May 10, 2024 - Channel 5 Belize

PM Briceno is Optimistic About CFE Meeting

As we’ve reported, Prime Minister John Briceño is headed to Cancun, Mexico on Saturday, following an official funeral for former Toledo East Area Representative Mike Espat. The purpose of the weekend visit is to meet with Mexican officials in an effort to resolve the energy crisis that has gripped the country over the past two weeks. Accompany him for the meeting are officials from Belize Electricity Limited. When we spoke with PM Briceño earlier today, he shared his optimism that CFE will be able to provide Belize with at least sixty megawatts of power.

Isani Cayetano

“PM, you’re heading to Mexico once again this weekend to meet with CFE representatives regarding our current energy crisis. Is there any optimism on your end that you will be able to return with something favorable for us as consumers?”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I’m very optimistic and excited about what can be accomplished. I think, the most important thing is that I believe at this point, I spoke with CEO Mencias yesterday. We managed to get the Mile Eight, on the Western Highway, generator going. Once that is working well we’ll be able to barely hold on but we’ll be able to do well with our energy needs, we’ll be able to meet them and when we get the San Pedro twenty-one megawatts generator going. That will also ensure that we can be self-sufficient. But let us not forget that when we connect to CFE there are certain hours of the day, like around two or three o’clock in the morning, we can get energy at two cents and three cents per kilowatt. So the plan is that we are going ask CFE if they could increase the maximum that they can sell to Belize. Presently, it’s at fifty-five megawatts and we’re hoping that we can get that at least to sixty, because when they can give us the sixty because it’s cheaper, we buy from them and then when it’s more expensive we can switch over. So it’s a matter of being that balancing act to ensure that we could get the best possible rates for our consumers.”

Rapid Economic Growth Requires Energy Security

Belize’s high energy demand is the result of a growth spurt that has surpassed the existing supply that is being fed to the national grid. It’s a gift and a curse. While the economy continues to grow, the need for additional energy is not being met. Here’s the prime minister on the pending solar alternative.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“What has happened to both the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize is that, for instance, we are victims of our success. Our economy has been growing so fast that it has been difficult for BEL to be able to keep up with the energy use of the country. We are presently using the projections of 2028. That’s where BEL projected that in 2028 we are going to be, here we are in 2024. Our government, from the day we got in we started to… we knew it was coming, but we did not expect that it was going to happen in 2024. So we’ve been working on other projects, solar in particular, and a battery. I think it’s a forty-five megawatt battery storage with the World Bank. With the Saudis, when we spoke to them, they immediately said yes, we’re prepared to lend you, it’s seventy-seven million, I think, US dollars. Once they approve that, dehn noh wahn write you wahn check, then we have to come up with the actual designs and place where we are going to put it. The area has been identified, it’s going to be in Bomba, you know, by the Maskall area, and we expect that by July or August of next year, the first twenty megawatts is going to be online. Now BEL’s challenge is to ensure that they continue to work on improving their transmission lines.”

Overnight Without Water in Belize City, Adding to Utility Woes

The entire Belize City was shut off from access to running water from early afternoon on Thursday all the way into Friday morning. When the water began flowing once again on Friday morning, it was only to some homes and the water pressure was extremely low. This morning, the Belize Water Services Limited notified its customers in Belize City that the water pressure would remain low up until six p.m. for the entire city. Residents in Ladyville and Lord’s Bank were also affected, though the outage was not as extensive for most of those residents. The issue, according to a release from B.W.S.L., was a break on the twenty-four-inch main service line that provides water to Belize City. According to B.W.S.L., the leak was caused by ongoing power fluctuations. They explained that the fluctuations inadvertently created a twenty-three-foot break in the service line. According to B.W.S.L., crew members worked through the night to fix the pipe and restore water. This morning, we visited the location where the work was being conducted. We also spoke with a couple residents.

Voice of: Carlos Cortes, Ladyville Resident

“Ih just buss and start srpay by itself and that was all I see.”

Paul Lopez

“And how flooded was it?”

Voice of: Carlos Cortes

“It was flooded for real and all of our material, right now we need to go work and all our sand wash weh. All the stand weh and we need to go deliver sand right now and cant do that. To me they did a good job. They come quick and respond quick and thing, because what they took an hour for the truck to come and start work. They did a good job. Ih nuh really affect me but I had to go buy refill water to bathe, cause I drink crystal water so Ih never really affect me.”

Paul Lopez

“So you showered with crystal water.”

Voice of Carlos Cortes

“Refill water, not crystal water, refill three dollars.”

Paul Lopez

“So it was a desperate situation.”

Voice of: Carlos Cortes

“Yes, I need fih guh bathe with the kind of work I do out here. I carry cement and them kind of things, I need fih guh bather.”

Voice of: Shayanne Garcia, Ladyville Resident

“Yesterday afternoon we saw water like sometime after one. And then we realize that they had a pipe that broke below ground right in front of the restaurant fine dining. The management and supervisor reached out to the boss and the called the BWS truck and they started working on the issue.”

Paul Lopez

“How much water was coming from underground at that time?”

Voice of: Shayanne Garcia

“A lot, because the entire front of the restaurant was flood and then the water came adjacent to the street, from the restaurant and went down from the back alley, so it was a lot of water. I live in an upstairs house at Lord’s Bank and mein I was so tired and I wanted to take a shower but I was not able to take a shower because we didn’t have any water. So I had to wait until late yesterday evening to take a shower.”

K.H.M.H. Prioritized by Utility Companies

When we caught up with Chandra Cansino, the Chief Executive Officer at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, earlier today, we asked her if B.E.L.’s loadshedding and B.W.S.L.’s water situation have had any negative impacts on the hospital’s services. She says the utility companies prioritize the healthcare facilities, ensuring that they remain with light and water for as long as possible under any circumstance.

Chandra Cansino, Chief Executive Officer, KHMHA

“The load shedding minimally, I must say that BEL does treat the hospital with priority. We are usually the last to go off and the first to come back in a countrywide scenario and when we have the shedding it is very infrequent for Karl Heusner. We do have our backup system as well. And so, they communicate with us to ensure we are prepared. So, we are very thankful for that. Regarding the water, we haven’t had any severe impacts. We had low pressure yesterday. But today so far so good so we are keeping our fingers crossed.”

Paul Lopez

“I know this is important for you all because of the work you do here.”

Chandra Cansino

“Of course, electricity we have our patients in the ICU, on ventilators, both are very important for us so we are grateful that we are prioritized by the utilities and they keep us informed. I think that is the best we can ask for until everything is regularized again.”

PM Briceño Condemns Shyne’s “Narco State” Declaration

The People’s United Party government has taken grave offense to the Opposition Leader declaring Belize a narco state. In our last interview with Shyne Barrow, one week ago, he criticized the Briceño administration for the manner in which it is handling the threat of narco-related violence in northern Belize. In his diatribe, Barrow went as far as describing the country as a narco state, raising the ire of many, including Prime Minister John Briceño and Foreign Minister Francis Fonseca.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“It was reckless of the Leader of the Opposition and the people that are putting those ads, it was reckless on [their part] because they are not affecting the government, they are affecting Belize. We are nowhere close to being a narco state and they know it, but they are trying to get some kind of political support. What they are doing is that people are getting turned off by them with that kind of behavior, so I condemn that in the strongest way possible.”

Francis Fonseca, Foreign Minister

“I think that’s absolutely reckless. It’s irresponsible, you know, it’s pathetic. There are so many other adjectives I could use, but certainly, it’s absolutely disappointing and I think it reflects very poorly on him. This is our country, [and] Belize is absolutely not a narco state. We know what narco states look like. If you have any idea about foreign policy and you have any understanding of national security issues, you would know what a narco state is. We have seen those in Latin America and parts of Central America as well. So Belize is not there and we absolutely are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that, as we keep saying, that no narco trafficking organization gains a foothold in this country. So I condemn in the strongest possible terms the Leader of the Opposition.”

Complainant in Selgado Case Charged with Being Gang Member

He was the man that filed a statement and provided material evidence to the police that ended with the conviction of attorney Oscar Selgado who is awaiting sentencing for abetment to commit murder. Today, it is that man, thirty-year-old Giovanni Ramirez, who was arraigned for being a member of a gang. Martinez, a resident of Seine Bight Village, Stann Creek District, is accused of being a member of the Back-Ah-Land Crips. Ramirez pleaded not guilty when he appeared in court today. He asked permission to speak and told the sitting magistrate that his arrest stemmed from a vehicle that he bought from a policeman. According to Ramirez, they took his vehicle, which he claimed he had for two years and then four days later, police came and arrested him and then he was charged with being a member of a gang. Ramirez asked what his vehicle had to do with his arrest, but the Magistrate told him she cannot answer or address his question as only the charge for being a member of a gang is before her. Ramirez was denied bail and was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until July twenty-fourth. It was a statement made by Ramirez that led the Crown to seal the conviction of Selgado for abetment to murder Marilyn Burns. Ramirez had told police that Selgado paid him to carry out a hit on Burns. Ramirez never showed up in court to testify against Selgado, but his statement was admitted into evidence in the trial against Selgado. It was alleged that Ramirez had recorded meetings he had with Selgado.

Man Walks from Murder Charge

Twenty-one-year-old Jahstar Wassani Gonguez is free of the November first, 2021, murder of Shawn Robert Palacio, also known as “Ras Shawn “. The case ended in a nolle prosequi when the main witness was too afraid and asked if the state can protect her. But when she was informed that there is no witness protection system in Belize, she chose not to testify in the matter. Gonguez spent two years, six months on remand. He was arrested and charged with Palacio ‘s murder on November eighteenth, 2021, seventeen days after the fatal shooting. On November first, 2021, forty-year-old Shawn Robert Palacio was gunned down while walking on Mudd Street on the Jane Usher Boulevard area of Belize City. In 2021, Palacio ‘s murder came as a shock to his community as he was not known to be involved in any violent activities.

Chinese Businessman Charged with Obtaining Property by Deception

A Chinese businessman is in trouble with the law after a fellow comrade alleged that he was conned out of almost a quarter million dollars’ worth of drinks. Owner of Ritchie’s Supermarket Limited, and Island City Supermarket Limited, thirty-seven-year-old Wen Yuen Zhen pleaded not guilty to the charge today and was offered bail of ten thousand dollars. The Court Prosecutor, Corporal Humbert Ayala had heavy objections to bail, including that he is a flight risk since he is just a naturalized Belizean and not a born Belizean. Furthermore, Ayala argued that there are no documents before the court to substantiate that Zhen has ties to Belize, but Zhen’s attorney, Immanuel Williams, submitted to the court that Zhen is a businessman with several properties in Belize and has no problem surrendering all his travel documents to the court with any necessary company documents to show his ties Belize. According to Williams, Zhen has been doing business in Belize for over seventeen years and that he has brought a civil suit against the virtual complainant. The magistrate offered Zhen bail of ten thousand dollars, plus one surety of the same, or two sureties of five thousand dollars each. It is alleged that Wen dishonestly obtained an assortment of drinks belonging to Caribbean International Brewery, all to a total of just under a quarter of a million dollars. According to police reports, on December second, 2022, the other Chinese businessman, sixty-two-year-old Kevin Xin of Carmelita Village, Orange Walk and Director of the Caribbean International Brewery Limited, (C.I.B.) reported to them that between April sixth, 2022 and August fifth, 2022, he sold an assortment of alcoholic drinks to Zhen. He said that Zhen paid with two Atlantic Bank cheques, which the bank later informed him could not be processed because a stop order had been made by another person. He said Zhen told him he would check on it, but he has not heard from him and has stopped answering his calls. But Zhen’s attorney, Immanuel Williams says Zhen is suing the brewery and Xin in a civil matter that is already before the court. In that suit, Zhen is asking for the removal of the beers and for the brewery to pay for warehouse storage fees. Williams shared some details on how the two businessmen ended up in court.

Emmanuel Williams, Attorney for Wen Yuen Zhen

“The matter is still in its infancy, so there’s not much I can state about the matter at this time. However, there is an agreement between the complainant and Mr. Zhen, and pursuant to that agreement, there was some bad faith between the parties, and the complaint was lodged, and subsequently my client was charged with the offence of obtaining property by deception. He is not to interfere with the witness and they encourage him not to be within a hundred feet of the witness and to visit the court every Friday until the conclusion of the matter.”

Zhen must appear again in court on July tenth.

Garbage Pollution in Canals Brings Crocs Closer to Belama Residents

Representatives from government departments that work with wildlife joined forces with the Crocodile Research Coalition earlier this week to capture a crocodile in Belama Phase Three. As we reported on Tuesday, a large croc spotted in the canal raised concerns among residents. These reptiles are known to inhabit the canal, but the size of the animal captured on video that day was enough for residents to call on authorities to capture and relocate it. Well, the team that set out to capture the crocodile was unable to locate it. They did, however, agree on one thing, the garbage pollution in the canal is leading crocodiles to venture closer to the properties of residents in the community. We spoke with Doctor Marisa Tellez, the Executive Director of the Crocodile Research Coalition.

Dr. Marissa Tellez, Executive Director, Crocodile Research Coalition

“When that video of the crocodile from Belama first went on Facebook, I was immediately contacted by colleagues, residents, other concerned citizens and I think a lot of people that were commenting on the Facebook page, nailed the real issue. The issue is not the crocodile, the issue is the trash in that area. And we must understand, pollution overall, if you want to look at the statistics and science, pollution us much more of a safety issue for the public than a crocodile, especially if it’s a species that is, according to experts across the world, not considered a “man eater”. Everyone knows there are crocodiles in the city, but if you want to make sure that a crocodile doesn’t get too close to the street, if you want to make sure the crocodile doesn’t start habituating to humans, clean up the trash. What happens is the trash starts attacking racoons, the street dogs, you are pretty much baiting the crocodile at this point. So, if the trash is cleaned up, it is most likely that large crocodile is not going to be in the area anymore. This is a concern where sure if you want to relocate the crocodile that is putting a band aid on the situation, the real situation here is the pollution in that area. This is where education comes into play, and I know there is so many great organizations and communities trying to clean up because they understand the concern about trash. Buit this is also about where the government can step in to assist with improving the waste management system.”

Farewell Doctor Fernando Cuellar

Doctor Fernando Cuellar was laid to rest today. The beloved medical professional dedicated his life to serving the nation in the private and public healthcare sectors. When he lost his battle to blood cancer in April, news of his passing sent waves of sorrow across the nation. As we reported, he passed away in the presence of his siblings at a hospital in the U.S. They have since returned to Belize to lay him to rest. This morning, his funeral procession stopped in front of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and the Belize Medical Associates where his former colleagues got to say their final farewell. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Doctors and nurses at the KHMH formed a line in front of the hospital’s entrance to pay respect to the late Dr. Fernando Cuellar. He lost his battle to blood cancer in April while seeking medical attention in the U.S. This morning, a funeral procession carrying an urn with Dr. Cuellar’s remains passed in front of the hospital where his former colleagues bade him farewell. Dr. Cuellar’s immediate relatives were there to great the hospital staff. His son, Shawn Cuellar, shared a few words.

Shawn Cuellar, Son of Dr. Fernando Cuellar

“It is beautiful to see all these people here. I would never gauge the amount of people or the level of impact that he had on this country. But by just seeing these people’s faces out there I am beginning to realize how much he meant to Belize and how much he cared for his work. I am extremely thankful, even if it is just a simple message, it means so much, so much.”

Dr. Cuellar began his career at the old Belize City Hospital on Eve Street. His last posting at the hospital was in early 2022, as a member of the board of directors. Cuellar’s friend and former colleague, now Chief Executive Officer at KHMHA, Nurse Chandra Cansino, found it important to be present for the procession today.

Chandra Cansino, C.E.O., KHMHA

“As you are aware, Dr. Cuellar was larger than life and he really was a part of the medical community everywhere in the country. He spent many years at Karl Heusner is several capacities as well. He was our emergency medicine, head of emergency medicine, then he was the director of health services. SO, he served at KHMH in many capacities. And even up until the end of this year he was helping us to cover shifts at the intensive care unit when we needed him. So he was always helping and serving. So it was very important for the medical community here at KHMH who may not have the opportunity to go to the church to bid him farewell.”

C.E.O Cansino became overwhelmed with emotions while speaking about the impact that Dr. Cuellar had on her life as a healthcare provider.

Chandra Cansino

“Doctor Cuellar was somebody I considered my friend. He was one of the few persons that checked on me when I got this job, always asking me how I was doing. And so, it is personal and it is professional and I really am glad we got the opportunity to say goodbye.”

After leaving the KHMH, the procession headed over to the Belize Medical Associates on St. Thomas Street. Dr. Cuellar worked at the private healthcare facility for the last twenty-three years of his life. There, his former colleagues also gathered to bid him a final farewell. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez