According to Lieutenant Soberanis, the occupants of the fleeing vessel had managed to toss their catch into the sea before being found with gill nets onboard the boat. Lt. Greg Soberanis, Belize National Coast Guard “As it relates to products, once a vessel is found to be engaged in illegal fishing, upon the sight […]
On Wednesday afternoon, the People’s United Party in a statement strongly condemned what it called the contemptuous and disrespectful behavior displayed by Ministers Anthony “Boots’ Martinez and Edmond Castro during the Senate Special Select Committee earlier in the day. According to the Opposition, their behavior showed a complete lack of respect for the Senate and […]
Ministers Rene Montero and Manuel Heredia Jr. are headed to the inquiry next Wednesday. But will they follow the example set by their fellows this week, and is it possible that following from the disruption of May seventeenth propagated by Alberto August, the U.D.P. Cabinet has decided to show open contempt of the Senate Committee? […]
As to the testimony of the worth of a Minister’s recommendation for a visa application, which is not strictly required, it seems to be a case of taking the word of the various public officers who have testified openly to how Ministers of the current administration behaved against the Ministers’ own denial. Former Ministers of […]
Senior Counsel Michel Chebat, attorney-at-law, is standing in for the incumbent P.U.P. representative on the Senate Special Select Committee, Eamon Courtenay. Wednesday’s attacks on Chebat and Senator for the Business Community Mark Lizarraga by Minister Edmond Castro went even further. Castro openly mocked Chebat’s political pedigree and accused him of wrongdoing concerning use of public […]
Lieutenant Greg Soberanis, an upstanding officer of the Belize Coast Guard, recently completed a one-year program at the United States Naval War College. Soberanis graduated in June, after successfully completing the Naval Staff Course in Newport, Rhode Island. As the first Belizean to attend the extended version of the program, he was elected class president, […]
This week, Senior Superintendent Marco Vidal has taken over the post of Regional Commander for Eastern Division South, replacing Assistant Commissioner Chester Williams. Vidal has publicly committed to continuing the community policing approach adopted by Williams, although he will leave the senior officer to continue mentoring gang members presently under a truce. Meanwhile, murders and […]
Forty-nine year old Mark Pollard remains missing tonight. He has not been seen since he left home to go on a morning run to the Haulover Bridge on Monday. Family and friends have searched the northern area of the Old Capital since then to no avail and only one clue has been picked up in […]
We caught up with leader of the People’s United Party John Briceño this afternoon on a walking tour of the Port Loyola constituency, flanked by the party’s standard bearer Gilroy Usher, Senior. Usher lost the 2015 general election to Anthony “Boots” Martinez by seventy-three votes, substantially reducing the margin from previous elections and surprising political […]
The Belize District Queen of the Bay Pageant takes place at the Bliss on Saturday, with three contestants vying for the regional title. Organizer Joan Arnold says the pageant aims to level the playing field since there have been concerns that the national competition was not fair to some contestants. That has prompted them to […]
U.D.P. Ministers Anthony “Boots” Martinez and Edmond “Clear the Land” Castro appeared before the senate hearing on Wednesday. They are the first two sitting ministers to be questioned by senators in the ongoing immigration inquiry. While the report from the Auditor General is at the core of the hearing, whistleblower Alvarine Burgess has told the […]
Minister Martinez was defensive today telling the media this afternoon that he comported himself fairly well, given the nature of questions that were asked during his testimony. While his conduct is being described as obnoxious, the Port Loyola Area Representative insists that he was in line with the terms of reference that was before the […]
Martinez maintains that the questions posed to him were beyond the pale, and resulted in his terse responses. He also strongly believes that Burgess should never have been called before the committee, since her name does not appear in the auditor general’s special report. Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez, Minister of Human Development “If you want […]
Has the senate inquiry run its course? Prior to calling several past and present ministers to testify before the Senate Special Select Committee, U.D.P. ministers have been singing the same chorus; that the inquiry on the Immigration Department has served its purpose and should be discontinued. The hearing has been disclosing information not known before […]
On Wednesday, OCEANA and the Belize Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage organized a media tour to Cadenas, and an additional trek to Gracias A Dios in southern Belize. This was to follow up on a crude oil spill that happened over in Guatemala but not officially reported. From our own investigation online, a driver […]
As you heard in that story, the local press didn’t observe anything that looked like crude oil in Belize’s water ways. But Guatemalans living in the area claimed that the oil had already gone down river since Monday. The Department of Environment didn’t issue any information on the reported oil spill; that is, until this […]
Over the years, we’ve reported on the illegal fishing taking place in southern Belize. Hundreds of Guatemalans are fishing illegally in Belizean waters and it is an issue that Wil Maheia, the leader of the Belize Territorial Volunteers, continues to keep close watch at and near the mouth of the Sarstoon River, half of which […]
Is Gracias a Dios border marker neglected? That’s what the BTV believes. On the trip up the Sarstoon, the media made a quick stop where the BTV had planted mahogany trees back in 2013. Wil Maheia told the media that the area should be better maintained. Wil Maheia, Founder, BTV “A few years ago, […]
The Senate met in its final session before summer break in Belmopan. On the agenda were ratifications of several treaties and review and passage of bills from the House of Representatives. Several of the bills, including amendments to the Customs and Excise Duties Act, General Sales Tax Act and Building Act were the suggestion of […]
Two of the Bills garnering wide debate were the Stamp Duties Amendment Bill and Economic Development Council Bill. The former deals with stamp duties chargeable on transfers of land, particularly for non-Belizeans. While it is primarily an economic measure, concerns have been raised as to whether the country is shooting itself in the foot and […]
There was near-unanimous support for the establishment of the Economic Development Council, which advises the Prime Minister and the Government on economic and business issues. The Bill calls for ten members – five from the Public Service and five from separate areas of the private sector. Business Community Senator Mark Lizarraga asked that, to guard […]
There was a groundbreaking ceremony today in Cayo for a headquarters for the Belize Electric Company Limited, BECOL, whose parent company is Fortis. Fortis is the previous owner of Belize Electricity Limited, which was nationalized years ago. The C.E.O. of Fortis, Barry Perry has been in Belize for the event. News Five was at the […]
Earlier in this newscast, you heard from one of the two witnesses at Wednesday’s Senate hearings, Minister Anthony “Boots” Martinez, attempting to justify his behaviour. And while raising strong objection to the tone of questioning as we will show you later on, he mostly answered the questions put to him. The same cannot be said […]
Castro also bristled when the matter of his court case in 2013 against nemesis Alvarine Burgess was brought up by Senator Michel Chebat. Castro sued Burgess and this television station concerning interviews she granted about his role in the visa hustle. The minister refused to answer multiple questions concerning that case, including about how it […]
The recalcitrant Ministers were also pressed on their public commentary about the inquiry, its purposes and intentions, and the Prime Minister’s famous dictum that all Ministers should stop making visa recommendations – “procurement” as he put it – as that would cause the Government to fall. It was said at a press conference around the […]
