In the north where the brunt of Ernesto is expected to be felt, NEMO dusted off the files and began preparations on Sunday. This morning the Corozal District committee members met; top on the list was the opening of shelters. Willard Levy, Coordinator for the district says that while they are expecting a lot of […]
There’s a highly sensational murder to report tonight. The son of the well known James ‘Raindrops’ Swan, was killed over the weekend. Recently, thirty year old James Swan Junior was named in the double murder of Charlie Espat and Eduardo Daniel Alamilla, who were found in a shallow grave in Santa Marta Village, Orange Walk. […]
The other murder was in Orange Walk, where the naked body of a missing man was discovered early Saturday morning off a feeder road in the outskirts of the town. Thirty-five year old Ricardo Blanco, a jack of all trades, was reported missing on Thursday by his stepfather, Arculano Navado. According to Navado, Blanco left […]
Loss of life over the weekend was not only confined to criminal elements in shootouts. Three Indian nationals were involved in a Northern Highway accident that claimed the life of one man. The three men in their early twenties are all medical students studying in Belize who were heading to Corozal town on Saturday morning. […]
The highly publicized money laundering case involving businessman Michael Coye and his daughter Melonie, who allegedly legitimized over a million dollars in ill-gotten funds concluded this afternoon in the Supreme Court. The case started three weeks ago and ended with a guilty verdict. The Coyes, directors of Money Exchange International Ltd., as well as employees […]
For a moment this morning there was a glimmer of hope that Belize would make it big in female track and field at London 2012. Of the three athletes competing for the jewel, Kenneth Medwood will be competing in track and field semi-finals this Saturday while Eddermys Sanchez was eliminated on Sunday in judo in […]
A family was left without a roof over their heads on Thursday night. A blaze quickly swept through the two-storey building completely destroying the structure and the belongings of Karen Willis and family. Willis claims it is a case of arson that involves domestic violence and the father of her child. News Five’s Jose Sanchez […]
In March just prior to the elections, we carried the story of a prime piece of property owned by Belize Water Services Limited in San Pedro that was cancelled and sold off to nineteen year old Alyssa Tun of Orange Walk Town. Tun paid two thousand five hundred dollars and thirty cents for a property […]
On Thursday night you heard Minister of Natural Resources, Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vegas’ also responded to why he gave his relatives, including two brothers, his daughter, a sister-in-law and a cousin, dozens of parcels of land. In case you missed it, Vega said he and his family aren’t “normal people”. He said he didn’t […]
There are two shooting incidents to report tonight. The first happened at around two o’clock this afternoon in an alley on the Canal side of Sittee Street in the Old Capital. According to eyewitnesses, two men approached the alley and opened fire at a group of women. The women ran for their lives as the […]
A protracted high profile case ended today when a former governor of Mexico pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. It’s a case that dates back to the 1990’s and has ties to Belize. The former governor, Mario Villanueva, was first convicted of money laundering in Mexico back in 2001; he spent six years in prison and […]
By now you know of the persistent reports of a crazy ‘land grab’ at the Ministry of Natural Resources involving relatives and close associates of the Deputy Prime Minister. When it came up in the House during the recent budget debate, the Prime Minister deflected the report by claiming that Corozal Southeast Representative, Florencio Marin […]
The Prime Minister did not address directly the land amassed by the Vegas, nor did he indicate if his government would reprimand the Minister or condemn his actions. While the PM has some of the land is bought from private hands, for most people the land transactions stink to high heaven, and whether by luck […]
When we checked out today, the price of land in San Pedro, it is verifiable that the price paid by the Vega clan is chum change in which ever area the land is situated. In fact, the most conservative estimate for crown land in underdeveloped areas would be at least four times more. This morning […]
There was another murder in the Old Capital; it is fifth in the past five days and believed to be in retaliation of the Sunday night murder of Stephen Flowers, an alleged gang associate. Around seven o’clock, nineteen year old Tevin Ferguson was shot at multiple times in the Lake Independence area; he died on […]
Karol Mello, an alleged Slovakian mobster, who reportedly fled to Belize in 2010 to evade trial for murder, remains in police custody tonight following his detention in San Pedro on July eleventh. His attorney, Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, argues that Mello is being unlawfully detained since charges are yet to be brought against him. In […]
There is a Belizean making headlines in neighboring Mexico. He is so sweet he had to be arrested for charming his way into the lives and the property of several women. According to reports, Roger Zedillo Orlando Hernandez, a twenty nine year old Belizean, told women that he came to see a sick sister in […]
Two Guatemalan nationals who have terrorized a western community were convicted today. Jeronimo Cortez Gonzalez and Marcos Javier Chiquin Molina have been sentenced to five years for two counts of robbery, aggravated assault, conspiracy to robbery, and unlawful imprisonment of several employees at a resort. The conviction stems from a 2002 incident at Black Rock […]
From time to time we have reported on alarming land transactions at the Ministry of Natural Resources. The allegations have centered on what is considered ministerial abuse in the sale of huge acreages of prime land to family members or highly connected party supporters at rock bottom prices. Recently, we reported on a long list […]
Well this morning, the P.U.P. called a press conference on the statement made by the prime minister. The main star was village council chairman Orlando Balam who was brought in from the north to clear up the mess of land purportedly issued in San Jose Nuevo Palmar, to Florencio Marin Jr. Balam exonerated the Corozal […]
But who’s telling the truth? Marin Junior, who has been at the center of the controversy, called into question the prime minister’s integrity following remarks made during the special sitting in which P.M. Barrow accused him of land grabbing. According to Marin, he declared all of his assets before the Integrity Commission when he was […]
Also taking the podium at Independence Hall, was Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca, who condemned the blatant nepotism which he alleges is taking place at the Ministry of Natural Resources. Fonseca charged that the entire Lands Department is littered with family and friends of Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega who have been appointed to key positions […]
A huge drop of thirty dollar in butane prices took effect on July twentieth; that was good news for cooks, but tonight there’s bad news at the pumps for drivers. And the next time you head to the gas station you will feel the punch in your pockets. At midnight on Tuesday, an increase in […]
A high ranking Belize Defense Force soldier was detained on Tuesday in Punta Gorda. The arrest went under the radar because the attention was focused on two other law enforcement officers—PCs Modesto Cucul and Federico Tush who were being arraigned in Court for murder. The B.D.F. Captain Ian Cuno of a regular battalion; was wanted […]
The pillaging of our protected national parks by Guatemalan nationals was brought to the forefront recently because of the magnitude of the damage caused by the border incursions. On July twenty-third, the Ya’axche Conservation Trust attempted to carry out a five day patrol inside the Columbia River Forest Reserve and Bladen Nature Reserve, in southern […]
