While incidents like the one that occurred in Springfield are difficult to prevent, the chances of apprehending the criminals are greatly increased by efficient communications on the part of law enforcement. Those capabilities have been significantly augmented with the procurement last week of over a hundred thousand dollars worth of new radio equipment by the […]
In recent years the Belize Defence Force has taken on new tasks that go beyond the traditional role of a professional army. And with those new duties of law enforcement and disaster relief comes new training–even for the BDF volunteers. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods reports. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting It was the first time that the […]
Another new appointment, this one in Belmopan, has recently become effective. Alan Usher, no stranger to military and police matters, is now the C.E.O. in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He takes over from Dr. Victor Gonzalez who will retain the C.E.O.’s job in the Ministry of Defence. Viewers will recall that the Ministry of […]
While the list of weekend crime might seem disheartening, tonight there is good news to report in the fight to bring the situation under control. On Friday, forty-two Belizeans were officially inducted as members of the Police Department as the seventy-sixth squad to join the force. During the official graduation ceremony, the recruits showed off […]
If you were driving on the Western Highway near mile twenty-seven on Saturday morning, you may have been startled by the sight of soldiers dropping from the sky. Don’t worry, they weren’t Guatemalans. These paratroops were army personnel of the U.S. Southern Command carrying out a training exercise with the full permission of the Belize […]
Meeting today in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, were the top military leaders of Belize and Guatemala. Hosting the one-day talks was Minister of Defence George Price who welcomed his Guatemalan counterpart, Brigadier General Alvaro Mendez Estrada. The meeting, held under the framework of the O.A.S. facilitation process, focussed on confidence building measures and the co-ordination […]
The Ministry of Defence has announced today that starting earlier this week, Belize has agreed to conduct joint border patrols with Guatemala in the border area. According to a release from M.O.D., on Saturday, Brigadier General Alan Usher and Guatemala’s Vice Minister of National Defence Brigadier General Hugo Sing Urzua, signed an operative declaration which […]
The two facilitators attempting to mediate a solution to the Guatemalan claim have presented their recommendations following an investigation into the November twenty-second killing of three Guatemalans by a BDF patrol…and the news does not reflect well on Belize. Sir Shridath Ramphal and Paul Reichler, having studied the report made by O.A.S. investigator Sergio Caramagna, […]
Citizens who have spotted strange aircraft flying over various parts of Belize are asked not to be alarmed. What appears to be an invasion is in fact an emergency evacuation exercise being conducted by none other than the U.S. Army. According to a government press release, the Ministry of Defence has approved the exercises being […]
This report just arrived by fax and I will read it verbatim. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that three of four Guatemalan Nationals who attacked a Belize Defence Force patrol near San Vicente Village in the Toledo District today were shot. There are two possible fatalities as a result. Belize’s Ambassador to the Republic […]
This afternoon, the Belize Defence Force received some vital transport capability courtesy of the United Kingdom. British High Commissioner Philip Priestly handed over seven Ford F-550 trucks to the newly appointed Minister of Defence, George Price. The new vehicles are valued at approximately six hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars. According to the High Commissioner, the […]
It has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months, for its behaviour during the Tower Hill riot as well as its growing role in police work. But today the Belize Defence Force focussed on its core mission: that of defending the sovereignty of the nation. The occasion was the arrival of some badly needed new […]
Some of their lustre may have been tarnished by recent events, but that has not stopped the Belize Defence Force from getting on with its business. On Sunday, an eighty-eight man contingent from the Singapore Police Force arrived in the country to undergo five weeks of jungle training. The annual event, paid for by the […]
In Toledo, police and that district’s Association of Alcaldes have embarked on an initiative to prevent crime in rural areas. National Security Minister Jorge Espat and Police Commissioner Hughington Williams today met with T.A.A. Chairman Juan Ack in Belmopan where Ack was presented with over six thousand dollars worth of T-shirts, caps, batons and handcuffs. […]
They say that the pine trees are dying, but for the past week and a half the forest reserve has been alive with the sounds of quickly marching feet and loudly firing rifles. Jose Sanchez reports from the front. Jose Sanchez, Reporting It’s the high point for every member of the BDF volunteer contingent; two […]
Getting the troops to where they are needed may become a little bit easier for the Belize Defence Force, now that they have a brand new bus. The forty-four seater was presented to Minister of National Security Jorge Espat on Tuesday, courtesy of the United States Government, under its Programme for Military Sales. The vehicle […]
In matters of diplomacy it sometimes turns out that no action is the best action to take. That’s what has apparently happened in the case of the illegal Guatemalan settlement at Edwards Central in Toledo. While both governments nitpicked over how to get rid of the settlers, who had crossed the border in search of […]
The B.D.F.’s new Defender aircraft finally arrived in Belize on Saturday, after bad weather delayed its flight across the Atlantic. The plane, a military version of the popular twin engine Britten-Norman Islander, replaces the one that crashed in 1998 in the Orange Walk District. Brigadier Gen. Cedric Borland, Commandant, B.D.F. “We’re very please to be […]
Elite military personnel from the Caribbean, Central and North America have gathered in Belize to develop a regional defence strategy to battle threats such as the drug trade and illegal migration. The sixteenth Caribbean Nations Security Conference is being hosted by the Belize Defence Force and United States Southern Command. According to the B.D.F.’s Lieutenant […]
The top military brass from the Caribbean, Central and North America will gather in Belize later this week to plot regional defence strategy. The sixteenth Caribbean Nations Security Conference, hosted by the BDF and U.S. Southern Command, will begin on Wednesday evening and run through Saturday. The meeting will be attended by delegations from the […]
The government of the United Kingdom has demonstrated that although it no longer keeps two thousand soldiers and six Harrier jets in Belize, it is committed to helping the nation defend itself. This morning British High Commissioner Tim David and Minister of National Security Jorge Espat signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which Britain will […]
While the Minister of National Security was having no problem in procuring equipment for his troops, he has had considerably less success in keeping it out of the hands of thieves. News 5’s Jose Sanchez asked Espat about the four recent thefts from the police and BDF. Jorge Espat “It is unfortunate, it is embarrassing […]
The days are slowly disappearing when you would call the police in an emergency and hear, “We have to wait for a vehicle.” This is because the department has added eight spanking new Chevy S-10 supercab pickups to its fleet. National Security Minister, Jorge Espat handed over the trucks during a ceremony at the Queen […]
We’ve seen them before, crawling through the jungle and marching with fully loaded packs. Today the rough and tumble was replaced with spit and polish. Ann-Marie Williams After seventeen weeks of blood, sweat and perhaps a few tears, sixty-five soldiers and two cadets of recruit intake number forty-one, today officially became part of the Belize […]
The Belize Defence Force is constructing a new officer’s quarters for “H” Company. Funds for the fifty thousand dollar building located at Eyles Camp in Orange Walk Town are being provided by the Ministry of National Security. Brigadier General Cedric Borland says that the facility will greatly improve the living conditions of the soldiers. Brigadier […]
