The numbers for tourist arrivals between January and July have been released and, according to the Belize Tourism Board, those figures are showing an improvement. Overnight arrivals saw a one point six percent increase in June and almost doubled in July. Meanwhile, cruise arrivals have increased marginally by zero point two percent. The overall decline […]
Christie’s is one of the world oldest and most prestigious art auction houses, but it is also a certified powerhouse in the real estate industry – high-end real estate. That’s why it’s big news when this giant comes to town, and it has…partnering with a local top-shelf merchant brand, the San Cas Group, to form […]
Deputy Commissioner of Police Miguel Segura, who remains on interdiction, following a fatal road traffic accident on August sixteenth, 2014, is being sued by the family of Yolanda Valencia. The fifty-five-year-old woman was a passenger inside a taxicab driven by Yanie Cu when she perished in a head-on collision with the government-issued Nissan Pathfinder assigned […]
The Eastern Division of the Police Department is the recipient of some much needed donation of surveillance equipment and other items to assist with intelligence-led policing methods. The donation, valued at twenty thousand Belize dollars, is being made by the United States Embassy through the Central America Regional Security Initiative, better known as CARSI. According […]
This morning, three representatives from the Northern Territorial Volunteers met with Prime Minister Dean Barrow at his Belize City office. The NTV is a different entity from the Belize Territorial Volunteers, but they work closely together and share similar goals. When they emerged from the meeting just before midday, NTV leader Giovanni de la Fuente […]
At a press conference on Wednesday, PM Barrow sent out an appeal that any assertion of sovereignty should be left to the military and to diplomats. B.D.F. Commander, Brigadier-General David Jones went so far as to state outright that the actions of the volunteers are putting his soldiers at risk. De la Fuente today says […]
Apart from accusing the BTV of endangering the lives of his soldiers, Brigadier General Jones goes further to blame them for the aggression of Guatemalan soldiers at the Sarstoon, claiming that they are changing the status quo of military encounters. That point, De la Fuente does not accept. Brig. Gen. David Jones, Commander, Belize […]
So what’s next for the Northern Territorial Volunteers? Another expedition, of course! But it likely will not be back to the Sarstoon or to the Gracias a Dios border marker at Belize’s southernmost tip – not because they’re afraid, but because the expeditions are expensive and resources are scarce. Giovanni de la Fuente, Head, […]
The first release from the National Security Council, issued just before the expedition on Sunday, broke the news of “countless encounters” between the B.D.F. and Guatemalan military. The release speaks also of attempted interceptions, and the clear indication is that this has been happening since the B.D.F. started travelling up the Sarstoon to change troops […]
Brigadier General Jones has gone on record to say that the mutual relationship between the Guatemalan and Belizean armed forces is now vulnerable, thanks to the unsolicited trek to Sarstoon Island. On the other hand, BTV’s founding member Wil Maheia is asking a rather pointed question, how have Belizean men, women and children bearing the […]
At a press conference held this morning, Vision Inspired by the People presented its position on what transpired in the Sarstoon over the weekend. According to Paco Smith, the confrontation between the territorial volunteers and Guatemalan armed forces is the result of a systematic failure on the part of the Government of Belize. He says […]
So will the Coast Guard’s Forward Operating Base be constructed at the mouth of the Sarstoon? And if so…when? The F.O.B. has been on the drawing board for eight years now, and credible sources tell us that funding has already been sourced from the UK. The last we heard was that Guatemala had objected to […]
On Sunday, the Coast Guard made its presence felt in Barranco, as they checked to ensure the safety of passengers and vessels headed to the Sarstoon. But they couldn’t do more than that, and were nowhere around when Belizeans were stopped by the Guatemalan navy at the mouth of the Sarstoon. Neither was the B.D.F., […]
The Belize Unity Alliance, an organization which aims to bring together and galvanize all third parties, is very much a part of the present geopolitical picture. Led by former Placencia Village Chairman Charles Leslie Junior, there is an appeal for membership in light of what’s taking place with the handling of the territorial dispute. […]
Last Friday, thirty-year-old Shane Goff and fifty-two-year-old Alden Locke were killed in a traffic accident that occurred around five-thirty between miles six and seven on the Philip Goldson Highway. The pickup they were traveling in collided head-on into a car that was traveling towards Ladyville, but was overtaking another vehicle and could not avoid the […]
Today, the Ladyville precinct of the Rural Eastern Division of the Police Department came alive as one of the officers attached to the formation was honored. Police Constable, two-two-five Randy Lyons was awarded by Regional Commander, Senior Superintendent Edward Broaster following his active role in protecting a group of cadets on camp in Dangriga from […]
Last week the Police, Belize City Council, and residents cleaned out the Pickstock Hutment known as the “The Jungle” and this week the Police Department is back at it again this time cleaning out Pinks Alley and neighboring Munoz Alley. A few weeks ago, police were conducting routine visits to the area and were overwhelmed […]
The incident between a Belize Territorial Volunteer-led expedition and Guatemalan military on Sunday has created a storm of anti-Guatemala and certainly anti-government sentiment. G.O.B. has remained tight-lipped on the attempted interception of Belizean vessels in the waters at the mouth of the Sarstoon, until today. This afternoon the Prime Minister hosted a press conference in […]
The government has also come under fire because the expedition which included approximately one hundred and fifty Belizean men, women and children was not afforded the protection of a Belizean military presence. According to the PM, two questions have been at the forefront – whether the military should have been present…and since there is talk […]
PM Barrow says that they don’t just talk the talk about maintaining sovereignty, but actually claim it. Every Tuesday, the B.D.F. travels down the Sarstoon to change shifts at the Cadenas Observation Post, and do not ask permission from the Guatemalans stationed at the mouth of the Sarstoon to do so. According to the PM, […]
The Prime Minister claims that following Sunday’s incident with the Guatemalan Navy, there is no doubt that tensions and thus the risk and danger has increased, not only to the BTV contemplating a return trip, but also to B.D.F. soldiers who must traverse the Sarstoon every week. Commander of the B.D.F. Brigadier-General David Jones echoed […]
Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington was at the press conference today and indeed, the entire issue of the Sarstoon expedition and Guatemalan falls squarely in his portfolio. But apart from being just a face at the head table, Elrington did not contribute to the briefing. Perhaps the PM believed that Elrington said more than […]
And just in case that was a little ambiguous, it was made clearer by the Prime Minister. He didn’t exactly go so far as to say that Elrington has been messing up, but he did say that when he has the need to step into any minister’s portfolio, then his line is the only line […]
Already escalating anti-Guatemalan sentiment was fuelled by a news report of the incident released by a Guatemalan reporter with Canal Antigua. That reporter conducted an interview with Vice-Commander Thomas, the senior Guatemalan naval officer on the scene – in fact, the one who ordered the Belizean vessels to turn back. Thomas asserts that everybody knows […]
Today, children in the Jane Usher Boulevard area of Belize City were provided with much needed school bags and supplies, just in time for the start of the new school year. The donation was courtesy of Eastern Division South of the Police Department, who for some time now has been rolling out several community policing […]
