While many are perhaps focused on the likely economic fallout on the island, following Monday night’s bloodbath, the area representative told News Five that ideally, the safest places in Belize should be the tourist destinations. That notwithstanding, crime and violence remain real issues that the country is grappling with. Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize […]
Earlier this month, Cabinet announced that it has approved amendments to the Criminal Code Act and the Summary Jurisdiction Act to upgrade the use of threatening words or behavior from a petty offence to a serious crime, carrying a penalty of up to five years. According to the Summary Jurisdiction Act, threatening words fall within […]
Before Sunday night, the murder count for 2023 on La Isla Bonita stood at two. But the bloodbath that occurred in the San Pedrito area sometime before midnight on Sunday has more than doubled that number. The unthinkable happened: a family of three and two of their friends were ambushed as they turned onto the […]
As we reported, word on the street in San Pedro and from the police department is that drugs were the reason behind Sunday night’s deadly ambush on the Rodriguez Cordova family and friends. The Belize Police Department has assigned a team of investigators from Belmopan to assist San Pedro police in the heinous attack that […]
But what could have caused such a vicious attack on a family that had a three-year-old baby with them? According to the police, it was all rooted in a drug find that ended up going wrong. It is believed that Rodriguez was targeted when he opted out of a hit, after he and one of […]
And, the death of Amari Rodriquez has been weighing heavily on the Commissioner of Police who says the police will spare no resources to capture the two suspects. ComPol Williams stated that such indiscriminate act of violence will not be countenanced by the department. He noted that police are confident that the murder suspects will […]
This afternoon, Tourism C.E.O. Nicole Usher-Solano also expressed concerns in the wake of the deadly attack in San Pedro. The island town is a prime tourism destination in Belize and incidents like this do have an adverse effect on tourism and citizen security. Nicole Usher-Solano, C.E.O., Ministry of Tourism & Diaspora Relations “It’s an […]
Commissioner of Police Chester Williams also weighed in on the general state of affairs on Ambergris Caye as it pertains to the trafficking of illegal firearms and drugs. He noted that the island is close in proximity to Xcalak, Mexico and that it is not lost on the department that drugs and guns are trafficked […]
There was a shooting incident in Lake Independence on Saturday night that has left one person hospitalized. According to Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero, the victim, identified as Alexander Castillo, was riding a motorcycle when he was accosted by a lone gunman on a bicycle. ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division “On […]
A robbery in La Democracia Village on Friday night has resulted in the arrest of one of three suspects. Twenty-one-year-old Shemar Brakeman has been charged for the crime after the proprietor of a store reported to police that she was held up at gunpoint by a trio of men who entered her place of business […]
Through assistance from the Taiwanese Government, digital connect centers have been installed in several villages and communities across the country. Three months after the launch of one of the centers in Carmelita, thieves broke into the building and stole all the electronic devices, leaving behind only two chairs. Several persons have been arrested, including residents […]
The first murder in Belize City for the month of October and the first in the Old Capital since August occurred on Thursday night. Forty-two-year-old Trenton Webster lost his life to gun violence while standing in front of his home near Rasta Street, in the vicinity of Neal’s Pen Road. The sound of the gunshot […]
Almost ten months have elapsed since the gruesome execution of Jon, David and Vivian Ramnarace in Belmopan. Tonight, the case against the accused, former police officer, Elmer Nah, is one step closer to being heard inside the Belmopan High Court. The Government of Belize has hired a special prosecutor for the case, as was promised […]
More details are surfacing as the investigation continues into the theft and subsequent crash of a Maya Island Air plane in Placencia Village on Monday morning. As has been reported, four armed men accosted one of two KBH security guards posted at the airstrip on the peninsula, before a Cessna Caravan turboprop aircraft was stolen. But […]
Over the weekend, the decomposing body of an Orange Walk resident was discovered inside a van in Bella Vista Village in the Toledo district. ComPol Chester Williams say that no foul play is suspected in the death of Julio Enriquez Zapata, but a post-mortem soon to be conducted will determine what caused his death. […]
On Monday night, eighteen Turkish nationals were intercepted out west, in Benque Viejo del Carmen. They were caught onboard a pickup truck after they crossed into Belize through the western border with Guatemala. Reports are that the driver escaped when the police intercepted the vehicle. Today, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams spoke briefly of the […]
He was last seen alive on October third. Seventeen-year-old Malachi Hamilton went missing from the Lake Independence area of Belize City and his family fears that he has been murdered because of his affiliation with a street gang in that neighborhood. Today, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams told News Five that in this missing person’s […]
Did an attempt to steal an aircraft for the purpose of narco-trafficking go horribly wrong this morning? Often times, reports of crash landings involve cargo being offloaded and removed from the area before the plane is either torched or refuelled and leaves Belizean airspace. But earlier today, in the cover of dark, an aircraft used […]
In Corozal yesterday, a storeowner also escaped injury when he sensed that someone approaching him inside his place of business was there to harm him. Kumar Vian made a run for it when an individual whose face was concealed entered the premises. As quickly as he dashed to safety, a single shot was fired in […]
Twice in as many months, a high-powered weapon assigned to the Belize Defense Force has gone missing. The latest weapon, another M4 Commando rifle was reported missing on Sunday morning when the Battalion Commander at Camp Belizario reported that it was lost along the outer edges of the Xunantunich Observation Post. The B.D.F. spoke with […]
As we reported, this is the second B.D.F. weapon to go missing in only two months. In August, an M4 rifle was also reported missing from Camp Belizario and was discovered the following week in an abandoned lot in the Jane Usher Boulevard area of Belize City. Leal said that in that case, the matter is […]
Belize City resident thirty-seven-year-old, Rodman Welch is on trial for the 2020 murder of Shakeem Dennison. Exactly, three years ago today, Dennison was shot and killed at the Yarborough Bridge in Belize City and Welch, a father of four, was soon after arrested and charged by police for the crime. Today, the case ended in […]
The audio recording referenced earlier is approximately forty minutes long. News Five is in possession of a seven-minute portion of that recording that was shared with us by the relatives today. The family purports that the exchange is between the deceased and a security guard. This recording, along with the cell phone, Vasquez’s wallet and […]
Reporters caught up with Commissioner of Police Chester Williams this afternoon in Belize City. According to ComPol Williams, police do not suspect foul play in the death of Oswaldo Vasquez. He confirmed that a postmortem will be conducted as a part of a police investigation. Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police “Yes I know that […]
A pair of Mexican men appeared in the Magistrate’s Court today to face charges of theft and abetment to theft of two rental vehicles belonging to Budget Auto-Rental Car. Twenty-eight-year-old Alejandro Gonzalez is charged with theft and thirty-eight-year-old Carlos Morales is charged with abetment to theft. Both men, who claim they’re businessmen in Mexico, are […]
