A delegation led by Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington leaves for Guatemala City next weekend where they will witness the signing of the revised Special Agreement on May twenty-fifth. The amended Compromis, as News Five has reported, will allow Guatemala to hold an individual referendum presumably by November. The national poll will determine whether the issue […]
The Prime Minister said on Thursday that he had instructed the Minister to issue a release and that the Foreign Minister may have preempted an official release by government on the proposed changes. Elrington explains the recent slipup. He says that despite the prime minister’s request to have the information disseminated to the opposition, as […]
The Special Agreement signed between Belize and Guatemala in December 2008, will be amended later this month to allow Guatemala to proceed solo with a referendum on whether the longstanding territorial dispute should be brought before the International Court of Justice for resolution. As it stands, the Compromis calls on both countries to hold simultaneous […]
Contrary to what the Leader of the Opposition told the media, the P.M. claims that Fonseca was indeed informed of the proposed changes to the Special Agreement. He maintains that after meeting with his party, Fonseca returned a call informing him of the P.U.P.’s consent. The P.M. then told Fonseca that a release would be […]
All that said, when will a referendum be held in Belize? The Prime Minister says the poll would only be held after the next general elections. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “I see where he had said, “look if you want to be saddle by this thing forever then do nothing, but if we want […]
In 2013, Minister of State Edmond Castro was accused of large scale and lucrative facilitation of visas for Chinese nationals. The person making those accusations was Alvarene Burgess, who alleged that she delivered money to Castro on many occasions in return for his signing recommendations stating he knew the persons he was supporting for visas. […]
Today’s courtroom session will no doubt go down as one of Edmond Castro’s most uncomfortable and uneasy appearances. He was forced into excruciating detail on the circumstances which led to his being fired from Cabinet in 2010, the Belize Airports Authority check scandal and the visa scandal, agreeing that it could be perceived that his […]
The purpose of his trip to Miami was to meet with executives from Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, the majority shareholder in the Fort Street Tourism Village. The discussions centered around the proposed Stake Bank Tourism Development Project by developer Mike Feinstein and RCCL’s controlling interest in the rival enterprise. As it stands, the existing contract […]
Now government has often amended legislation or gone to court to settle disputes. But at this time negotiations remain fluid and, according to the prime minister, government is far from an ultimatum on the passage of new legislation to free itself from any contractual responsibilities to Royal Caribbean. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “So, we […]
The People’s United Party held a press conference at Independence Hall in Belize City to announce the first in what the party says will be a number of changes to be made before the next general elections. But all did not go down as the party expected. We start with area representative, Ivan Ramos, who […]
Taking up the mantle from Ivan Ramos is former career educator and historian, Anthony Sabal. Sabal spoke in English, Spanish and Garifuna after he was glowingly introduced by the party Leader, Francis Fonseca who described him as a man of high integrity. Anthony Sabal, New Standard Bearer, Dangriga “Mister Ramos what you wanted to […]
Now the P.U.P. controls all the seats in the south, but the results of an audit show that all is not well so changes are anticipated elsewhere in the south where representatives are not considered viable going into the next election. Three weeks ago, Ramos heard that the tide was turning against him because highly […]
But was the elected area rep pushed out? That question was answered in a back and forth with the media even as the campaign manager acknowledged that it was a difficult process to replace the sitting area representative. Reporter “He was pushed. That he was not willing to go but chose not to put […]
Embattled Second Vice President Rawell Pelayo has formally tendered his resignation to the executive of the Football Federation of Belize. His official withdrawal comes one month after F.F.B. President Ruperto Vicente announced that the organization was expecting Pelayo to step down after being deported to Belize on April seventh. The Orange Walk businessman had been […]
On Tuesday, News Five aired an exclusive interview with Foreign Affairs Minister Wilfred Elrington during which he commented on an attempt by Guatemalan law enforcement to search the residence of Ambassador Alexis Rosado. While we were clear in reporting that the property is purportedly linked to disgraced former Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti, who is […]
What do you know about Geographic Information Systems (GIS)? It sounds very technical and above our heads. But what GIS does is that it gathers information from data that is captured and analyzed in the form of maps and other illustrations to better understand and solve problems in our surroundings. You can find it in […]
Is Belize caving in to Guatemala? At the request of Guatemala, the Government of Belize has agreed to amend the Special Agreement signed between both countries in 2008. The compromis, as it is otherwise known, is a formal agreement between both countries to hold a joint referenda on the issue of whether the existing territorial […]
So what’s the Opposition’s take on the impending amendment to the special agreement between Belize and Guatemala? P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca told us that a few weeks ago PM Dean Barrow informed him that he had discussed the matter of the referendum with Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina. Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Leader “He said […]
But according to the Foreign Minister, government’s mandate, in this case, does not include public consultation prior to making a decision. Isani Cayetano “Minister, as you mentioned earlier, you were approached with this proposal, if I may, two months ago. After having discussed it with the Cabinet, the Leader of the Opposition was then […]
While Elrington reiterated that government will not act without consensus, he says that the decision to separate the dates for the referendum should not, in any way, affect the process or the mindset of the Belizean people. Isani Cayetano “How does that affect the overall psyche of the Belizean public seeing as though we […]
In the first referendum go-round, Belize was set to go while Guatemala couldn’t get out the starting date. For the past couple years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has maintained a special team which has done nothing, but prepare for a referendum. So why is the government saying that suddenly Belize would not be ready […]
Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti resigned last Friday amid a tidal wave of corruption charges. For weeks, Guatemalans have been demanding that Baldetti step down after being exposed for her role in a massive customs fraud and bribery scheme. But what does her resignation have to do with a recent attempt by Guatemalan security forces […]
And our question for tonight is: Do you think that the compromis should be amended so that Guatemala does not have to hold a referendum at the same time as Belize? 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 […]
Four persons lost their lives over the weekend. We start with the story of an elderly man from Ladyville, who was shot in his chest and perished over mangoes, which he did not even get to enjoy. Police are treating it as a case of manslaughter and not murder. Today, a well-known resident was charged; […]
The body of a Roaring Creek youth was discovered on Friday night in a remote location in the village of Camalote. Sixteen year old Glasford Thomas had been shot multiple times and left in the bushes off a feeder road. His family believes that he was killed because of the company he kept, and Thomas […]
