In early March, News Five aired the disturbing video of a training program involving a Belize Defense Force recruit. The video that went viral may have captured multiple breaches in protocol so much so that it triggered an investigation. The images show the anguish and pain of recruit, now a soldier with the B.D.F., Michael […]
Last week the U.S. Army South held a meeting with local partners to conclude their final plans for Beyond the Horizon 2017. The project will see investments of over ten million U.S. dollars in different parts of the country. It is part of a bigger initiative where the U.S. offers humanitarian aid to Central American […]
The U.S. Army South, in partnership with the B.D.F., will be kicking off Beyond the Horizon 2017. For about ten years now, the training exercise has been taking place in Belize, providing free medical and dental services, as well as building medical and educational facilities across the country. The project officially kicked off on Saturday […]
A B.D.F. soldier is making a name for himself in Guyana. Officer Cadet Francisco Choc was awarded best overall trainee in the Guyana Defence Force standards officers’ course. Choc also received the Sword of Honour and Best in Fitness and Military Knowledge. The Standard Military Officers Course is an intensive training programme of leadership and […]
Two disturbing videos of recruits training for the B.D.F. have been obtained by News Five. The first, in its entirety, captures the rigorous and extreme training program, including tear gassing for those aspiring to join the force. The second video contains the images of a young man being shoved into a trench even as he […]
Minister of Defense John Saldivar and his C.E.O. Felix Enriquez today commenced a national tour of facilities operated by the Belize Coast Guard. The visit started in the south with a visit to the Forward Operating Base at Hunting Caye. Now, you would recall that construction was interrupted on the building of the new forward […]
Late last year, talk of signing a Sarstoon protocol with Guatemala was a hot-button issue that dominated the news. Well, as you would have noted, December has come and gone and there is not a lot being said about that signing. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred ‘Sedi’Elrington, had indicated to us that the relationship with […]
Approximately five hundred applications were submitted to the B.D.F. for Intake number sixty-two but only around one hundred and fifty of those were invited to train. But after the first few weeks about half of them gave up due to the intense nature of the military training. Those who remained in the recruit program and […]
Tonight, there are two developments on the territorial claim to Belize that could explain Guatemala’s aggressive behavior for months. A map released by the Guatemalan government has surfaced showing that fisherfolks from that country are free to fish well within Belizean waters including the Sarstoon River where, as you know, Guatemala maintains a strong military […]
Over the past two years, Guatemala has been asserting sovereignty over the area, going as far as militarizing the remote area and now escorts Belizeans traversing our side of the Sarstoon River. A recent official forty-page document on travels by Guatemalan officials details a meeting between Foreign Ministers Wilfred Elrington and Carlos Raul Morales at […]
Will the Government of Belize persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to listen to its arguments to dismiss an arbitration award granted to Belize Social Development Limited in 2009? A decision is pending, but a major blow came when the United States’ acting Solicitor General, Ian Heath Gershengorn advised the U.S. Supreme Court via affidavit to […]
A few months ago the Government announced plans to fund four institutions, including the Belize Defence Force and Friends for Conservation and Development, to the tune of sixteen million dollars over four years in a project known as the Chiquibul Forest Initiative. More recently, F.C.D.’s executive director Rafael Manzanero was in London to witness the […]
The Coastguard Best Warrior Competition continued today; the third and final day turned out to be the most grueling. Coastguard officers were up bright and early to test their endurance and marksmanship skills. But it was the last round of competition that really took the officers to the breaking point. News Five’s Duane Moody has […]
The Christmas season is now upon us, it means that the police will be working overtime to keep up with criminals. The Police Department is embarking on an anti-crime campaign to ensure at least in the commercial areas citizens are safe. Chester Williams says more boots will be on the ground. ACP Chester Williams, […]
For the past two days, the competitive spirit among Coastguard officers has been in high levels at their headquarters on the George Price Highway. About fifty officers are participating in six obstacle courses in the annual Best Warrior Competition. On Friday, the officers will compete in the most difficult challenges and the winning team not […]
In the last few weeks we told you about some incidents involving the Guatemalan Armed Forces and different local organizations. The B.D.F. were stopped not so long ago and it was passed off as a miscommunication on the end of the Guatemalans. And then there was the one involving the SATIIM rangers. While not as […]
The Belize National Coast Guard celebrated in grand style today for their eleventh anniversary. They have grown significantly since they opened their doors back in November 2005. And today they announced some of the projects that are in the pipeline and major investments to be made over the next year or so. The festivities culminated […]
A few weeks back we told you about an incident at sea where northern fishermen were robbed at gunpoint in southern Belize. The fishers were approached by well-armed men who took away their property and assaulted them. During the struggle, one of the fishers fell overboard and he still hasn’t been found. The local sea […]
Recently, Foreign Affairs Minister Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington indicated that he has been unable to engage Guatemalan Foreign Affairs Minister, Carlos Raul Morales in any discussion. The breakdown in communication has been since the results of the international independent investigation into the shooting death of thirteen year old Julio Rene Alvarado Ruano exonerated the B.D.F. from […]
SATIIM co-manages the Sarstoon Temash National Park and according to them, they were intercepted by the GAF recently when they were on a patrol of the area. The N.G.O. says illegal activities have been ongoing inside the national park and along that area in the Sarstoon. These activities include illegal logging, hunting of endangered species […]
Exercise Tropical Dagger Sixteen came to a successful end today at Camp Belizario in the Cayo District. The four-week exercise is a Canadian initiative to beef up security in the region. The Belize and the Jamaican Defense Forces honed their skills to respond to international criminal activity that is threatening peace in the region. According […]
The Guatemalan Armed Forces continue to operate freely in the area of the Sarstoon River, within Belizean territory. Ernesto Vasquez, who works out of the office of the Prime Minister and is a co-host of Love FM morning show, confirmed to News Five his recent experience in the area. He visited the Cadenas post, run […]
A report of the latest military encounter on the Sarstoon River, involving village leaders, as well as a team of and park rangers attached to SATIIM, has been filed with the Belize Defense Force. This encounter comes several weeks after B.D.F. personnel came into contact with members of the Guatemalan Armed Forces as they traversed […]
Since losing its co-management agreement in July 2013, SATIIM has been virtually on its own as far as monitoring illegal activities within the expansive broadleaf, wetland and mangrove forest. The fact that the organization is operating without official sanction leaves its rangers vulnerable to encounters with GAF soldiers. Tzalam, who took over from former Executive […]
Following a period of relative calm and somewhat downplayed encounters, activities by the Guatemalan armed forces in the Sarstoon, are sparking up again in southern Belize. A few days ago, the rangers of SATIIM, the N.G.O. that monitors the area, were stopped by the GAF while on patrol. The encounter was recorded and the video […]
