In a statement responding to the withdrawal of the Orange Walk Running Rebels, the Belize Elite Basket Ball League said, “All records pertaining to the Rebel’s aborted participation will be expunged, including points won and lost.”
The OW Running Rebels announced its withdrawal on Thursday, saying that the “tournament as it has become excruciating operating, organising, and competing under the present structure and leadership.”
BEBL said, “The Rebels have failed to respond to several attempts to work through these matters, choosing instead to take their petition to social media, which is a clear violation of the league’s policy.”
“This week’s scheduled game between the Belize City Defenders and the Rebels is cancelled, but the rest of our weekend schedule is on track on Saturday night in Dangriga and Belize City. The schedule for the remainder of the 2024 season is being redone to account for the withdrawal of the Orange Walk team and will be published as soon as possible.”
Jared Ranguy pleaded guilty a short while ago to triple murder. Justice Nigel Pilgrim has reserved sentencing until after mitigation pleas are submitted. Ranguy pleaded guilty to the murders of his mother, sister, and stepfather in Ladyville in November of 2012. In court, the relatives of the deceased persons sobbed as Ranguy admitted that he killed the victims without provocation.
His guilty plea came after having gotten a sentence indication, meaning that he decided to plead guilty without going to a trial. News Five will have the full details, including an interview with the family, in our newscast live at 6.
News Five has confirmed that Stake Bank Enterprise Limited is in receivership. Atlantic Bank Limited has taken possession of the company’s assets as of Thursday, March 14th. Marlowe Neal of Neal & Associates Advisory Services Ltd. is the receiver.
Ground being broken at Stake Bank n 2019
In February 2019, ground was broken for Stake Bank Enterprise Limited with the intention of embarking on a tourism development project on its twenty-five-acre island.
Back then, Chairman of the Feinstein Group, Michael Feinstein, told the press that “The bankers for this project is being led by the Atlantic Bank group. The Atlantic Bank is the lead organizer for the money for this project which is sixty-seven million dollars on the island and a total of about eighty-two million dollars before this project is done.”
Michael Feinstein, Chairman of the Feinstein Group
However, fast forward five years, and the once-barren island off the coast of Belize City has transformed into a partially developed construction site yet remains unfinished despite significant efforts and investments. The project, also known as Port Coral, aimed to create a state-of-the-art cruise ship docking facility and tourism hub.
Stake Bank Enterprise Ltd., led by Michael Feinstein, secured a definitive agreement with the Government of Belize in August 2017. This agreement granted the company permission to build and operate the Stake Bank project for a fixed 25-year term. It preceded the enactment of the Stake Bank Cruise Docking Facility Development Act in January 2018.
Aerial View of the unfinished construction
The Claim
The project faced challenges, including legal disputes and controversies surrounding the approval of competing cruise ship docking facilities in Belize District, notably the Port of Magical Belize. Feinstein and Stake Bank initiated legal proceedings against the government and Portico Enterprises Limited, seeking damages for alleged breaches of the definitive agreement and hindrances to project progress.
Feinstein claims that news of Portico’s memorandum hindered negotiations and halted the construction of the Stake Bank Project.
Lawsuit filed by Michael Feinstein & Stake Bank Ltd. against G.O.B.
The Government of Belize further exacerbated the situation by entering into a definitive agreement with Portico in October 2020, granting a thirty-year term for the Port of Magical Belize along with extensive approving rights, tax benefits, and duty concessions unprecedented for any other investor or developer. Stake Bank contends that these breaches have caused significant loss and damage, resulting in a six-year stall of the project.
They claim projected net revenue losses of one hundred forty-eight million, four hundred thirty-four thousand, and four hundred four Belize dollars, along with an additional thirty million Belize dollars in interest incurred during this period.
What is a Receivership?
Receivership serves as a debt restructuring mechanism aimed at steering a company away from bankruptcy or liquidation while legal proceedings unfold. During this interim period, a neutral and legally appointed professional, known as a receiver, assumes control over the company’s operations, finances, and assets. The primary objective of the receiver is to evaluate the company’s sustainability, creditor interests, and outstanding debts, subsequently devising a repayment strategy that mitigates the need for total liquidation.
The latest murder victim is a forty-year-old father from Saint Margaret’s Village. Luis Seapas was socializing at a restaurant and bar in the village when he was hacked to death by three men. His attackers are also from the community and known to the deceased. The incident occurred sometime after midnight inside the bar. There is currently no information to suggest that Seapas and his attackers had any prior altercation, in fact they have been seen socializing together in the village. The horrific ordeal unfolded in front of the establishment’s employees, much to their dismay. So, what could have led to the deadly altercation? New’s Five’s Paul Lopez travelled to Saint Margaret’s Village today where we spoke with the family of the deceased and the owner of the establishment. Here is that report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
A night out at La Rumba Restaurant and Bar in Saint Margaret’s Village ended tragically for one man. Forty-year-old Luis Seapas was socializing at the establishment after midnight on Thursday, when a group of men, armed with a machete, attacked him. We spoke off camera with the owner of the establishment who says that the entire ordeal played out in front of her employees. They ran from the restaurant and bar to her home nearby to seek refuge.
Voice of: Owner of La Rumba Bar
“I start to receive information around two-thirty when they came here to my house running. The girls were frightened and the one that saw the chopping fainted when she came here. The other girls told me that this was happening, three guys came in and chopped the other one and I asked them if he is dead or just injured. They said they chopped him a lot, on his face, but I didn’t want to believe.”
Julissa Najaro, Seapas’ common-law wife, says he arrived home from work on Wednesday evening, ran some errands and thereafter informed her that he was on his way to purchase gas. But Seapas never returned home. He instead went to La Rumba Restaurant and Bar.
Julissa Najaro
Julissa Najaro, Common-Law-Wife
“Well, he came from work like at around five o’clock in the evening. And he was not very calm. He was happy. No, we never thought that that would have happened. And then went to run an errand with my child, he is fifteen-year-old and then he came back. He came off from the motorcycle and said he would buy gasoline. And then, well, it seems like he bought the gasoline and then it seems like he went to the bar in the restaurant upstairs. And well, I found out how at about one-thirty. And then a neighbor came to tell us and my eldest son, his son who is eighteen-years-old, went to go to the bar with the neighbor. His dad had not died yet. It seems that he, I don’t know if it was at around twelve or twelve thirty, I don’t know, but around one thirty he was still alive.”
Seapas reportedly expressed concern when his attackers entered the bar. But they assured him that they were not there to harm him, according to the owner of the establishment.
Voice of: Owner of La Rumba Bar
“These three guys, Mayans come inside and stand in front of the man they chopped and told him don’t be afraid we are your friends, and the other one was standing, and the other one was beside him and the other one was a little bit far and he told him, don’t be afraid of my son, we are your friends, and he hug the man. And when he hugged the man, the other guy takes out his machete and chopped him. And the guy that was chopped ran, but the next guy came behind him and chopped him on his back. And because he couldn’t open the door, they gave him another one, but this time on the neck and that is when the guy fall.”
Seapas leaves behind four children. His common-law wife says he never once informed her that his life was in danger.
Julissa Najaro
“Well, I don’t know, I don’t know because he never told me anything like that. He was always calm. I never imagined what that would happen to him. You hear things about them but never something like what happened. They lived there. Their mother lives there. She lives. Yes, she is her sister, but nothing different like that has ever been seen.”
Fifty-nine-year-old Haitian American Robert Joseph was today arrested and charged with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. Jospeh is accused of killing forty-year-old Laura Fiorito and eight-year-old Megan Klessan with a firearm, while injuring two other minors and firing at a Fiorito’s common-law-husband. Joseph was arraigned today at the Belmopan Magistrates Court unrepresented. He was denied bail, due to the nature of the offense, and remanded to the Belize Central Prison. As we have reported, Joseph and his son visited Paradise Café in the Belmopan Market where they met Fiorito and her common-law wife. He engaged in a brief conversation with them before pulling out a firearm and opening fire. Three primary school children were also with the couple. Joseph turned his focus on the children and fatally injured one. Fiorito’s common-law-husband was the only one who escaped the attack without any physical injuries.
As we reported in last night’s newscast, a man lost his life in a motorcycle accident on Wednesday as he was driving up the Philip Goldson highway near mile one. The police department has not yet released any information on the accident, but we understand that Clarke was driving up the highway when a van that tried to overtake him knocked him down sometime around two in the afternoon. News Five’s Marion Ali has the story in this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
An auditor lost his life in a motorcycle accident in Belize City on Wednesday afternoon. It happened at the entrance of the Philip Goldson Highway, almost in front of A and R Store, and claimed the life of Ishmarley Clarke. News Five met his brother, Fisean Clarke at the scene of the accident. He told us that he had just spoken to Ishmarley a couple days prior to the unfortunate accident and then tried again to reach him about an hour before he died.
Fisean Clarke
Fisean Clarke, Brother of deceased
“I spoke to him on the phone about 2,3 days before this incident, asking him if I could stay at his house. Because I wanted to move from Orange Walk back to Belize [City]. I never did get an answer. I can’t do it again. I can’t do it again. I just, I will try my best to be for my brother and mi niece and nephew them. I got one more brother and niece and nephew right deh soh, so I have to try my best you know. I have to try my best. I neva know this mi wa happen and I di try call ah from one o’clock yesterday afternoon, yeah and he never answer his phone. I suppose to ketch the bus and come to Belize [City] yesterday. I didn’t know all this was going to take place, mein.”
Clarke did not die at the scene. A security guard who works near the location where the accident happened told us off-camera that immediately after the accident, Clarke appeared to be motionless, but then he sat up before the ambulance took him to the hospital.
Voice of: Witness
Voice of: Witness
“I mi deh right ya da work, so I mi just gone tek a lee patrol and I just hear something gone Bang! I never conscious da wa accident. I mi see lotta students right deh and I see a student and I ask what happened and they say it’s an accident. I come and I see the bally motionless on the ground. A lee bit afterwards, like before when the ambulance reached the individual get up, he get up and he sit down and watch his foot.”
Marion Ali
“As in stand up?”
Voice of Witness:
“No, he only sit down right there. He sit down and then when he see ih foot, it’s really bad injury. And then they told him not to move, but then he was touching his foot that bruk, he was touching it. And they told him, don’t move ’cause the ambulance is coming right ahead. And then how it’s a lot of traffic, the ambulance couldn’t get a break to pass. Then finally the ambulance came and then they managed to assist him.”
Marion Ali
“So he was still sitting up when they took him?”
Voice of: Witness
“Yeah, the ambulance, when the ambulance reach he was sitting down and he lay down back again.”
Clarke suffered a badly broken right leg and a gash on his head. His death is a lesson, his brother told us, and a reminder of how fragile life is. Ishmarley, he said, had plans to help his siblings.
Fisean Clarke
“His plan was to get a – get some more land for the family that we don’t need to go through a whole heap of problems in the future, assist the family with land and stuff like the properties and things that we need to achieve. Fi this happen to he and my family, I hope everybody could see that ih nuh impossible, ih nuh impossible, ih nuh impossible.”
Former female coast guard officer Keyren Tzib is out on bail tonight after being convicted of attempted murder on Wednesday by High Court Judge Candace Nanton. On Wednesday, Justice Nanton found Tzib guilty of an attempt on the life of a colleague, Kurt Hyde, as they were returning to the Belize Coast Guard Headquarters here in Belize City. The incident, as we’ve reported, took place on April sixth, 2015. Tzib spent the night in lockdown at the Queen Street Police Station before posting bail in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, plus three sureties of five thousand dollars each. The conditions of her bail include that she must sign in at the Orange Walk Police Station, as well as report to the High Court once a week. Tzib was represented in court by attorney Darrell Bradley.
Sixty-three-year-old Anke Doehm, an American national who was found guilty in the High Court last week for cruelty to a child, appeared in court today after being on remand at the Belize Central Prison. This morning, Doehm alighted from the prison bus that brought her back to Belize City. She appeared fragile and ill, visibly affected by her imprisonment. There was, however, a delay in her sentencing and she was returned to prison until April eighth when Justice Derick Sylvester is expected to deliver a sentence. As we’ve reported, Doehm stood trial following the death of thirteen-year-old Fay Lin Cannon back in 2017. The tragic incident involving the abused teenager happened in San Pedro.
The Port of Belize Limited has taken on significant losses in revenue since last Friday. That’s when stevedores walked out after demanding higher payment for lost wages when bulk sugar was rerouted to the Big Creek Port. During Wednesday’s stand-off between the stevedores and the Port, C.E.O. Arturo Vasquez told reporters that while the figures cannot yet be tallied, the losses have been significant. The stevedores, led by the Christian Workers’ Union, returned to work by day’s end, but on the premise that the Prime Minister, John Briceno will meet with their union representatives next Monday to discuss their concerns. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Marion Ali, Reporting
The tally on the losses that the port and the government have suffered as a result of the five-day walk-out from work has not yet been calculated, but it is quite a lot. Port of Belize C.E.O., Arturo Vasquez told the media on Wednesday that when there is an interruption of work at the facility, it has a trickling effect on everyone.
Arturo Vasquez
Arturo Vasquez, C.E.O., Port of Belize Limited
“Significantly. If no cargo is going out or coming in, you can imagine the effect it has on the business community and the public and the prices and all of that.”
Marion Ali
“How many ships have sailed so far?”
Arturo Vasquez
“The one that’s here today came on Friday and came back yesterday. Physically only two have sailed, but, in addition to that, two have cancelled – one on Monday and one on Tuesday.”
By the end of Wednesday, however, the stevedores had returned to work following a cell phone conversation between them and Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde who promised to do his best to lobby on their behalf and have them get what is due to them. The stevedores want the government to pay them four point nine million dollars in compensation for their lost wages since bulk sugar was rerouted to the Big Creek Port for export. C.W.U President, Leonora Flowers is representing the stevedores in the process.
Leonora Flowers
Leonora Flowers, President, Christian Workers’ Union
“He indicated that he’s willing – he’s going to try his very best to get the stevedores what is rightfully theirs, and what we have been trying to get for a while. That’s as much as I can say.”
Marion Ali
“So on Monday, you’re going to meetings with the Prime Minister and with the Deputy Prime Minister?”
Leonora Flowers
“Yes, we should on Monday.”
Marion Ali
“And what will be discussed then?”
Leonora Flowers
“Hopefully the sugar money only and then we progress on to the C.B.A.”
The Collective Bargaining Agreement is the new terms of reference that will govern the way the port and the stevedores work together going forward. But before the port and the CWU can sit to discuss that, the stevedores want a favourable meeting with the PM on Monday.
Marion Ali
“If you don’t get what you want on Monday, what happens next?”
Leonora Flowers
“The stevedores will be back at it again. Unfortunately, it will be up to the stevedores at that time.”
As we reported on Tuesday, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, B.C.C.I., has written to the Prime Minister, sharing its view that there need not be a Commission of Inquiry to delve into the private and sensitive business information of the Belize Sugar Industries Limited. The chamber was in agreement with B.S.I.’s attorney, Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, that such an inquiry would be invasive. The chamber’s Chief Policy Analyst, Joshua Pott shared with News Five that there are other ways to sort out a dispute of that nature between two entities.
Joshua Pott, Chief Policy Analyst, B.C.C.I.
“The parts of the Commission of Inquiry that deal with looking into the commercial dispute between the B.S.I and the B.S.C.F.A is not necessarily for the realm of the Commission of Inquiry. I think the other thing that needs to be understood is that what’s going on between the B.S.C.F.A. and the B.S.I is really a commercial dispute between two private entities. They’re both private sector entities. As a matter of fact, they’re both members of the Chamber of Commerce. Their welfare is equally as important to us. Where a commercial dispute exists, there are mechanisms to deal with it. The parties can resort to a variety of alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms. Those things exist and we feel at the Chamber of Commerce that’s the better route for resolving the commercial dispute between these parties than having a commission of inquiry look into it.”
