A father of seven children was executed on Monday morning when he attempted to assist persons in a traffic accident. The Good Samaritan was a Guatemalan national who lived with his family in Hope Creek, Stann Creek District. Edwardo Samuel Caal Sub was driving behind a stolen vehicle that was transporting a set of robbers […]
The firestorm in the wake of a racially charged conversation involving the President of the Public Service Union, Eldred Neal, continues to burn fiercely tonight. Various entities, including the Council of Management of the P.S.U., the National Garifuna Council and the Government, as well as the Opposition, are weighing in on Neal’s inflammatory remarks about […]
Turning to the voice behind the now infamous recording, this evening Eldred Neal stopped by our office for an extended sit-down, during which he attempts to explain his position. For context, the P.S.U. President prefaced the conversation by explaining how the trio, including himself, former N.T.U.C.B. President Marvin Mora and Belize Water Services Union President […]
Elsewhere in the newscast, you will hear Mora throw Neal under the bus for those unsavory remarks. Neal, however, says that his counterpart has conveniently forgotten his role in that conversation and the derogatory comments he also made. When asked about the perceived culture war, Neal told News Five he was only speaking to what […]
The meeting of Eldred Neal and Luke Palacio this afternoon, when the Joint Unions Negotiating Team convened at the B.N.T.U. headquarters here in Belize City, was likely an awkward encounter in the wake of Neal’s blunt remarks about the outgoing union president. Palacio, as many already know, is a proud member of the Garifuna community […]
The other persons to whom Neal was speaking in the recording were Marvin Mora, the current general secretary of the Belize Energy Workers’ Union and Lorelei Westby of the Belize Water Services’ Workers’ Union. Tonight, we reveal another damaging portion of the recording in which Mora details why the Garifuna’s reach extends across all sectors […]
This afternoon, Mora issued a twenty-one minute defense outside the B.E.L. compound. He opened with an apology to the Garifuna people for any remarks he made in the incendiary recording which would insult and demean them and bring his own reputation as a champion of Garifuna rights into disrepute. But Mora spent much of the […]
According to Mora, he was doing two things: the first was to attempt to find out the reason why the P.S.U. did not support Fayne Nicasio, a Garifuna woman, for the post of president of the National Trade Union Congress of Belize. It’s a post Mora himself held until last December. After winning a vote […]
Mora claimed that the recording was done without anyone’s knowledge, including the person on whose device it was recorded, and then a portion of it was cut and given to someone as a means of refuting rumors of racism by Mora. Apparently it was recorded off a loudspeaker by someone else and this is the […]
We can confirm that a Guatemalan national has been found dead in the Chiquibul National Park. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs late this evening confirmed the death of the national, but says that the identity and cause of death have not been ascertained; and the deceased is still at the location. According to the release, […]
A letter demanding that P.S.U. President Eldred Neal stands down from contesting his seat during the upcoming Annual General Meeting has been signed by nine members of the union’s Council of Management. Among the signatories is Chair of the Belize District Branch, Edmund Zuniga Junior. Not only does he sit on the committee, he’s also […]
Also signing on the document dated May sixth, was Kenneth Mortis. He is the second vice president of the Public Service Union and is a career fireman. Mortis says that both he and Neal were supported heavily by the southern branches of the P.S.U., including Dangriga, in their bid for seats on the executive. Mortis […]
Leader of the People’s United Party, John Briceño, joined in with condemnation of the inflammatory remarks made by Eldred Neal. He pointed to the Father of the Nation George Price’s vision of a Belize where we are all one and not subject to division based on race, color or any other divisive thing. As he […]
This afternoon, the People’s United Party continued its assault on the Integrity Commission’s decision to look at only declarations of public figures for the year 2016. The Party argues that the decision, made on the basis that the Prevention of Corruption Act is unclear on the power of the Commission to be retroactive; that no […]
Briceño said that a Government he leads will change the Act to ensure that no political party has an overall majority on the Commission, which would also be expanded to include non-political elements such as a member of the Judiciary. But how does he explain why one of the members he appointed to the current […]
The establishment of the Integrity Commission was on the front burner of the demands by the Belize National Teachers Unions last year. Today, the B.N.T.U. lashed out rejecting the proposal by the Commission to waive the submission by elected persons of their records for the past five years and only to accept submission for the […]
Condemnation by the National Garifuna Council against the remarks by Eldred Neal has come fast and furious. This morning in Dangriga, News Five spoke with N.G.C. President Sandra Miranda. She considers the remarks to be a betrayal of the Garifuna people. Sandra Miranda, President, National Garifuna Council “In this day and age, we are […]
Miranda told News Five that the N.G.C. is demanding Eldred Neal’s immediate resignation and that he should not wait to be removed. She argues that picking on the Garifuna by a Creole emphasizes the long-standing divide between the two ethnic groups, which she says should be cooperating together on issues that affect them both. According […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow told reporters after Friday’s House meeting that he is seriously contemplating early retirement depending on how much longer his back is giving trouble, though his present timeline for the end of 2019 remains in place. An advertisement aired on local television attacks his deputy and the man widely tipped to be […]
Elvin Penner testified without major incident last Wednesday in Belmopan at the public hearing of the Senate Special Select Committee. But it appears authorities were ready for anything, as the anti-riot barrier was put up in front of the National Assembly and Police stood ready inside and outside the House. Were the Opposition People’s United […]
The countdown is on for the 2018 municipal elections. The People’s United Party is only defending one town council in Orange Walk, where Mayor Kevin Bernard is said to be running for a third term. Party Leader John Briceño says he is aiming to “fight” the election across the country as it expects a rebound […]
The Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations has tried to thread the needle between supporting member organization Belize Audubon Society in the aftermath of the fire at the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary visitor center and addressing the complaints of villagers that Audubon’s management affects their way of life. APAMO asks the villagers to reflect on […]
