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Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"I think that is absolutely reckless and irresponsible it is pathetic and there are so many other adjectives that I could use but it is certainly an absolutely disappointing and I think it reflects very poorly on him this is our country and Belize is absolutely not a Narco state and we know what narco states look like if you have any idea of foreign policy and if you have any understanding of national security issues you would know what a narco state is. We have seen those in Latin America and parts of Central America as well and so Belize is not there and we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to ensure that as we keep saying that no narco trafficking organizations gains a foothold in this country so I condemn in the strongest possible terms the leader of the opposition I think it is a desperate plea for support and I think all right thinking Belizes a should condemn his words."

Reporter
"Will this have implications internationally?"

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"No no unfortunately for him but perhaps fortunately for Belize the international community does not take the leader of the opposition seriously so there will be no implications. Again it's in our view a desperate plea for attention which I think has been resoundingly condemned by every right thinking person."

By strict definition, a Narco state is "a nation state whose government, judiciary, and military have been effectively infiltrated by drug cartels," according to the Oxford reference.

And while Belize does not meet this threshold, we should note, though, that Belize can now be considered a cocaine producing country after labs and coca plantations were found in southern Belize.