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Hon. Johnny Briceno - Opposition Leader
"The fact that the government has taken the drastic step to declare a state of public emergency on the South Side of Belize City is a clear admission of their inability to handle the crime situation. Indeed, the Acting Commissioner stated in this morning's press conference that the situation is getting out of control; no sir, the situation is out of control. Locking up gang members will not do anything to address the poverty and inequality on the South Side of Belize City. It will not address the number of young people who are on the streets instead of being in school. We need to look at this problem from a holistic point of view. We need to do more. We have been asking the government for so long, let us sit down and let us come up with ideas. If we have to put in the necessary funding in that area to turn things around, let's do it. We are talking about lives. You are reaping what you have sown. The government has abandoned and neglected South Side Belize City and today we are seeing the price of that abandonment, of using the South Side just for politics and not making the necessary changes to transform the lives of the people in South Side Belize City."

Briceno appeared noticeably without his Deputy Leader Cordel Hyde - who is one of the most dominant politicians on the southside.

And while he says the UDP is reaping what it has sown, he also made it clear that he's a law and order type of leader:...

Hon. Johnny Briceno - Opposition Leader
"I don't want anyone to think for one minute that we are trying to play politics with this and that we are trying to cozy up to the gang elements and to the criminal elements in this thing; because we need to go after them and we need to go at them with everything that we have. We cannot have and we cannot allow a small handful of people terrorizing the people of this beautiful city of ours, Belize City. We cannot allow that. It is unacceptable."