The Belizean citizenship programme officially ended on January 15th, 2002 on the coming into effect of the Fourth Amendment to the Belize Constitution, which among other things removed the constitutional authority to grant Belizean citizenship on the basis of a contribution to the economic well-being of the country.

There was also increasing concern about possible abuse of the citizenship programme after the September 11 attacks on the US, said Mr Musa, Prime Minister of Belize. "The programme was controversial among Belizeans also," the prime minister reported. "Some Belizeans felt that it was demeaning to the country's integrity."

The integrity of the passport sale programme was questioned a year ago when a Mexican, whose application was approved in a few days, was soon after charged with narcotics trafficking. His citizenship was revoked.

Belize acted on the passport sales three months after Canada imposed entry visa requirements on citizens of two eastern Caribbean islands. The Canadian government said that it was concerned about possible abuse of its immigration controls by persons buying passports from Grenada and Dominica. Mr Musa reported that Canada had imposed stiffer entry visa requirements on Belizean passport holders because of the citizenship sales.

"There was increasing concern about the citizenship programme after the September 11 attacks on the US," said Mr Musa. "There was the fear that it could be abused by terrorists."

The Grenadian Government came to the same conclusion as Belize and the Finance Minister, Anthony Boatswain, has announced that the country has suspended its economic citizenship programme, claiming that it was 'too risky' in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the USA.

'Grenadian passports can end up in the wrong hands and be used for purposes other than that for which they were intended,' he explained.