The extradition appeal of Deon Bruce was also before the Court of Appeal. Back in January of this year, Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith granted an extradition request on twenty-eight Bruce who is wanted in Chicago, USA on a long list of charges including murder, attempted murder and possession of a firearm. The U.S. authorities […]
It’s been two days since the horrific fire on Newtown Barracks gutted two massive wooden buildings and tragically ended the life of twenty-one year old Jacqueline Arteaga. After days of investigation by fire officials, the cause of the fire has still not been determined…all that is known is that the inferno started in the left […]
An ex-police officer, who is prosecuting cases for the municipal court, finds himself in big trouble with the law after being busted with a firearm loaded with live rounds. While the firearm is licensed, it does not belong to prosecutor Joseph Nunez, but to a friend who is a security guard. Nunez was busted with […]
On Thursday night, we took at brief look at the twenty-seven page interim Auditor-General’s report. The document chronicles an attempt at an intensive investigation into the corruption at the Immigration Department. We say attempt because the team states that they had trouble accessing records and were given the run-around by Director of Immigration Maria Marin. […]
The Auditor-General’s report has had no visible repercussions on the man at the front and centre of the scandal, former Minister of State Elvin Penner. But it has had serious political repercussions for aspiring politician Martin Cal. Cal’s name surfaced repeatedly in the report, after he and another man were named as the recommenders of […]
There was a shooting a few minutes ago on Fabers Road and Whistling Duck Street. According to an unconfirmed report, police were in hot pursuit of two burglars who had broken into a home in the vicinity. From a witness account, the officers detained one of the burglars and were in search of another when […]
Since last September, it came to light that there was gross corruption in the issuance of Belizean passports to person who clearly did not qualify. In the case of South Korean national, Won Hong Kim, there is evidence that he did not meet even the basic requirements, but obtained nationality and citizenship. The former minister […]
The interim report of the Auditor-General Dorothy Bradley was leaked to COLA two weeks ago and handed over to the media this week. It has now made its way before the court, forming part of the disclosure in today’s hearing. The document, or at least the portion we received, is twenty-seven pages long and is […]
As much as three hundred and seventy thousand dollars was siphoned off from the Southern Regional’s Maternal and Child Health account over two years. Administrator Nasley Sommerville has been fingered in the embezzlement of hospital funds in which a subsequent audit found that there was a clear lack of accountability on the part of the […]
US Ambassador Carlos Moreno has hit the ground running. The US head of mission arrived on Saturday and on Tuesday; he was greeted with an anti-homosexual protest as he presented credentials in Belmopan. Another issue that surfaced early this week was the downgrade of Belize by the State Department for human trafficking. The State Department […]
COLA stood against Penner today but the organization didn’t stand alone. Representatives from the recently formed Rod of Correction were on hand. R.O.C. has come under fire from Prime Minister Dean Barrow, who called it a lame and ill-fated attempt to recreate the civil unrest of 2005. So far the group has demonstrated representation from […]
Since chikungunya fever became an emerging threat within Latin America and the Caribbean in April, the spread of the mosquito-transmitted infection has been closely monitored regionally. The number of CHIKV cases has surpassed a hundred and ninety thousand between the two territories, with the Dominican Republic reporting the most instances over the past several weeks. […]
A twenty-three year old mother of three tragically perished this morning in a massive fire which completely destroyed two large buildings on Newtown Barracks in Belize City. Jacqueline Arteaga, three months pregnant, was trapped in the upper flat of Kimmie’s Bar when the fire started at around four this morning. The blaze was extinguished a […]
Following this morning’s blaze, the owners of both Kimmie’s Bar and Business Computer Systems looked through the wreckage to see if anything could be salvaged. That seems unlikely, because the destruction was absolute. In a majority of blazes, the Fire Department comes under fire for everything from response time to faulty equipment, and this one […]
While all attention was on the main blaze which engulfed the buildings and killed one young woman, there was much drama being played out in Hunter’s Alley beside and behind the two buildings. The fresh sea breeze in this instance became the enemy of residents, feeding the hungry flames and neighbours were at real risk. […]
A release from the Office of Prime Minister Dean Barrow late Tuesday evening has stirred a hornet’s nest in the Bar Association. The release targets current and past presidents of the Bar Association Eamon Courtenay, Andrew Marshalleck and Jackie Marshalleck. In a nutshell, it is a spirited defence of the appointment of Court of Appeal […]
While Fonseca vouched for the characters of all three attorneys named in the Prime Minister’s response, he says that the behavior is typical of government. According to the Leader of the Opposition, a draft of the resolution was circulated prior to a position being taken by the association. Francis Fonseca, Opposition Leader “I know […]
As we told you, former President of the Bar Andrew Marshalleck is specifically named in the release. Today, he told us that the release is just a red herring to distract from the real issue which is the PM’s appointment of Awich, and not Awich or the Court of Appeal. Andrew Marshalleck, Attorney […]
Three persons are named in the Prime Minister’s release – Eamon Courtenay, Andrew Marshalleck and Jackie Marshalleck. But whether or not that was an attempt to get personal, Marshalleck remains unfazed, and focused on the real problem and the real message – which is that things need to change where appointments in the judiciary are […]
Government threatens the president of the bar and two former presidents. Prime Minister Dean Barrow is in Dominican Republic for a SICA summit, but just after six this evening, his office sent out a stunning, but lengthy release on comments made on the reappointment of Justice Samuel Awich. It is a most unusual release […]
US Ambassador designate Carlos Moreno arrived in Belize on Saturday morning to take over from his predecessor, Vinai Thummalapally. The retired California Supreme Court Justice turned diplomat made it official with the presentation of his credentials to Governor-General Sir Colville Young this morning to begin his diplomatic tour. But there was a slight glitch to […]
The media was not allowed on the grounds of Belize House this morning, but we were invited to the US Embassy parking lot for an impromptu, very brief word from Ambassador Moreno. As we told you, he and his wife Christine arrived a few days ago, but notwithstanding the unexpected mini-protest this morning, they seem […]
Ambassador Moreno could not help but notice the welcome he received outside the residence of the Governor-General. To our knowledge he is the first arriving US Ambassador to ever been greeted with a protest. He seemed unfazed, but adamant that the US has no LGBT agenda, and he is not here to promote homosexuality. The […]
Benque Police are tonight investigating a report of the kidnapping of a six year old Guatemalan girl in Belize. Germayoni Asucena Cancinos Letran commutes daily from her home in Melchor De Mencos, Guatemala to attend school at the Adventist Primary School in Hills of Promise in Benque Viejo Del Carmen. But today, her father, who […]
In November of 2010, a plane famously landed on the Southern Highway, and nearby authorities found over twenty-nine thousand kilos of suspected cocaine with a street value of close to a hundred and seventy million Belize dollars. Six persons, police officers Corporal Renel Grant, Corporal Nelson Middleton, Sergeant Lawrence Humes, and Sergeant Jacinto Roches; former […]
