The Belize Central Prison has recorded five cases of COVID-19 after a prison guard began displaying symptoms a week and a half ago while on vacation at home in northern Belize. Following the positive results of his test, a contact tracing exercise was conducted and it has been determined that from a batch of thirty […]
Turning to the other COIVD numbers; out of one hundred and eighty samples, thirty-four additional cases of COVID-19 were identified on Thursday night with the majority of the new cases being identified in Orange Walk District. Cases were also detected in the Cayo, Belize, and Corozal districts. So far more than fifteen thousand tests have […]
American Airlines touched down at the Philip Goldson International Airport today marking the reopening of international flights to Belize six months after suspension. There was a buzz of activity at the P.G.I.A. including cultural presentations to welcome arriving passengers. Belizeans, as well as visitors, disembarked the American Eagle flight that came from Miami, Florida. A […]
The domestic airline industry has suffered an equally devastating blow as hotels, resorts and other tourism-related businesses that have seen a significant loss of revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. When air travel ground to a halt during the national state of emergency back in March, it included all local flights, severely crippling […]
There has not been a murder in Placencia since January of this year; but that record was broken on Wednesday night with the execution of George Murphy. The young man was socializing near the main pier with three friends when he was targeted by a man that emerged from under a tree. Multiple shots hit […]
The peninsula is generally known to be a safe haven and crime is generally only sporadic. As word of the murder of George Murphy spread, it sent shock waves throughout the community and residents began questioning their sense of security. Chairlady of the Placencia Village Council, Ilsa Villanueva says that it is a sad day […]
The speculation about the date of election has taken on intensity with each passing day and still no word. But at the last House meeting, the Leader of the Opposition John Briceño proposed that the day of the elections be declared a public and bank holiday because of the COVID pandemic. In a moment of […]
Over the past few days, the number of new COVID-19 infections has been higher than was previously trending. Two weeks prior, the number of cases had been on the decline and the Ministry of Health had reported that the numbers were plateauing, but since Monday, there has been a higher rate of infection in processed […]
During the last sitting of the House of Representatives Opposition Leader John Briceño revealed a trove of documents that showed that U.D.P. Minister Anthony Boots Martinez received rental monies for his building located near the “hand roundabout” in Belize City. The documents show that dozens of payments were issued, at first, to Martinez and then […]
According to Alpuche the contract for the rental of the building expired this year in August and preparations were made for relocation prior to the expiration date. She says that an extensive search was done for an appropriate building and while the property owned by Martinez was not first choice, it was rented. Judith […]
Director of Health Services, Doctor Marvin Manzanero, remains subject to the controversial Statutory Instrument 134 which requires him to submit to the Minister of National Security the names of all COVID-19 patients. Failure to do so criminalizes the DHS. Despite concerns being raised about confidentiality between doctor and patient, there has been no directive from […]
Confidentiality aside, the Minister of National Security, who doubles as the Attorney General, also argues that persons who refuse to remain in quarantine or self-isolation are, more often than not, reported to law enforcement authorities. He maintains that the police department is contacted regularly with reports of sightings of persons in open defiance of the […]
United and American Airlines are set to resume commercial flights beginning this Thursday. More than seven hundred Belizeans and visitors are to land at the Philip Goldson International Airport in the next few days. For months, the industry has been preparing for the day when the tourism industry can begin to bounce back and spur […]
With the reopening of the P.G.I.A. on Thursday, at the start of a new month, there is a general belief that additional measures to accommodate the arrival of visitors to Belize will be introduced. That school of thought has led many to believe that bars, nightclubs and gyms will also be allowed to reopen. If […]
The government has sold the National Fire Services headquarters in Belize City to Atlantic Bank. The sale was approved by cabinet in February of this year and the prime piece of property was sold for two point eight million dollars. But the Ministry of Transport and Minister Edmond Castro will need to relocate the National […]
Just before daybreak today, two persons attempted to steal a coastguard vessel from where it was moored at the BelCan Bridge in Belize City near a joint posting of Belize Coast Guard personnel and police officers at the substation. Alert officers soon realised what was happening and came up on the robbery in progress. One […]
One of the culprits escaped and another was taken into custody and handed over to the Belize Police Department where an investigation is currently underway. The identity of the detainee will not be shared at this time as charges have not been levelled. Lieutenant Kenrick Thomas says that the officers are unfazed by the incident […]
As the People’s United Party gears for national elections to be held sometime in November, it has been releasing its Plan Belize policies. This morning, the P.U.P. unveiled its blueprint for rural development, affordable housing and infrastructure, promising to create the right environment to improve the lives of citizens in rural communities and build ten […]
He has been in prison for six years, but tonight Deon Bruce is a free man. His extradition request had been meandering through the courts for as long as he had been behind walls. But the Court of Appeal this afternoon ordered his immediate release from the Belize Central Prison where he has been locked […]
Bruce promptly left the central prison and was picked up by family members. The Bruce family in Belize City is elated that he has finally been released after fighting extradition for more than half a decade. His sister, Jerrylyn says that Deon is excited to be free and safe at home. On the Phone: […]
There was a dangerous exchange of gunfire in Arenal Village on Monday evening between members of the Special Patrol Unit and a gang of armed thieves believed to be Guatemalan nationals. According to Assistant Commissioner of Police Joseph Myvett, the S.P.U. team was conducting a patrol on the Belizean side of the border community when […]
The Head of the National Crimes Investigation Branch, ACP Joseph Myvett, says that their investigation is being widened to see if those same culprits are responsible for the theft of a motor vehicle just outside of Arenal recently. On the Phone: ACP Joseph Myvett, Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch “During the course of the […]
An investigation into the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of four Belize Defense Force airmen, conducted by Bell, the manufacturer of the military aircraft, has concluded. On February twenty-seventh, majors Adran Ramirez and Radford Baizar, along with corporals Yassir Mendez and Reynaldo Choc perished when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed into a […]
From the standpoint of the Ministry of National Security, recommendations will be made in respect of persons in the B.D.F. chain of command who may be held responsible and will be charged for failing to carry out their respective duties on that fateful February night. Isani Cayetano “Can you share with us whether anyone […]
The families of the four deceased airmen have been experiencing difficulties with compensation following the deaths of their loved ones. In a previous interview with the Attorney General, he had informed that at least two of the families had received compensation from government. That turned out not to have been the cases as there were […]
