Mr. Virgilio Murillo began working for the Kolbe Foundation – a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) formed by a group of Rotarians to manage Belize’s only prison system in 2002. His employment with the Foundation at the Belize Central Prison started on December 16, 2002. Prior to working at the prison, his background experiences included:

• Being a primary school teacher for two (2) years – mostly in the Toledo District,
• Two (2) years as an Intelligence Officer with the Security and Intelligence Service of Belize in the late 1980s.
• Nine (9) years’ work experience in Aviation and Airport Security at the Belize International Airport during the 1990s
• Four (4) years as Camp Manager for Cisco Construction Ltd – a position held right up to the time he transitioned to the prison.

As of today, Mr. Murillo is approaching his eighteenth-year anniversary with the Kolbe Foundation working at the prison; almost six (6) years of which he has been the Chief Executive Officer/Director of Prison.

The vision of the Kolbe Foundation is, “To Serve as a Positive Catalyst for Change Through Effective Rehabilitation of Offenders into Law-Abiding and Productive Citizens.” It is believed that this VISION can only be achieved if we respect the human rights of our inmates and respect the rule of Law and to this end the fight is very hard to foster a culture of fairness, justness, trust, transparency and accountability for both staff and inmates alike.

Today the Belize Central Prison is being hailed as the “Model” for Central American Prisons.