Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, on a working visit to Belize, called on Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington at his Belize City office this morning, where agreements were signed to formalize bilateral relations between Ecuador and Belize. Before now, neither countries had any formal ties with the other. So, the purpose of the mission […]
In the absence of an extradition treaty between Belize and Ecuador, thirty-nine-year-old Christian Ebanks, also known as Floyd Ebanks Jurado, wanted in that country for murder, remains a free man. In mid-May, Ebanks made headlines when he was remanded to the Belize Central Prison after being found in possession of an unlicensed firearm. He was […]
The fugitive status of Errol Elrington has come under much scrutiny lately. The doctor is wanted in the US for racketeering and medical fraud. He is accused of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid almost half a million US dollars. And he ran to Belize just ahead of an arrest warrant. Now if he was a normal […]
On Monday, News Five reported on the appointment of Foreign Affairs C.E.O. Alexis Rosado as new Ambassador to Guatemala. He will be taking over from the late Alfredo Martinez. It’s an important posting, more so because of the critical and ongoing discussions between both countries where the territorial dispute is concerned. As we said, the […]
It is pending official confirmation, but it is known that Alexis Rosado, the C.E.O. in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be moving on as Belize’s Ambassador to Guatemala. The question of who takes over at the Ministry then arises. News Five has been reliably informed that career diplomat Lawrence Sylvester will be back at […]
The Central American Integrated Economic System, SIECA, as we mentioned is the economic arm of SICA and by joining the offshoot Belize can benefit in a number of ways, particularly where it concerns regional trade. SIECA’s Secretary General Carmen Vergara outlined a few of the advantages for Belize’s membership of the subdivision. Carmen Vergara, […]
Since assuming pro tem presidency of the Central American Integration System, SICA, a few weeks ago, Belize has wasted little time in addressing the regional needs of the organization’s membership. A daylong session involving the heads of department within SICA was held at the Biltmore on Monday, where Belize discussed its interim chairmanship, as well […]
The speculation about who will be named as Belize’s Ambassador to Guatemala in the wake of the death of former Ambassador Fred Martinez is over. It is known that Cabinet took a decision on Tuesday, but the name of the new head of mission is being kept under the lid. The Prime Minister will […]
In early June, Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington led a delegation to the forty-fourth regular session of the O.A.S. General Assembly held in Paraguay. This wasn’t a scheduled session for ongoing discussions on the new roadmap created to strengthen the Belize – Guatemala relationship. Elrington told News Five today that he did meet with […]
A judicial review of a decision handed down by Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith in the extradition case of Deon Bruce commenced inside the chamber of Justice Courtney Abel today. Bruce is wanted in Chicago for murder, attempt murder and firearm offences. On January seventeenth, the Chief Magistrate ruled that Bruce be handed over to […]
Twenty-two year old Benque Viejo resident Edwin Chan was murdered in Melchor on Good Friday. Chan was found in a remote locate on the outskirts of Melchor with one gunshot wound to the head. Benque Police told News Five that it also appeared that he had been badly beaten to the head and face. Police […]
On March twenty-ninth, Guatemalan Tomas Ramirez was shot and killed inside Belizean territory. Reports are that a joint B.D.F. and Police Patrol came under fire by a group of men. They returned fire and Ramirez was killed. For the purposes of diplomacy and confidence building, the incident occurred at the worst possible time. Facing heat […]
It’s not the first time B.D.F. patrols have come under fire while patrolling our border…and Tomas Ramirez is not the first Guatemalan casualty of such an altercation. High level diplomatic discussions and confidence building measures notwithstanding, incursions continue unabated. And so does the plunder of our timber, xate, gold and other resources. Still, Minister of […]
The recent killing of a Guatemalan national by Belize Defense Force personnel inside the Chiquibul forest has sparked renewed concerns by the international community about the existing border issues between Belize and Guatemala. Since the incident a week ago, Guatemalan officials have been meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to look closely at what […]
The matter of whether the unfounded Guatemalan claim over Belize’s sovereign territory should be adjudicated in the International Court of Justice was to have been decided during joint referenda on October sixth, 2013. However, four months shy of the fixed date, Guatemala rescinded from participating in the vote, stating instead that Belize’s Referendum Act creates […]
There was a high-level meeting held in Toledo on Tuesday, where officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Security and Agriculture met with representatives of the Guatemalan government. The meeting is part of an ongoing series of discussions following the formation of a joint commission established in January in Washington. While the agenda for […]
A high level meeting took place in Washington today between the Foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala, Wilfred Elrington and Fernando Carrera, and OAS Secretary General Miguel Insulza. It ended with the penning of a document entitled Roadmap for Strengthening Bilateral Relations in 2014 between Belize and Guatemala. The roadmap identifies specific aspects of the […]
On December sixth, Belize’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom hosted an LGBT party at the official residence in London, Belize House. The event was reported recently in the media, and drew scathing criticism in some quarters. While sexual orientation or preference is not the issue tonight, at least at News Five, the LGBT bash […]
The inclusion of Belize as part of Guatemala’s territory, depicted on a number of geographical maps, is considered provocative given the political history of both countries in trying to resolve the age-old land dispute. Despite Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Fernando Carrera going on record to shed light on the matter, documents showing the annexation at the […]
There was a time not so long ago when the Belize/Guatemala referendum on the age-old territorial dispute was a part of daily conversation. All that changed when Guatemala backed out and talks stuttered at the eleventh hour. But the effort continues, or so it appears. Today, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Fernando Carrera flew into Belize to […]
With all the best intentions and apparent goodwill between both Foreign Ministers, there are still some sticky issues which have led to hostile words and tense moments between countries. One of those is the constant encroachments into Belize by Guatemalans, and the consistent plunder of natural resources within our borders. Those illegal trespassers have come […]
Another sticky issue is the consistent appearance of Guatemalan documents which cast some doubt, at least on that nation’s part, of Belize’s territorial integrity. Just recently, a Belizean delegation to an event in Australia came across a Guatemalan map which included the territory of Belize. It has caused some consternation and raised the ire of […]
The Foreign Minister of Guatemala, Fernando Cabrera, arrives in Belize this Thursday on an official visit on the heels of changes in the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry which saw the removal of two vice ministers. Cabreras will be meeting with Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington and Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials in Belize City. It is not […]
The Ambassador of Taiwan to Belize has remained under the radar as it relates to the passport scandal even though Wonhong Kim was in a Taipei prison when he obtained Belizean nationality and citizenship. Ambassador David Wu told News Five today that while he shared information about Kim with G.O.B., he is more concerned if […]
Last week, the government of Guatemala wrote to the Secretary General of the O.A.S., to protest the language used by Foreign Minister Ellington at the United Nations in the context of the territorial dispute. Elrington told the UN General Assembly that Guatemala had backed out of an October sixth referendum and that not seeking a […]
