The circumstances of the largest jailbreak in recent history are puzzling given the fact that three prison guards were held hostage for five hours by a prison trustee who was allowed certain privileges one week ago before the prison break. So was it an inside job? Did prison guards assist the escapees? Prison C.E.O. Virgilio Murillo […]
Three prison officers were held hostage during the brazen jailbreak. One of them is Wendell Coc, a Basic Grade Prisoner Officer. He was on the first floor of the Administration Segregation building feeding prisoners along with inmate trustee Carlos Montejo when Montejo turned on him and held him at knifepoint. Coc recounted his ordeal outside […]
The twenty-eight prisoners escaped through the rear of the prison compound near the Administration Segregation building. There are no cameras in that area and so there are no images of the actual jailbreak. This morning, Murillo explained the absence of cameras in the rear area of the prison compound. Virgilio Murillo, C.E.O., Kolbe Foundation […]
The Hattieville prison is facing a potential crisis as the corona virus spreads behind bars. Prison authorities today announced a lockdown beginning on Tuesday, October thirteenth, as more positive cases of the virus among prisoners and wardens are recorded. Late this evening, five new cases were confirmed among ninety samples, bringing the number to twenty-one […]
The mortality rate of the novel coronavirus for the country is at one point five percent for now. Since the outbreak in Belize, thirty-four persons, twelve women and twenty-two men, have lost the fight against the disease. Earlier this week, there were four recorded in twenty-four hours. Over the course of the last twenty-four hours, […]
Today, health facilities in the north and the city are stretched with the largest number of persons due to the virus. A total of twenty-three persons are hospitalised, majority of them at the Northern Regional Hospital in Orange Walk and the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City. At the K.H.M.H., there are nine persons […]
Sixty-three new cases of COVID-19 were identified on Thursday from a batch of two hundred and sixty samples. Going into the extended weekend, the new total number of cases has climbed to two thousand three hundred and seventy-three. The breakdown shows eight hundred and eighty active cases of the virus in the country and one […]
The number of COVID infections will soon hit two thousand four hundred cases and it continues to spike threatening to overwhelm health facilities. The virus has spread behind prison walls and is multiplying among law enforcement. The police has been hit hard, cases increase in the B.D.F. and the force is recording its first death […]
The P.U.P. has been unveiling a number of platforms leading up to the general elections on November eleventh. Today, it was about Public Safety and Justice. The level of crime and violence on the streets is a matter of grave concern so the P.U.P.’s policy will grow the ranks of the police department and put […]
There was a passing of the baton in the United Democratic Party. Retiring Prime Minister Dean Barrow said his goodbyes as party leader, giving way to Patrick Faber to assume the leadership of the U.D.P. The event took place on Thursday night and was held virtually as the U.D.P. faces the huge challenge of a […]
There is worrying news tonight that frontline workers, including members of law enforcement, are persons who are among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The Belize Police Department is reeling from the number of cases within its ranks since COVID-19 began its spread across the country earlier this year. These men and women, a […]
The mounting number of COVID-19 cases within the department has forced a change of officers stationed at various hotspots in the north, particularly in the Orange Walk District where border communities continue to be monitored for illegal crossings. Despite the use of personal protective equipment, ComPol Williams says that officers on the frontline are still […]
The coronavirus is also spreading at the congested Hattieville prison. Test results show that eight inmates have the virus so far and results for fifty-four samples are pending. It is likely that the spread started from a warden who was on holiday in the north. Today, alarm bells sounded when a prison officer suffering from […]
The police department is actively following a lead that can result in another heroin bust. On Tuesday four men were caught with almost eight pounds of the highly addictive illegal drug while they were parked at a gas station near Belmopan. Forty-two-year-old Guatemalan Jaime Galvez and Belizeans twenty-two-year-old Wilson Morales, thirty-six-year-old Leeson Evelyn, and forty-seven-year-old […]
Today, the body of popular artist Gilbert Alamilla, known as Mister Program, was interned at the Lord Ridge Cemetery in Belize City. As the funeral was making it way to the cemetery, a second suspect, who was wanted by police for almost a week, was arraigned at the Magistrate Court for his murder. Raheem Marsden […]
Today, Belizean artist Gilbert Alamilla better known as Mr. Program was laid to rest. A large motorcade was held through the principal streets of Belize City which led his casket to his family home on Kelly Street for a viewing of the body where family, friends and fans were able to pay last respects. The […]
So, as you heard, during the funeral motorcade for Mister Program, there were concerns about the lack of social distancing and failure to observe other safety protocols. The funeral organizers appeared to have attempted to heed to the concerns, but that didn’t seem to last. When the body made its way over to the Alamilla […]
A family in the border village of San Victor, Corozal, is outraged claiming they were physically abused by a team of police officers. On Friday the police officers received information of contraband goods being kept at a house in the village. An anti-contraband operation was conducted and eight persons were arrested and charged. According to police, […]
Commissioner of Police says that the family should be lucky that they were able to make it to the court. Chester Williams told the press today that the family attempted to hold the officers hostage and take control of their firearms. He says that the officers responded in a manner that ensured their safety against […]
Aspiring Prime Minister and B.N.T.U. President Elena Smith are at odds again and it all started on Facebook over a question Smith posted on her page. In our newscast on Tuesday, we ran an interview with the chairman of the village of Camalote, Derrick Parham, who is against the naming of a pre-school in the […]
This morning, in a lengthy interview with the media, leader elect Faber defended the decision to name the preschool after Brown, despite saying he was not aware of the selection process that preceded that decision. According to Faber, his mother is a career instructor in early childhood education and has made a name for herself […]
The social media exchange between B.N.T.U. President Elena Smith and Minister Patrick Faber got ugly rather quickly and admittedly, Faber’s behaviour was unbecoming of someone aspiring for the leadership of the country. While he apologized for the online tirade, Faber stood his ground in defending his mother against the comments that were made about her. […]
Election Day this year will be a public and bank holiday on Wednesday, November eleventh. And that is due to the COVID pandemic. The proposal was made by the Leader of the Opposition at the last sitting of the House of Representatives. The thinking is that a holiday will make it easier and safer for […]
The United Democratic Party will formally introduce Patrick Faber as its new leader in a televised event scheduled for Thursday night. Across the country, the U.D.P. has been reaching out to constituents in a bid to persuade their vote; however, it has been forced to do so in an unconventional manner given the COVID-19 situation. […]
November eleventh, by predictions, is expected to have a low voter turnout due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditionally, general elections have drawn voters from all over, even those living in the diaspora, but with the virus still ravaging the country it is expected that many will remain at home on that day. So how does […]
