This is a list of incidents of civil unrest that have occurred in Belize since the 2000s. This list includes incidents of rioting, violent protests, violent labour disputes, or minor insurrections or revolts. For this list, incidents associated with sporting events are not excluded. In contrast, incidents involving only minor property damage (like road obstruction or tyre-burning during otherwise peaceful protests) are excluded. Similarly, incidents involving destruction, harm, or injury only in a private space or only to an individual (even if committed by a collective entity, such as a mob or vigilante group) are excluded too.[n 1]
An unpermitted Opposition demonstration (against Economy Minister and MP for Belize Rural South, Andre Perez) was blockaded at the Boca del Rio Bridge by police.
A protest (against police, for a recent high-speed chase which left one killed and one injured) at Northern Regional Hospital was forcefully dispersed by police, who fired gunshots into the air, after demonstrators threw stones and bottles at the hospital.
The Defence Minister confirmed reports that villagers in southern Toledo were 'mounting resistance' to the destruction of clandestine airstrips by the BDF since April.
Tensions rose between neighbouring Maya-majority villages of Yemeri Grove and Laguna, after the former accused the latter of encroaching on their territory, whereupon Lagunans allegedly threatened Grovers 'with sticks and machetes.' In May the matter escalated when Yemeri Grove destroyed concrete survey markers erected by Laguna.
An unpermitted Mennonite-majority protest (against COVID-19 measures) was broken up near Cinderella Plaza by police. A former Belize City Mayor was also arrested.
'A huge number' of villagers staged a demonstration demanding justice for the 5 September killing of an off-duty soldier by a fellow soldier, including burning tyres at the village entrance and police station. Rioters further burnt the alleged perpetrator's family residence.
Northside residents allegedly attacked police as they tried to detain a suspicious individual on Pickstock Street, whereupon police shot rubber bullets and injured two people.
PUP supporters, 'some' wielding machetes, clashed with UDP supporters during a motorcade by the latter, whereupon police fired two warning shots, and arrested 12 people.
Central Prison inmates rioted following the 2020 prison break, leaving two prison officers beaten and injured, and one inmate killed and one injured after police fired live rounds to quell the riot.
Christian Workers' Union members protested at the Port of Belize against company-proposed salary cuts and contract terminations by setting vehicles and equipment of fire, tampering with the power supply, and smashing windows. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd, leaving 'several' severely injured.
A stevedores' demonstration at the Port of Belize by Christian Workers' Union members was forcefully dispersed by police, leaving eleven demonstrators injured.
Customs officers (trying to arrest two men for alleged contraband) were attacked with stones by a mob of villagers, forcing them to retreat to avoid injury.
A protest by a stevedore activist and Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations members (against Michael Ashcroft's proposal to build a cruise port on Port of Belize Ltd lands) at the Channel 5 Building was interrupted by police, who arrested five demonstrators for COVID-19 rules violations.
Vigilante villagers apprehended, beat and injured, then surrendered to police two (of three) men suspected of robbing a store in camouflage gear at gunpoint (9 mm pistol).
A police patrol (who had intercepted a pickup truck with allegedly smuggled beer and soft drinks) were attacked with stones and bottles by a mob of over 40 villagers (injuring four policemen), whereupon police shot at the crowd (injuring two).
UDP supporters clashed with PUP supporters at village hall after an unspecified altercation while votes were tallied, whereupon the former threw bottles and assaulted a PUP candidate's daughter, while a PUP supporter spat on opponents, forcing police to intervene.
Ten minors detained at Princess Royal Youth Hostel protested for better conditions and treatment at the detention centre by breaking through the sheetrock ceiling to demonstrate on the roof.
Attendees at a funeral at a Mayflower Street cemetery (for a recently killed Ghost Town gang leader) clashed with GSU police officers (responding to reports of gunshots) by throwing objects at them (injuring two), whereupon police shot and injured a man and a woman.
Santa Cruzans detained a Creole man (Rupert Myles) after they alleged he had broken village bye-laws and destroyed part of Uxbenka (though Myles alleged racism had motivated his detention). The villagers alleged their act had been a last resort after they had notified the proper authorities. The detention was deemed false imprisonment and assault, with 13 villagers arrested and charged.
During a protest against police officer Miguel Segura (involved in a fatal traffic accident), villagers burnt tyres to block the Western Highway, and some protesters threw beer bottles at police officers who sought to disperse the crowd. Fourteen Succotz residents were charged with rioting and unlawful assembly in November. An NGO critised the charges as 'unwarranted and meant to stifle freedom of expression.'
Police arrested 44 sanitation workers after they dumped rubbish in front of City Hall to protest the council's nonpayment of contracts. Charges were later dropped.
During the 2005 civil unrest, protesting teachers and civil servants were blocked from entering a public forum at the University of Belize (featuring the Prime Minister) by riot police, while Opposition member and MP for Collet, Patrick Faber, was 'roughed up and arrested' by the same.
During the 2005 civil unrest, nighttime rioters broke into and looted various prominent storefronts in the city centre (like Hofius, Brodies, Venus, Gaylord's).
During the 2005 civil unrest, protesters at Parliament Building were forcibly removed by police when their permit expired, including by tear gas as authorised by senior police officer Crispin Jeffries Sr.
^Examples given as excluded here may nonetheless be deemed incidents of civil unrest or disorder by other sources, as definitions are varied (eg AD, DR, US). This article uses ACLED data (Ral, filtered for Belize on 16 July 2025) for 2018 and later incidents. Notes and short citations provided in Nb columns. Short citations in the form S yy refer to St, report for yyyy, sec Belize. Short citations in the form Am yy refer to Am, review for yyyy (or for split reviews, Am yyi refer to the review's first part, Am yyii refer to the second part, and so on).
^S 23; 7 b. Called breach of constitutional right to assembly by Senator Michael Peyrefitte (S 23).
^S 23; Am 23i; 7 c. Indigenous Affairs Minister Dolores Balderamos cautioned against 'expansionist positions being adopted by the Maya villages' (S 23).
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.