7 News Belize

“El Espanol” Was In A Zone Of His Own
posted (November 20, 2015)
The laws of Belize say no one is supposed to live in the Free Zone - but according to the Por Esto newspaper from Quintana Roo, the slain King of Contraband Ernesto Alonso de Miguel, known as "El Espanol" - did just that - and he did it in this building - which, local law enforcement has confirmed even had a bunker, or a basement. Por Esto reports that he had a wine cellar and a ball court on the compound as well. 7News has confirmed that De Miguel was a persistent security concern on the Belize side, where he had worked out this unusual and illegal living arrangement from the mid - 2000's, but the king of contraband seemed to be too connected for anyone to put a stop to it. Recently, it became a non issue because Miguel had moved back to Chetumal - where he always moved around with a police escort. Last Saturday both he and a ranking police officer were executed in Chetumal while they had dinner at a restaurant named "El Emporio." Narcos had tried to take Miguel's life in Chetumal before but were unsuccessful.

And all that is likely due to his massive dealings in contraband cigarettes. Por Esto reports that at his peak, De Miguel imported as many as 40 containers of cigarettes per month through the Port of Belize. We could not confirm that number, but local authorities told us it may have been near that figure. But that importation was - at least on the face of it - legitimate and went to the zone which is where Miguel smuggled it into Chetumal - we are told often using three wheeled Mexican mini taxi's. It was also smuggled west into Guatemala and as far as Salvador.

Local sources tell us that under Miguel - with a few well connected importers, Belize became the hub for contraband cigarettes in the hemisphere - taking over from Panama.

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