The hidden dangers inside the popular Caribbean vacation hotspot of Belize have come to light after four Americans died in the country in a single week.
The Central American country is currently under a level 2 travel advisory, warning tourists to ‘exercise increased caution due to crime,’ according to the U.S. Department of State.
Belize City, the largest city in the country, is under a level 3 advisory, advising tourists to ‘Reconsider Travel’ because of the dangerous activities on its streets.
Criminal activity runs rampant in Belize – mainly linked to gangs – however tourists have unfortunately been subjected to sexual assaults, home invasions, murder and armed robberies.
The stark new warning comes after three young women, Kaoutar Naqqad, 23, Imane Mallah, 24, and Wafe El-Arar, 26, were found dead at a beach resort in Belize on Saturday.
The trio were found inside of their room at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort, a luxury resort on Ambergris Caye, located in San Pedro Town.
They were each found with froth on their mouths, suggesting drugs might have played a factor in their deaths. Their official cause of death has not been determined.
Meanwhile, Boris Mannsfeld, a Colorado developer who moved his business to the Caribbean country in 2010, was found shot to death on Friday.
Mannsfield, 56, was found at The Villas at Cocoplum, a luxury residential community, Breaking News Belize reported.
Police are now looking into his death as a possible ‘hit,’ as a suspect, Frik de Meyere, was taken into custody in connection to the case.
‘U.S. citizens should avoid traveling to Belize City,’ the agency warned.
‘All visitors should maintain an elevated level of situational awareness, exercise increased caution, and practice good safety and security practices.’
The deaths this week are not the first time tourists from the US have died on Belize soil.
In December 2022, J’Bria Bowens, a nursing student from Louisiana, was shot dead in gunfire that erupted outside of a nightclub. Two men were arrested at the time.
Virginia-based cardiologist Gary Paul Swank was killed in Belize while on vacation with his wife and children in June 2019. He was fly fishing with a local tour guide when someone opened fire on their small boat.
The US citizen’s body was found floating in a lagoon 30 feet away from the boat.
In January 2016, renowned ABC journalist Anne Swaney was strangled to death in western Belize while on a yoga-filled vacation.
Swaney’s body was found floating face-down in the Mopan River.
The US State Department has released a list of tips for those who plan to still travel to Belize.
Tourists have been warned to be aware of their surroundings, avoid driving or walking at night, being ‘extra vigilant’ while at ATMs or banks, hiding signs of wealth, including high price jewelry or other accessories, and refraining from physically resisting robbery attempts.
The U.S. Department of State has also recommended that travelers follow the agency on social media, prepare a plan in case of emergencies, and to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).
The program sends out alerts to tourists and also makes it easier for authorities to find you in an emergency.
Common crimes in Belize include sexual assaults, home invasions, murder and armed robberies – even in the tourist areas.
A majority of crime in the area is linked to gangs, as the agency warned, ‘much of the violent crime in Belize occurs in the Southside of Belize City and is gang related.’
Although that area, south of Haulover Creek Canal and south to Fabers Road, ‘does not overlap with tourism areas,’ people are still told to proceed with caution.
In December, the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Belize, citing similar crimes.
Alarms were first raised about the three women at the resort after housekeeping staff attempted to make contact with them on Friday but could not reach them.
Surveillance footage from the day before showed Naqqad, Mallah, and El-Arar entering their room but never coming back out, according to police.
After staff received no response on Saturday morning, they used a master key to enter, and the women were all found dead inside.
Along with the frothing found on their mouths, Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police, said that alcohol and gummies were also found in their room.
‘The police did a thorough search of the scene, along with the pathologists and scenes of crime. There was nothing of substance that could have been found other than alcohol and some gummies,’ Williams told reporters Monday afternoon.
‘We’re not saying at this time that the gummies cause death, but we’re looking at every possibility.’
Police said there were no signs of forced entry or visible injuries and officers found snacks, liquids, vapes and other electronic devices in the women’s room.
‘We’re trying to do as best as we can, including to see where they may have gone on Thursday before they went home, what if anything they consumed. All these things we’re looking at,’ Williams said.
He also noted how ‘based on what the pathologist said when he visited on Saturday evening, is that they could have been dead 20 hours prior.’
The trio had travelled to the country from Revere, Massachusetts, and had been due to travel back home on Sunday.
The day before the women were found, Mannsfeld was discovered in his yard, face down in a puddle of blood, with a single gunshot wound to the back of his neck, Breaking News Belize reported.
A loaded 9mm pistol, a spent shell casing and his wallet, filled with cash and his ID, was found nearby, police told the outlet.
The real estate tycoon’s deceased body was found in one of the residential communities he helped develop on the southeastern coast of the Central American country.
He spent 10 years as a developer in Denver before moving to Belize and starting Boris Mannsfeld and Associates in 2010, according to his company profile.
His death comes as two of his former employees at Boris Mannsfeld and Associates, Ricardo Borja and Darren Taylor, were killed in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Williams, who is also working on this case, told local journalists Monday that they have arrested Frik de Meyere, a former associate of Mannsfeld, as a suspect in his murder.
‘The shooting of Boris Mannsfeld has all indications of a hit,’ Williams said in a briefing. ‘He was in his yard when, seemingly, he was approached by whoever the gunman or gunmen are, and he was shot once in the head behind the neck.’
De Meyere, who was born in Belgium, spent 12 years as the general manager of Mannsfeld’s company before leaving in August 2023.
De Meyere hasn’t been charged with a crime, with Williams referring to him as both a ‘suspect’ and a ‘person of interest.’
Police said they are investigating Mannsfeld’s financial transactions, as he was involved in several civil disputes before his death over potentially shady business practices.
Journalists at the press briefing raised the possibility of Mannsfeld’s death being connected somehow to the murders of Borja and Taylor, an idea Williams did not rule out.
Before his death in 2023, Borja claimed that De Meyere was behind a land fraud scheme. He was allegedly killed before he could reveal his supposed evidence to authorities, according to Belizean newspaper Amandala.
‘It will not be wrong for one to assume that there may be some connection there, and we’re looking at that possibility,’ Williams said.