U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, have begun deportation raids in support of new policy by the Donald Trump administration. Hundreds have been rounded up across the country and reports in international media suggest that Belizeans may be among them. When deportees come home via the Philip Goldson International Airport, they are typically […]
Belizean entertainer Supa G is back in the country after being denied entry into the United States earlier this week. The popular artist, born Lensford Martinez, was traveling to Houston, Texas at the invitation of the Houston Tri-country Regional Black Chamber of Commerce when he was turned back by immigration officials at the port of […]
Earlier this week, the Government of Belize announced deferral of the coupon payment of almost twenty-six million Belize dollars to holders of the Belize 2038 Bonds. Officially, the plan is to continue seeking an agreement with the bondholders, and on Thursday, the Government moved to extend the period during which holders of the bond may […]
Turning to the current state of the economy…Lord Michael Ashcroft says that Belize has not shown the promise engendered by the various monies spent here over the last decade or so, particularly the Petrocaribe monies which he said were “squandered.” But the bigger concern for him is as an investor – and one that has […]
We asked Lord Ashcroft how things seemed to get so personal between himself and Prime Minister Dean Barrow over the various situations involving B.T.L. and the subsequent arbitral awards. To turn around and choose to settle the B.T.L. matter in particular with a man widely vilified in the Belizean sphere came as a shock to […]
Will government proceed with the purchase of the Chon Saan Building in Belmopan? As we’ve reported, the Immigration Department is looking for real estate to house a new passport system donated by the United States Embassy. While the restaurant building, property of businessman Lee Mark Chang, who is also President of the Senate, is being […]
The unpaid national debt that looms over Belize’s fragile economy continues to be a matter of concern in various sectors, including the business community. On Thursday, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry sent out a release addressing a number of issues pertaining to the upcoming fiscal budget, as well as the present economic situation, […]
Residents living at mile two and half on the George Price Highway on a street called “Lucky Street” say that it appears that one of the designated streets in their area has been sold off. The area lies within the Lake I division, has one principal street, a side street and is closed off with […]
A Mexican artist and students from Saint John’s College collaborated on mural earlier this week. The use of stencil and graffiti style art piece was started earlier this week and was completed today. With support from Belize Signs, the creators of the mural used a stencil to do their art next to the Mexican Institute […]
Reported cases of domestic violence are on the increase even though there are many that never make it to the police; and in other instances statements have been made, but then withdrawn. This morning, well known artist Briheda Haylock’s idea of an art action highlighted the abuse against women, children and men came to life […]
In an exclusive interview with News Five in Washington, D.C. Lord Michael Ashcroft touched on a wide variety of major stories, from the settlement of Belize Telemedia Limited’s nationalization by Government and the problems with payment to ongoing wrangles over arbitration awards and the impact of the titanic struggle on Belize’s economy. We start with […]
Much of the half a billion dollar settlement has to do with the Accommodation Agreement signed seven years earlier. That in turn reaches back to the mid-2000’s when Jeffrey Prosser was in charge at B.T.L. but was unable to come up with finance to complete his purchase. The Government, at the time, turned to Lord […]
The relationship between Lord Michael Ashcroft’s business concerns and Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s law firm, Barrow and Williams, retained for litigation on behalf of the Belize Bank Limited and others, is well-known. It is now confirmed that that relationship extends to the firm having shares in the former BCB Holdings, now known as Caribbean Investment […]
Senior Counsel and Senator Eamon Courtenay has come under fire from the United Democratic Party and the Government for acting on behalf of the former BCB Holdings in a Constitutional claim to the Central Bank (International Immunities) Act, despite having supported its passage in the Senate. Courtenay did express his reservations on aspects of the […]
Farmers in the Cayo and Orange Walk Districts have thousands of pounds of potatoes rotting in the fields – produce they have been unable to sell because of competing imported Mexican and contraband potatoes. On Monday, farmers in La Gracia in the Cayo District said they can’t get buyers – and then there are the […]
David Miguel Banes, otherwise known as David Nanes Schnitzer, sits in a Mexican jail for white collar crimes he allegedly committed in that jurisdiction. After defrauding investors of millions of dollars and subsequently absconding to Belize, specifically San Pedro, to avoid prosecution, Banes was facilitated with a falsified Belize Nationality Certificate, as well as a […]
The Immigration and Nationality Department remains under heavy scrutiny amid the ongoing Senate Special Select Inquiry…and we’ll have that coming up. Tonight, however, there are complaints from the public that passport services have all, but come to a standstill as a result of technical difficulties being experienced with the existing machine. The system currently in […]
According to Minister of State in the Ministry of Immigration, Beverly Williams, another system has been substituted in place of the faulty passport machine which is also enabled for machine readable documents. Beverly Williams, Minister of State, Immigration “The backup plan is to look at renewal of current passports that have the scanning, that […]
If you listen to the Government, most of its problems stem from past decisions, whether by the Said Musa administrations or by Lord Michael Ashcroft. At every turn there have been attacks on both throughout the three administrations of Prime Minister Dean Barrow. In our interview on Wednesday, the British peer, who also has Belizean […]
A few weeks ago, former C.E.O. of the Ministry of Immigration, Candelaria Saldivar-Morter, mused that many unusual things happened in the Immigration Department and that there was corruption from the top to the bottom. Another example came to light in Wednesday’s public hearings where former Finance Officer Teresita Castellanos told of the unusual way in […]
Even though Prime Minister Dean Barrow continues to deny that the cut corners in the Immigration Department compromised the nationality of those registered in the run-up to the 2012 general elections, further testimony revealed that even with the greater number of applications coming in, the number of staff doing checks did not increase significantly as […]
We suspect that it hardly matters in the greater scheme of things, but both sides of the political divide have been accused of misusing the Immigration Department to their advantage, especially during election time. In 2012, the U.D.P. government swore in over two thousand new Belizeans in the run-up to general elections, which they won […]
The day-to-day operations of the Immigration and Nationality Department are coming under the microscope in the ongoing investigation. The Minister of State Beverly Williams is faced with reshaping the image of the sullied department. You would have heard Williams’ former stomping ground at the Ministry of Natural Resources described as a hotbed of corruption by […]
Coconut may be big business soon for Belize – the emerging industry is supported by the Caribbean Coconut Industry Development Project which aims to improve income and employment opportunities, food security and overall competitiveness of the Caribbean Coconut sector. At least two companies are exporting coconuts and creating opportunities for local farmers. The Minister of […]
A News Five team is in Washington where an exclusive interview was conducted earlier today with Lord Michael Ashcroft. A number of issues of national importance were discussed during the lengthy dialogue, including recent judgments on the outstanding arbitral awards, as well as the ongoing Super Bond negotiations. Since the prime minister’s return from New […]
