Twenty-one-year-old Damion Saldano is spending his first night on remand at the Belize Central Prison after being arraigned this afternoon for the Father’s Day murder of Benjamin Hyde Senior. He is the third suspect to be charged and taken before the Magistrate’s Court in connection with the deadly shooting on June nineteenth in Belize City. […]
Today was the last day for interested persons to send in their applications to become a member of the Belize Police Department. Earlier this month, Cabinet approved Intake Ninety six which will see an additional one hundred and fifty police officers go through training in order to become members of the department. Today, Minister of […]
A number of officers have been dismissed from the Belize Police Department for various infractions and Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has said that this has been happening on a routine basis. And then, the number of police officers is nowhere near the level for the department to effectively operate. So last week, a notice […]
A video that has found legs on social media is once again casting bad light on the Belize Police Department. In the brief clip, a seemingly intoxicated officer can be seen sprawled out on the road with his motorcycle at his feet. The uniformed policeman is surrounded by onlookers, including motorists who came to a […]
A weather system that crossed near southern Belize over the last few days has dumped heavy rains in that part of the country, resulting in flooding in at least two villages, up to early this morning. News Five spoke with NEMO’s Southern Regional Coordinator, Charles Leslie who said that assessments have been ongoing to see […]
The fourteenth annual Border Commanders Meeting between the militaries of Belize and Mexico was hosted in Corozal. Headed by Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, the Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, the three-day meeting was focused on strategic level discussions and operational planning. Its aim was to develop a framework to address security challenges faced by both […]
The above-normal 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season is due to the likely presence of the La Nina phenomenon, as well as warmer-than-normal sea temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean. In anticipation of the possibility of Belize coming under threat, today the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) and the National Meteorological Service held a press conference to advise […]
Trade Winds 2022 officially came to a close today. A ceremony was held at Price Barracks in Ladyville to mark the culmination of the two-week exercise. Officers from twenty-two countries are returning home having strengthened relations with regional and international counterparts. Today, we caught up with Captain Elton Bennett, the Commandant of the Belize Coast […]
Last night we showed a few of the training exercises our Belize Defense Force Soldiers have been engaged in on land and in the air during Trade Winds 2022. Tonight, we take you offshore where the Belize Coast Guard, along with its counterparts from twenty-two countries, has been training for the past two weeks. These […]
In the event of a national or regional security crisis, Belize will be able to depend on its counterparts from across twenty-two nations participating in Trade Winds 2022. The two-week exercise gives participants an opportunity to train together in various exercises, including maritime training, jungle training, cyber training, and maritime engineering training. These drills are […]
Another aspect of the Trade Winds exercise is a first-of-its-kind certified jungle training being hosted by the Belize Defense Force. For the past four weeks, thirteen soldiers from across the region have been in the wilderness learning jungle and survival skills. The training was designed to be one of the most arduous exercises a soldier […]
Trade Winds 2022 will come to an end on Thursday of this week with a joint exercise at the Police Training Academy in Belmopan. Plans are already in the works for Trade Winds 2023 which will be hosted by Guyana. Major Suber told us about the advantage Belize’s landscape offered as one of the host […]
Today at the Mexico Sports Center in Belize City, tourism police officers were engaged in tactical training. It is organized by the Belize Tourism Board to instruct the officers on how to address crime situations involving tourists. It includes apprehending armed perpetrators without incident. Shihan Ray Kelly of the House of Shotokan Karate is the […]
The recent killing of Tracy Thompson in Calcutta and the chilling videos that have captured women being beaten unconscious and, in some cases, being left for dead, have sent shockwaves across the country. While some have lost their lives at the hands of their spouses, many more continue to suffer in silence for various reasons. […]
Hard on the heels of a bloody weekend marred by deadly violence and road traffic accidents, the United Democratic Party issued a recorded statement in which the Shadow Minister of National Security took aim squarely at his sitting counterpart. In a televised address, U.D.P. Chairman Mike Peyrefitte, who is also the former minister responsible for […]
In responding to the criticism levied against him, Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa took the high road and admitted that he is prepared to work with anyone for the sake of reducing violent crimes across the country. Isani Cayetano “Your involvement, however, comes at a time when the strongest criticism of your management […]
So what’s the plan going forward? ComPol Chester Williams says that even though the violence over the last few days is considered isolated events, the department is ramping up presence in Mahogany Heights and Belize City. Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police, Belize Police Department “From a police response standpoint, we are ramping up our […]
The police officer who was involved in an altercation with a civilian over the weekend at the Belize City municipal airport has since been placed on interdiction. According to Minister Musa, the department has been working to educate officers on the proper use of force. He encourages citizens to report any case of abuse at […]
On Wednesday, we brought you the story of a meet and greet session in Belize City with the top brass of the Eastern Division and church leaders about their respective roles in intervention of criminal activities across the city. Simultaneously in Dangriga, the police command there was joined by Mayor Robert Mariano, a former Deputy […]
Ambassador Oliver del Cid has been appointed Director of National Security and head of the National Security Directorate, formerly the National Security Council Secretariat. The Prime Minister’s Office made the announcement today. Ambassador del Cid has served as a Foreign Service Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as diplomat at the Embassy of Belize […]
The Supreme Court has struck down an application for judicial review by the United Democratic Party in connection with the Microsoft contract awarded to SMART Belize Limited by the Government. On Wednesday, Justice Sonya Young found that the three point four million dollar contract awarded to SMART for Microsoft 365 licenses for a period of […]
The Joint Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Programme for the security forces was launched today. The initiative involves the Belize Police Department, the Belize Defence Force, and the Belize Coast Guard and provides response services when sexual assault occurs within the Belize security forces. It also focuses on prevention strategies, supports victim recovery, and assists […]
A witness protection program is yet to be put in place to ensure the safety of persons who are willing to cooperate with prosecutors during trials. By and large, the Belize Police Department has had serious challenges getting witnesses to testify in court, particularly where murder cases are concerned. Legislation was introduced during the last […]
Belize is hosting the 2022 Central American Security Conference with high-level defense and security leaders from the United States, Central America and other countries within the hemisphere. The Ministry of National Defense, along with the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), is hosting this year’s summit, for the first time since 2011. The U.S. delegation is led […]
Today, at the celebration of the forty-fourth anniversary of the Belize Defence Force, the official ceremonial change of command parade took place at the Sir Colville Young Parade Square at Price Barracks. Azariel Loria was officially installed as Brigadier General and the new commander of the B.D.F. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. Duane Moody, […]
