The individual claims that over two hundred visas were ‘assisted’ by Minister Edmund Castro for two thousand dollars each. If you do the math, that’s four hundred thousand dollars to Castro, in a scheme which lasted six months, from October 2012 to March 2013, but may involve a much longer period with other facilitators. According […]
While the lucrative visa hustle you have just heard about, involves Chinese nationals, there are other nationals who also use Belize as a springboard to the United States. On Tuesday afternoon, two Cuban nationals and their Mexican handlers were nabbed in San Ignacio. The Cubans travelled all the way to Ecuador to make their way […]
There is much more to come in the alleged Castro visa hustle, but the Elvin Penner debacle is still simmering. It hasn’t boiled over yet because there is absolutely no word from the Ministry of Immigration on what is being found. The best the public has been offered is that there are multiple investigations underway, […]
Still on the issue of the passport scandal, Belize City Councilor Eric Chang’s arrival is eagerly anticipated. Chang has been M.I.A. since September third, and last week, he was stripped of his Deputy Mayor title. Mayor Darrell Bradley today told News Five that there has been no further communication with Chang, but his extended absence […]
On Wednesday SATIIM, Mayan communities, US Capital Energy and the Government met in court to argue for a ruling on rights – Mayan rights to communal lands versus the government’s rights to allow drilling on that land. The first day was spent with attorney Eamon Courtenay making his submission on behalf of SATIIM and the […]
In late July of 2012, two members of the Coye Family along with two of their employees were convicted of money laundering under the Money Laundering and Terrorism Act. Melanie Coye and her father, sixty-six year old Michael Coye were sentenced to three years behind bars. They are appealing the conviction, and today appeared in […]
A traffic accident which occurred thirteen days ago at the junction of the Burrell Boom/Hattieville Road has claimed the life of a Ladyville resident. As a result, thirty-nine year old Edison Dawson was charged this morning for traffic offences: Manslaughter by Negligence, Causing Death by Careless Conduct and Driving Motor Vehicle without due care and […]
A Guatemalan woman who has been living in Belize for over six years and is the common-law-wife of a Cayo resident has been given her ticket to leave the country. The deportation order means that she will be leaving behind her two children who were born in the jewel. Twenty year old Laudi Ortega was […]
The Gang Suppression Unit is reporting two drug seizures today. The first took place this morning in an abandoned overgrown lot on Allan Pitts Crescent in Belize City where a bag was found with over one pound of weed. Not far away the GSU found another bag containing approximately a pound and a half of […]
Since October fifteen, Activist, Patrick Menzies, launched a campaign to gather support across the country asking parents not to send their children to school to send a clear message to the government. Menzies is fighting many battles, but primarily he want stop amendments to section forty-six of the criminal code as it pertains to children. […]
While he was on camera, Menzies also lambasted certain leaders of the religious community saying that they are engaged in politricks. He says that’s the reason why he and several other leaders of the church have separated themselves from “politricians.” Patrick Menzies, Activist “I have no desire for politricks like many religious leaders in […]
Approximately ninety percent of those gathered are naturalized Belizeans so we asked Menzies if he was taking advantage of those persons or was he pushing his own agenda. Menzies says that his agenda is God’s agenda. Patrick Menzies, Activist “Very good question and it is a good question; a needed question. What agenda can […]
On September nineteenth, Elvin Penner was relieved of his appointment as minister of state after credible information landed at the Ministry that he had signed off on a nationality certificate and recommended the issuance of a passport to Wonhong Kim. Kim was in jail in Taiwan and was wanted for embezzlement of millions of dollars […]
The passport scandal has dominated the media for weeks, night after night, and tonight there is still more to report. Elvin Penner is back in the country, and is awaiting meetings with his executive committee and the Prime Minister before he makes a decision on whether he will accept the invitation by his leader to […]
Gary Seawell was in Magistrate’s Court today to hear a decision on a request for extradition to the U.S. Gary is the brother of Mark Seawell, and both men have been fighting extradition in the courts. Uncle Sam says that the brothers masterminded a drug trafficking ring between Belize and the U.S. between 1994 and […]
SATIIM, the Mayan communities in the Sarstoon-Temash buffer zone, U.S. Capital Energy and the Government of Belize had their day in court today – or at least the first day, since arguments are complicated and protracted. The claimants in the case are SATIIM and four Mayan Communities – Crique Sarco, Conejo, Graham Creek and Midway. […]
And tonight’s question is: If the government has millions of dollars in its coffers, should it be spent on: Teachers and public officers or Cayo Northeast? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an email with your comments […]
Patrick Menzies is a community activist who has aligned himself with the Hispanic evangelical churches in Belize. And using that platform, he has now launched a move for a national shutdown, lobbying parents to pull their children out of classrooms. For Menzies, it’s all about the national gender policy and now the proposed amendments to […]
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize says the government is nonchalant where the safety of employees is concerned. That is the basis for a fiery release sent out over the weekend. The matter on the table is the Occupational Health and Safety Bill, which addresses working conditions, equipment and safety requirements for employees. The […]
A fifty-three year old man is in trouble after a fifteen year old minor claimed that he rubbed his right hand down her breast last week Friday. When Medardo Cocom appeared before Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith, he was slapped with one count of Indecent Assault and forced to leave the confines of his neighbor […]
An Indian businessman of Miami Fashion Store in downtown Albert Street also appeared in court. Bhishan Kumar Issrani is accused of hugging a female student inappropriately when she went to his store to purchase a shoe. According to the eighteen year old, she asked for the cost of a shoe, but instead of getting a […]
In its latest anti-drug operation in the City, the Gang Suppression Unit retrieved over twenty pounds of marijuana. The bust took place on Monday afternoon in the Dyke Area of Faber’s Road. Over three pounds of the weed were found in a refrigerator and the remaining quantity was found in a bucket. No one was […]
Women in public office have been a rarity in Belize’s political landscape when compared to the number of men who have offered themselves for candidacy in municipal and general elections over the years. Sure, there have been a number of initiatives, including Women In Politics, a broad curriculum organized by the National Women’s Commission, to […]
The National Secondary Schools Sports Association, the governing body for high school athletics in Belize, has joined forces with Crystal Bottling Company after several unsuccessful attempts at forging a productive working relationship to improve sports across the country. This afternoon, representatives from the Bowen and Bowen Group were present for the signing of an agreement […]
There is an uproar tonight among various organizations, including the National Women’s Commission and the Special Envoy for Women and Children, following the publication of an article entitled “Bake It Again” in Friday’s edition of the Amandala Newspaper. The article is written by columnist Colin Hyde and it expresses his views on the amendment to […]
