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B.D.F. Commander Reveals Details of Chiquibul Ambush

While reports from Guatemala have spread like wildfire, along with condemnation of the B.D.F. at the highest levels of government, the incident is still under investigation by the O.A.S.  Guatemala’s Foreign Minister, Carlos Raul Morales, has been particularly focused on the B.D.F., criticizing their training and rules of engagement. Today, for the first time, B.D.F. […]

Guatemalan Minister of Defense Tones Down Anti-Belizean Rhetoric

If you wanted more assurance that the rhetoric has been dialed way down, you’d only have to listen to an interview from Guatemala’s Minister of Defense Williams Mansilla over the weekend. He told the press in Guatemala that there was no declaration of war, and not even a mobilization of troops as was widely reported. […]

What Becomes of the Sarstoon River Debacle?

So the crisis has been averted, and all attempts will be made to de-escalate tensions in the wake of the incident on Wednesday in the Chiquibul. But the truth is that the factors which coalesced to create that near flashpoint are still very much in evidence. In the Sarstoon, for example, there is a state […]

PM Barrow Tells BTV Don’t Go There!

Earlier in our newscast we mentioned the BTV trip scheduled for Saturday. The government has advised that it not happen, while BTV head Wil Maheia insists that he will lead an expedition to Sarstoon Island to mark the anniversary of the 1859 Treaty. Based on what we saw first-hand on Friday as we visited the […]

Is Strong O.A.S. Release a Drafting Blunder?

Late last week, the Organization of American States issued a rare statement. We say rare because the O.A.S. has stoically maintained silence in times of tension, like when Special Police Constable Danny Conorquie was gunned down at Caracol. But not this time, as the O.A.S. release states that it repudiates the killing of the minor […]

Guatemala Counter-proposals Weren’t All Flatly Rejected

The last we heard, Guatemala had rejected eleven proposals presented by Belize to government rules of engagement in the Sarstoon. At the same time, we heard that Belize had roundly rejected Guatemala’s counter-proposals asking for a return to the status-quo. So with a rejection from both sides, the talks are presumably on hold right? Well, […]

Minister of National Security Addresses B.D.F. Readiness

Minister of National Security John Saldivar attended a pair of emergency meetings on Friday, including a session with the upper echelon of Belize’s security forces.  Later that afternoon, he convened a meeting of the National Security Council where Prime Minister Dean Barrow participated via teleconference.  While the diplomatic aspect of the Belize/Guatemala issue is essentially […]

Guatemalan President Issues Statement Following Meeting in New York

The Government of Guatemala has also issued a statement following the meeting between Prime Minister Dean Barrow and President Jimmy Morales in New York.  That statement makes no reference on the de-escalation of tensions as the Prime Minister asserted this morning. In the statement, Morales rejects the Belizean version that the B.D.F. acted in self-defence […]

Guatemala Requests Involvement of O.A.S. in Investigation of Minor’s Death

The Guatemalan Government has also gone on the offensive. President Jimmy Morales also met with the Secretary General of the O.A.S., Luis Almagro, and with the Secretary of the Commission of Human Rights, Emilio Alvarez Icaza Longoria, to request their involvement in the investigation in the death of Guatemalan minor. Guatemala is also seeking an […]

A Guatemalan Canero is Mangled by a Harvester on Santander Farm

There is tragic news in the west at Santander, whose offices are headquartered in Guatemala. A twenty-four year old Guatemalan national was mangled around midday today by a harvester at the company’s cane fields in Valley of Peace. The field worker, Francisco Andres Antonio Sebastian, was part of several crews who were harvesting sugar cane. […]

Father and Son are Prime Suspects in San Jomal Murder

A father and his son are tonight being actively pursued by Corozal police, following a mid-morning murder in the San Jomal community earlier today.  Sometime around ten o’clock a male person of Hispanic descent frantically arrived at the Corozal Police Station requesting assistance to follow up on a shooting incident that occurred moments earlier.  When […]

Is Gang Rivalry Motive Behind Weekend Shooting?

Is the weekend shooting of a pair of Belize City men a gang related incident?  Nineteen-year-old Abraham Craig and twenty-two-year-old Tyrone Guy were attacked on Saturday evening by a lone gunman as the two were standing on Caesar Ridge Road across from Bismark Recreational Center.  As many as ten shots were reportedly fired at the […]

Julio Alvarado is Laid to Rest in La Rejoya

The body of thirteen year old Julio Alvarado Ruano, who was killed inside the Chiquibul last Tuesday, was laid to rest over the weekend in his home village of La Rejoya. It’s a tragedy that has spurred increased aggression by the Guatemalan military along the adjacency zone and the Sarstoon River. According to B.D.F. Commander […]

Will Assad Shoman be Hired by Barrow Administration?

And to close off our coverage of Belize/Guatemala relations tonight, we turn to the status of Ambassador Assad Shoman. P.U.P. leader John Briceño last week made the announcement that Senator Eamon Courtenay would continue as their lead representative to his advisory group of foreign ministers. Shoman might be gone from the P.U.P., but maybe he […]

Kim Brannon is Sentenced for Manslaughter of Common Law Husband

A case of domestic dispute ended today before Justice Troadio Gonzalez. After pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, Kim Royaline Brannon, who is now forty-five years, learnt her fate in her retrial. Brannon was accused of killing her common law-husband, Anthony Herrera, on December eighteenth, 2008 at their Burrell Boom house.  In the […]

An Update on Patrick Faber’s Campaign for U.D.P. Leadership

Turning to politics….While Minister of Education Patrick Faber applauds the B.N.T.U.’s campaign to educate its membership on the Belize/Guatemala dispute; he has been busy heading a campaign of his own.  Since a date for a special convention to elect a new deputy leader of the United Democratic Party was announced, Faber has been across the […]

John Saldivar Launches Music Video for his Campaign

On Friday night in Belmopan, area representative John Saldivar bused in delegates to attend the launch of a music video and jingle as part of his ongoing campaign.  Saldivar is also contesting the first deputy leadership of the United Democratic Party and is reaching out to all voters in an effort to gain their support.  […]

Football and Basketball Stats and More with James Adderley

Good evening, I’m James Adderley and this is Sports Monday.   We take you out to the Michael Ashcroft Stadium at Independence where game one of the PLB Closing Season champion series got off with a bang on Saturday night. Folks we’re pleased to see the next generation of Belizean footballers incorporated into the opening […]

Prime Minister Barrow Addresses Heightened Border Tension

There is an escalating crisis between Belize and Guatemala that is reaching tipping point. In recent days, Guatemala has adopted an aggressive stand against Belize especially in the Sarstoon where Belizean vessels are now required to get their permission to enter the Sarstoon. The death of a minor near Cebada in the Chiquibul on Wednesday […]

PM Barrow Reminds Guatemalan President about the Murder of Danny Conorquie

Guatemala earlier today issued a statement saying that ten Guatemalan civilians had been killed by Belizean troops. But there is also the murder of Danny Connorquie and the shooting of Sergeant Richard Lambey within Belize territory, which remains unresolved. While Belize has not placed responsibility at the hands of Guatemalans, everything points to them. According […]

P.M. Meets with Senior UN and O.A.S. Officials in the United States

As tensions continue to mount, the Prime Minister is meeting with high level officials from the United Nations, the O.A.S. and the international community. Here on the ground, the government is briefing the U.S., the U.K. and other allies.   Prime Minister Dean Barrow “I am meeting with the deputy secretary general of the UN […]

National Security Council Convenes Urgent Meeting in Belize City

Here in Belize City, the National Security Council met this afternoon at the Office of the Prime Minister in Belize City, following a meeting this morning between Minister of National Security John Saldivar and the senior command of Belize’s security forces.  The Belize Defense Force, the Belize National Coast Guard, as well as the Belize […]

Opposition Leader Addresses Nation as Guatemala Increases Aggression

As the government of Guatemala becomes more aggressive, The People’s United Party has been swift in issuing a statement following an emergency executive meeting at Independence Hall.  P.U.P. Leader John Briceño addressed the nation on the crisis along our borders. He called the troop build-up an irresponsible threat to peace and demanded that the kaibiles […]

Is Guatemala Attempting to Annex the Sarstoon?

As we said, the People’s United Party held an emergency meeting this morning in light of the amassing of troops in the Sarstoon as well as at the Adjacency Zone. The lead of the advisory group for the P.U.P. is Senator Eamon Courtenay, who is also a former Foreign Minister. Prior to that meeting, we […]

Senator Eamon Courtenay Weighs in on Belize/Guatemala Hostility

Senator Courtenay explains that once Guatemala moves its troops to exercise their so called sovereignty, it is a clear case of annexation which if left undone, becomes a permanent situation.   Eamon Courtenay, Opposition Representative “When a country declares part of a territory of another country is there’s coupled with the actual exercise of sovereignty […]