It was alleged that he had negotiated with undercover DEA agents to supply 5,000 pounds of marijuana each month through Wilmington, North Carolina, with a value of $175,000.
His defense attorney argued that the case was politically motivated and delivered a petition signed by 3,100 Belizeans calling for his release.
The presiding judge William Earl Britt stated that he would be allowed to serve his sentence in low-security prison camps.
[4] Briceño died in a Belize City hospital on 21 May 2016 at the age of 78, having been in poor health since a stroke eleven years earlier.
He was buried at the Piemonte Cemetery in Orange Walk, following a state funeral at the Church of La Inmaculada attended by Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Governor-General Colville Young.