An expecting mother, five months into her pregnancy, was fined ten thousand dollars today after pleading guilty to drug trafficking. Twenty-three-year-old Nicole Flowers appeared before Magistrate Carlon Mendoza this morning, after being busted with sixteen pounds of marijuana in May of last year. The discovery was made by members of the Gang Suppression Unit during […]
The People’s United Party was in court today challenging the Statutory Instrument informally dubbed the Sarstoon Law. It prohibits civilians from going into the river under the Public Safety Act, and was a last ditch legal maneuver by government when all dire warnings and pleas failed. It’s the law, but is it lawful? The P.U.P. […]
The Sarstoon River is currently a study in confusion and controversy. Here’s why. We’ve always owned half of the southernmost waterway. Guatemala has a claim, but we own it. Things are different now. Guatemala appears to own it, while we have a claim. The river is monitored by GAF who insist that the B.D.F. must […]
The P.U.P. heads to the Sarstoon on Saturday, with its leadership scheduled to depart P.G. at ten for the Guatemalan controlled waterway. But with all that said, will the P.U.P. even see the Sarstoon River. As we told you Thursday night, there is unofficial indication from official sources that the members of the group won’t […]
Very high level delegations from Belize and Guatemala will be meeting in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday to discuss the Sarstoon. That’s the venue slated for the talks surrounding what has become a key factor in the bi-lateral road ahead. Tensions in the Sarstoon are at an all-time high – actually to the point where even […]
The talks are critical for another more local, political reason. The unpopular and controversial SI passed by G.O.B. prohibiting civilians from entering the Sarstoon expires six days from Saturday. Prime Minister Barrow has indicated that he will not extend it. So the ideal scenario would be that on Saturday there is some ironclad agreement which […]
All eyes may be to the South and West as the Belize/Guatemala issue percolates. But there’s a financial storm brewing – with wind gusts of just over half of a billion, with a B. We’re talking about the arbitration award which comes due very soon, likely within a couple weeks. The Prime Minister was asked […]
Earlier, Briceño spoke about Guatemala using its unfounded claim to distract from the crises affecting its people. But here’s the thing – he says that to some extent that’s the same thing happening in Belize. According to the Opposition Leader, while everyone’s focus has been on Guatemala and related issues, Belize continues to experience serious […]
The Santander Group celebrated a milestone today with the exportation of its first shipment of raw sugar. A quota of fourteen thousand tons of unrefined grain is being trucked to the port at Big Creek. From there the containers are destined to the European market in the days ahead. The achievement has been a few […]
While projections are being made for increased production in subsequent crops, there are no plans as yet for the construction of a refinery. As it stands, Santander is wholesaling unprocessed sugar at a different cost than it would refined grain, with no preferential prices. According to Burke, they have not been able to look at […]
We have reported on illegal activities within the expansive Chiquibul National Park many times, in fact within the last week after three Guatemalans were detained while panning for gold near Ceibo Chico. But there are other national parks with lush resources, and the reality is that across the spectrum there are not enough resources to […]
Six days after Guatemalan military and civilians allegedly came onto Belizean soil and abducted two men, along with a tractor and bulldozer, there is finally official comment from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Security. Today, the C.E.O.s of both hosted a press briefing to inform the public that they have indeed, despite appearances, […]
But there’s a problem straightaway with that response, firstly from the Ministry of National Security. The investigation is the first line of action in whatever government’s response will be. Just minutes ago News Five managed to verify with Roger Plett that Police have still not been to the actual site very near the border where […]
According to Colonel Lovell, they have been liaising with their counterparts and colleagues in Guatemala and at the O.A.S. since day one, verifying that no Belizean was still in Guatemalan territory. But that’s a cute situation. Verification by the O.A.S. that the Belizeans had been released, as we were told by Lovell, would seem to […]
So that’s where we were at that point – verification from no less than the O.A.S. that the Belizeans detained had been released. And that’s where the confusion comes in. What exactly are Belizean authorities waiting for? We’re not sure exactly what the problem is, although it is clear that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs […]
So with all the confusion and miscommunication arising out of what seems a very clear cut border incident, what happens next? Well…the Police investigation continues, of course, and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do what it has to do, whatever that is. Ret’d. Col. George Lovell, C.E.O., Ministry of National Security “I […]
There is support coming from the Commonwealth Ministerial Committee on the territorial integrity of Belize. After weeks of tension between Belize and Guatemala since the death of Julio Alvarado Ruano, the government has been seeking support from its allies. Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington met with the committee to discuss recent events happening […]
There was very significant news coming out of Cabinet on Tuesday, via a release sent to us via email three minutes before news time. It clarified that there is no formal agreement between government and the N.G.O. Help for Progress which has been facilitating immigrant applications for refugee status for the past months. Cabinet throws […]
Tonight we have more details on the alleged kidnapping of two – not one, Mennonite farmers who were clearing fire breaks on a large plot of land which adjoins the Guatemalan border last Thursday. To recap, in Monday’s newscast, we brought you Roger Plett’s very compelling story of being taken off his tractor by Guatemalan […]
There was another incident on the farm the next day. Watchman Rogelio Barrientos was allegedly approached by fifteen military officers, and a request was made for heavy equipment to be handed over to the Guatemalans. A distress call was sent to Police who responded, and then called in backup. But local law enforcement allegedly decided […]
That brings us to officialdom – first the Police. San Ignacio Police aren’t talking. They would only say that an investigation is underway and a release was sent out from the Commissioner’s Office on Monday. We never got that release. They cannot provide any other information because of the sensitive nature of the incident – […]
While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Police Department stay silent on the alleged seizure of Mennonites by Guatemalans, the opposition People’s United Party is not. In a release issued late today, the Party calls for an immediate investigation by pertinent authorities into the allegation made by Roger Plett. It states that, “we understand that […]
Tonight there is confirmation that the People’s United Party will be going to the Sarstoon on Saturday to challenge the Sarstoon Law which prevents Belizeans from visiting the area. That law is about to expire on May twenty-seventh. Interestingly, Saturday is the very day when Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington will be holding talks […]
And tonight’s question is: Do you think G.O.B. should be negotiating a protocol for Sarstoon River when it owns half of the river? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an email with your comments to questions@channel5belize.com
The headlines in the past week have been about events in the Toledo District in southern Belize. And that’s where we headed today again. The following story, however, has to do with farming practices in the community of Trio which is settled mostly by nationals from Central America who came to work on farms in […]
