Orange Walk formation would have relayed to him if, in fact, Budna had provided any information regarding any vehicle following him.
  Then, this week Wednesday, 7 News aired a leak of the surveillance video showing the actual abduction. Though the resolution is poor, it is very telling. It shows Budna being chased by a tall, stocky individual as Budna tries to escape but is unsuccessful. He is then held down by another man who handcuffs him, as he is brutally beaten to the head and body with a baton. At that moment, a uniformed officer is seen approaching from the police station, but he is waved away by one of the abductors with whom he communicates briefly. Eventually, a third man enters the frame, and all three carry Budna away into a sky-blue vehicle.
  The video corroborates elements of Budna’s narrative, and highlights several discrepancies in the information that Rosado had provided at the Monday briefing. Rosado revealed that he had seen the camera footage, and stated, “Initially, the information we were getting was several descriptions of several vehicles, and we have to admit that, while our checkpoints were out at strategic locations, we cannot ascertain exactly where that vehicle that took Budna went to.” However, the footage clearly captures the make and model of the vehicle involved in the abduction. Rosado also stated that there are several ways to get to Arenal, but a police checkpoint is located right before the community and everyone travelling there must pass it.
  Rosado emphatically declared, “Let me be clear. The Police Department was not involved in the apprehension or the alleged extradition of Mr. Budna. Certain serious allegations were made, and from our initial investigation, what is being alleged was not conducted by our police officers or were not sanctioned by the senior command of the Belize Police Department.” Rosado insisted that he personally was not involved in Budna’s apprehension. As to the possibility it was carried out by rogue police officers, Rosado stated that the investigation was ongoing.
  Today, in an interview in San Pedro, Prime Minister, Hon. John Briceno reiterated that the abduction was not sanctioned by the state. Thirteen days after the incident, he shared that he is still awaiting the police report, and said he requested from the Minister of Home Affairs that it be provided at the latest on Friday, September 5. The PM added that the police report will determine if an independent investigation is needed. He denied that Cabinet discussed the issue on Tuesday of this week, and also stated that he has not seen the leaked surveillance footage. When asked if heads would roll if it is confirmed that any government official or member of the Police Department was involved, the PM responded, “Well, I think we are jumping ahead of ourselves,” and affirmed that an independent investigation will be carried out if necessary. He ignored our request for the unedited surveillance footage from all government departments in the area to be released, saying that the matter is under investigation.
  In the wake of the leak, the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Tracy Panton today sent the Prime Minister a letter calling for an independent investigation into the case. She wrote, “The recent video-recorded abduction allegedly carried out with the knowledge of agents of the State, represents one of the gravest threats to our constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms as citizens. It is also a conscious and outright State facilitated trespass on the rule of law and separation of powers that places in the justice system the ability to address matters concerning persons wanted in foreign states. We regard this as a threat to our democracy and sovereignty in our post-independence history. We believe that the State does not enjoy a prerogative to exercise any arbitrary use of its institutions against its own citizens and in favour and/or for the benefit of a State that challenges our very existence as a free democratic nation.”
GoB investigates case of Belizean abducted by angry Guatemalan mob in 2023
  In the wake of the abduction of Joseph Ryan Budna, the abduction of another Belizean has come to light. Sebastian Pop of Otoxha Village, Toledo, was abducted by an angry Guatemalan mob which is reported to have crossed into the Belizean border village of Dolores on February 21, 2023, and forcefully taken him away. Once in Guatemala, he was turned over to Guatemalan police who charged him with the femicide of his own cousin on February 7 of that same year. The report from Guatemalan media is that he had raped and killed her. According to NotiSur Peten, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison on August 24, 2024.
  Once Belize’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs became aware of the case, it asked Belize’s Embassy in Guatemala to look into it, and determined that he was convicted on the strength of DNA evidence. Nonetheless, the Ministry has been in communication with Pop’s attorney; and Foreign Minister Francis Fonseca says they believe there are grounds for appeal, and they will support him in that regard. He added that they are reviewing whether he can be repatriated under provisions of the Confidence Building Measures. Fonseca deemed it a tragic case that fell through the cracks due to government bureaucracy, but noted that they are now treating the case with a sense of urgency.
