Police have yet to identify the body of a man found decomposing two weekends ago on the Macal Riverbank. The person is labelled as John Doe, and the only identifying clue that investigators have is a tattoo, a woman with shoulder-length hair. Forensics experts have managed to somewhat re-hydrate the tattoo, and since the release […]
On Thursday of last week, a Venezuelan navy vessel detained two fishing vessels in Guyana’s exclusive economic zone, the latest dispute in a long-running border conflict between the two South American nations. In recent years, the conflict has flared up as Guyana has started developing oil reserves near the disputed area. The Belizean Government is […]
Hours after he became President of the United States, Joe Biden moved to recommit the United States to the Paris Agreement. Last year, the U.S. became the first country to withdraw formally from the internationally binding treaty to combat climate change. However, the U.S. is the second-largest producer of greenhouse gases. With the U.S. committing […]
The Biden Administration also announced that the U.S. is joining the World Health Organization in the fight against the deadly coronavirus. Keith Gilges of the U.S. Embassy in Belize says that the COVID-19 pandemic is the number one priority of the new U.S. administration, and they will be partnering with experts to win the battle. […]
Gilges took the opportunity to commend Belize on its efforts to contain and reduce the rate of infection of the novel coronavirus. On Monday, Minister of Health Michel Chebat spoke of the quarantine regulations’ effectiveness over the holidays. Gilges says that it is a great relief how well Belize has done. Keith Gilges, Chargé […]
International Customs Day was celebrated virtually this year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. January twenty-sixth is the day designated to honor custom officials and agencies for their function in taking care of the flow of goods across the world borders. But with the pandemic still raging, issues of effective service delivery and revenue collection are being […]
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute Belize rescued a manatee that was entangled in fishing gear. The manatee was first spotted dragging a boat bumper off the coast of Dangriga on January eighteenth. After a week of searching for the animal, it was located just north of the mouth of the Sittee River on Monday. […]
La Isla Carinosa may not have been so loving to an American tourist over the weekend. A video went viral of a female American tourist arrested by two police officers in Caye Caulker Village. The video shows police arresting the tourist for not wearing her face mask properly. The woman refused to be arrested, telling […]
There was another caught-on-camera moment with police revealed over the weekend. The video shows a police officer using a chokehold on a civilian. The incident reportedly happened in Santa Elena, Cayo, and reports are that the man was drunk driving. The video was upsetting to the public because the Police Department has a policy against […]
In the north, a police officer has been charged with the crime of manslaughter. He is Police Constable Leenart Cajun. The incident happened in 2018 at the house of Ariel Audinette Salazar. Eight lawmen, PC Cajun, B.D.F. soldiers Mateo Bolon, Patrick Villagran, Patrick Diego, Elvis Cob, Edmar Petillo, Bladimir Escarraga, and Francisco Sho were charged […]
Another police officer is making the news, this time for sexually assaulting a nineteen-year-old woman three times. Police Corporal Edgar Teul stands accused of sexually violating a woman while she was bailing out her common-law-husband from the police station in San Jose Succotz Village. The nineteen-year-old told investigators that on the eighteenth of January, she […]
The criminal case against former U.D.P. Works Minister Rene Montero is active. His successor Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing Julius Espat has forwarded documentary evidence to the Commissioner of Police, the Integrity Commission, and the Attorney General Officer. Espat requested the investigation into the possible commission of criminal offences by Montero for the wanton […]
The government is soon to announce new quarantine measures, which will take effect on February first. But what will those restrictions look like? Since December, there has been a curfew in place from eight p.m. to five a.m., along with the mandatory mask use, practicing social distancing, a maximum gathering of ten persons, and a […]
Ministry officials are still unsure whether the new UK or South African strains of the novel coronavirus are in Belize. The UK variant has been detected in neighbouring Mexico. As we reported on Friday, samples have been sent to Baylor College of Medicine and CARPHA to test if any of the new variants are in […]
Thieves targeted another school in the Saint Martin De Porres area. Last Friday morning, the criminals broke into Sadie Vernon High School and stole ninety-six tablets. The electronic devices were recently acquired for distance learning and were to be distributed to students today. It is believed that the community members, which the school serves, were […]
On Monday, January fourth, detainee Gregory Bowen was found dead in his cell at the Queen Street Police Station. Police reported his death as an apparent suicide. In an interview with the media following the incident, the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, said that officers conducted hourly checks on the detainee and that the police […]
Elrington added that the unfortunate incident is similar to the tragedy that befell the Vasquez family when their loved one, Nestor Vasquez Junior – also known to have mental health issues – died while in police custody in June 2019. The family’s attorney calls it a systematic breakdown. Orson Elrington, Attorney for Bowen […]
The National Forensic Science Services assists the police department with carrying out post-mortems on about five hundred bodies. These are in the cases when a person’s death is classified as sudden, unexpected, unexplained, suspicious, and violent deaths. With support from the U.S. Embassy, the Government is working to strengthen Belize’s Medicolegal Death Investigation System, specifically […]
More than one thousand young men and women from across the country performed successfully in the police exams. The next step to becoming a police officer is passing the interview segment, which for Corozal and Orange Walk residents was done today at the Police Training Academy in Belmopan. Dozens of hopefuls waited patiently for their […]
Over the years, we’ve reported on the transboundary threats to the Chiquibul Forest – the illicit activities that were carried out exclusively by Guatemalans. Those activities include illegal logging, cattle ranching, and poaching – and over the years, Friends for Conservation and Development have employed a number of strategies to address these incursions. Now, they […]
The Caracol Road Project was always a divisive issue in the House of Representatives. The road is being done in phases – and the current administration has shared that they do not support the entire project. In the first week of January, Minister of Infrastructure Julius Espat told the press that he supports the first […]
Commissioner of Police Chester Williams also spoke of the ongoing investigation concerning Wilbert Vallejos, the former Lands Commissioner. Viewers will recall that Vallejos residence in Patchakan Village was raided, and police found were over sixty thousand dollars in various currencies and denominations. Officers called in the Financial Intelligence Unit, which is now leading the investigation. […]
This morning in Belize City, many persons gathered at the office of the Lands Department near the Cemetery Road roundabout. News Five understands that those individuals were all applicants for first-time land ownership. The gathering outside of the building drew the attention of passersby, and the police were called in to enforce the COVID-19 regulations. […]
Tensions between the Valley of Peace Farmers Association and Valley of Peace Farms Limited got high last week. The farmers are blaming the company for damaging their crops. Chairman of the Association, Ever Blandon, says that Valley of Peace Farms Limited carried out aerial spraying, using chemicals that eventually killed their crops. Manager of Valley […]
But the tensions got higher over the weekend when two separate parcels of cane fields belonging to Valley of Peace Farms Limited were set on fire. Less than ten acres of cane field were set ablaze on Saturday, and another large field was set on fire on Saturday. Investigators believe it was arson, and today […]
