Police investigation into the shooting murder of thirty-year-old Nigel Williams continues. Williams was executed on Friday night while he was driving his vehicle on Saint Thomas Street. It is believed that his killer waited for the right moment to pounce. Since the incident, twenty-three-year-old Tyreke Supas has been arrested for the crime of murder. Today, we asked the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, if a motive has been established.
Britney Gordon
“In regards to the murder of Nigel Williams, I know that someone has already been arrested, Tyreke Sopas. Has a motive yet been established?”
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“We believe that it’s a retaliation for the I think shooting death of one of the guy young, that took place a couple months ago.”
Britney Gordon
“So Mister Nigel Williams was gang affiliated?”
Chester Williams
“Yes, he was affiliated with one of the gangs on South Side Valley City.”
Friends, family, and colleagues are still grieving the loss of twenty-nine-year-old Dylan Anthony, a police constable from Camalote Village, who was shot and killed on Saturday. Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams said that while this case is close to home for the department, their priority is still to bring justice for the victim and his family.
Britney Gordon
“And what about Mister Dylan Anthony? Has there been any updates on his murder?”
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“At this time, no.”
Reporter
“Did you meet with Mister Anthony’s family this weekend and what was that like in terms of trying to assure them that the department will get to the bottom of his murder?“
Chester Williams
“Certainly the death of Anthony is extremely tough for us. Anthony works at headquarters. Beside my office and I used to see him every day. A very big, humble, respectable young man. As a matter of fact, I always joked with him when I passed him and he always have that good sense of humor and that big smile on his face. I certainly will miss his presence and I want to assure his family that we will do all we can to find those persons who are responsible for his demise. I don’t want to hear that it’s a case of mistaken identity. The fact is that they killed someone and as much as yes we, it bothers us that it’s a police, but who the person is that they killed shouldn’t have to do with it. We currently have the suspects in custody. We believe we have. The two gun men in custody and they are currently being interviewed by the CIB in Belmopan, a major crime. And we are hoping that we should be able to make some significant progress by the end of the day today, where that murder is concerned.”
The Belize Defence Force destroyed two bridges built by Guatemalans inside the Columbia Forest Reserve in Belize. The bridges were used to facilitate illegal logging by Guatemalans. The discovery of the wooden bridges was made in late February. It was not until last week that Friends for Conservation and Development (FCD) brought it to the media’s attention, saying that a road stretching over two kilometers into Belize was observed. The wooden bridges facilitated truck access for timber extraction, which may involve rosewood and other valuable woods. Aerial observations reveal active and recent human activity, with stacks of timber visible. Deputy Commander of the B.D.F., Colonel Anthony Velasquez, told News Five that troops remain in the area to deter any further incursions.
Anthony Velasquez
Col. Anthony Velasquez, Deputy Commander, B.D.F.
“In late February, the Belize Defense Force patrols have discovered a network of tracks in the area, as well as, two reinforced bridges that was constructed from wood, from timber. And, we have discovered these things, and again, we have done our due diligence sent up the verification to the ministry for onward transmission to the Organization of American States. But, in addition to that, we have launched operations in the area and the two bridges have been destroyed and we have troops on the ground in the area right now to deter any further incursions in the area. For the moment, we have presence in the area, so we know that during the dry season, they would most of these activities would increase. So, we have increased active military presence in the area over this period to ensure that they do not return and continue their legal activities. So, one team would dismantle the bridges. The other teams would conduct security overwatch. The Belize Defense Force will continue to protect and defend our territorial integrity. And we continue to conduct patrols in these areas. However, these are vast territory, prime jungle, et cetera, et cetera, with numerous terrain features. From time to time, these incursions will occur. The moment they occur, the police defense force will be there to ensure that these activities are halted, where they started, and the environment will return back to the pristine nature that it was before.”
Guatemalans have also built a road into the Chiquibul Forest. That road originates from across the border, and it is highly believed that it was commissioned by wealthy cattle ranchers living in Guatemalan towns. The Belize Defence Force is also aware of the threats this road poses, and plans are being put in place to destroy it. Deputy Commander Colonel Anthony Velasquez says they are keeping a close eye on the area.
Col. Anthony Velasquez, Deputy Commander, B.D.F.
“On the 7th of March, a patrol of Beliz Defense Force soldiers was tasked to go into this area to do a reconnaissance and it was it was discovered that, yes, there’s a road that extends well over a one kilometer into Belizean territory. And it’s a road that was cleared by heavy machinery, so it’s a pretty open road. Since then, the Belize Defense Force has been monitoring the area. We have sent patrols to the area to keep a close eye on the area, to monitor any movements in the area and to detained anyone found in the area. So we have we have a presence there at the moment to monitor this road. Another thing that we did was to get grid references for this road and send it to our Ministry of National Defense and Border Security where they will send it to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send it to the Organization of American States here in Belize the office and they will do a verification of the area and of the grid references to verify that it is in Belizean territory. Thereafter, after that verification is complete, we will then have options on whether to, on how we can go about destroying the road or limiting access to the road by anyone in the area.”
Hipolito Novelo
“When you say that there would be the need for verification that is simply a process, a procedural thing, because we know it’s in Chiquibul. We know that part of it is in Belize territory.”
Col. Anthony Velasquez
“Yes, it’s within Belizean territory. However, it’s part of the confidence building measure sent by Belize and Guatemala. Anything one kilometer within our territory, we have to inform the OAS so they can do a verification to ensure that it is in Belizean territory. And thereafter, we will take measures to destroy this road”
Now news from the Senate Sitting today…the U.D.P.’s Antonio Herrera was the only opposition senator that was present inside the chamber of the National Assembly in Belmopan. Herrera, however, spent only a short time inside before walking out in protest, but not without Senator for Government Business, Eamon Courtenay making a point of his departure. Here is how that went.
Eamon Courtenay, Lead Senator, Government Business
“You should bow when you are leaving Senator Herrera and make sure that we all see. You are leaving for the day? Alright, have a happy day. With your leave, I will record historically that it is a disgrace and stain for the county of Belize that on the debate for the budget that at the next fiscal year the UDP is not present in this chamber. I say it is a stain and disgrace like it was in the house last debate.”
The Opposition has come out swinging at the Cabinet Secretary, Stuart Leslie, in his capacity as Acting Governor-General, over his decision to not sign the instruments of appointment for the United Democratic Party. Leslie’s decision not to sign the document effectively invalidated the participation of the two substitute U.D.P. senators who were appointed by the Opposition last Friday. At a press briefing today, Opposition Leader, Moses “Shyne” Barrow, explained what happened.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“As we all know, there are different, circumstances that arise, and so you have to make temporary appointments. On Friday, temporary appointments were made. The letters of appointment were sent to the governor general’s office. The Governor-General office responded. Good receipt acknowledged there was no problem. There was no objection. Oh, we don’t have enough time. I called the Governor-General’s office on Monday at midday and Miss Casey confirmed that the instruments were prepared and ready to be signed, and there was no problem. Then I get an email a few hours later saying that due to circumstances beyond their control, the instruments would not be sent to the National Assembly. So I called Stewart Leslie and he says, Oh, he needs legal advice because of this and because of that, and I tried to clarify the matter for him and he said, okay, he’ll try to get it done in the morning. And I reached out to the President of the Senate who said she would follow up to see whether or not the Instruments came in, and my temporary senators went to the Senate and were refused to be seated saying that the Acting G-G refuses to sign the instruments.”
Barrow criticized the P.U.P. for what he thinks is making a mockery of the process and to push their political agenda using the Governor-General’s office in the person of the Acting Governor-General.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“His concern was that there were three instruments to be signed and one instrument was to come after the temporary Senator Instruments were the instruments that were priority because the permanent Senator, due to the vacation of one of the senatorships that comes after we already have in train. There’s a budget debate. This is not a no Senate meeting is regular, but this is an extraordinary Senate meeting to debate the budget to debate all the people’s monies will be spent. And so that takes time for preparation that – so we made – I got last-minute notices that my senators wouldn’t be available, the permanent ones, and so we made the Letter of Appointment to the G-G’s office immediately on Friday. And again, it’s, if the G-G’s office had said at the time: “It’s Friday, it’s too late, we can’t do it, we need 48 hours,” – cause that’s another thing they’re coming up with, this 48-hour rule, does not exist on the books. Does not exist. This is a protocol, a new policy that they have ad hoc, implemented. But what I’m saying is the purpose of the Office of the G-G is to facilitate these urgent requests. The PUP on one end tries to make a mockery of democracy when they do things like this. They always try to point out to who comes to host meetings and how many members of the opposition are there. When we have Opposition members eager and anxious to go to the Senate and having followed the procedures, everything should be done to facilitate our constitutional right. There are no favors being done here. There is no discretion in the office of the G-G. And if you look at this year’s budget, the governor general’s budget has increased, so they’re not short of staff. It is appalling the levels of which the People’s United Party would reduce themselves to in trying to undermine the Opposition, as well as democracy and we condemn it vehemently and we will take legal action to prevent these types of abuse.”
Barrow said that when he called the Governor-General’s office on Friday evening to follow-up on his communication over the substitution of Senators Michael Peyrefitte and Beverly Williams, the employee at the office acknowledged receipt of his notification but did not indicate at that point that there was an issue. The Governor-General, Froyla Tzalam, is not in office, and Stewart Leslie is acting in that position. Barrow said Leslie’s decision forced his only other senator to walk out of the proceedings.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“My senators walked out, but Antonio Herrera, who was going to act as Lead Senator today in place of Michael Peyrefitte, walked out in protest. I spoke to the President of the Senate, who was gracious to call me very early this morning, but obviously all she could do is follow up with the GG to see if there are any instruments she cannot dictate to the GG how to proceed. And those are some of the things that we do need to establish. And she did say she would like to sit with myself, the Leader of Government Business and the Leader of Opposition Business and other stakeholders so that we could come up with procedures. If there was a problem at three and there were clarifications that needed to be made, you just don’t say, Oh, I’m not doing this. You call the G-G. You call me if I need to send different instruments. There have been times where I may have quoted, they had an issue with the part of the Constitution. I quoted the GG’s office has been, gracious enough to say please correct. the section that you’ve quoted so that we can proceed. So I’m not laying this at the foot of the actual GG. I’m talking about the Cab Sec, the political hack Stuart Leslie. What I’m saying is that three o’clock he should have contacted the AG. How do we proceed? We need to get this done.”
Four days ago, the Ministry of Human Development announced that Gustavo Requena had been appointed as the Director of the Office of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs. The ministry said that Requena was born and raised in a Maya community and brings firsthand experience and understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by indigenous populations. But the Toledo Alcaldes Association says otherwise. The association fired off a press release, saying the government failed to consult them on Requena’s appointment. Spokesperson Cristina Coc told News Five that Requena has made public statements against Maya land rights.
Cristina Coc
Cristina Coc, Spokesperson, MLA/TAA
“We were not informed 1st of all that, that this appointment was already decided. In fact, we learned of this through a press release, a government press release. So we were never formally informed of this decision. And I think that this would have been a critical decision to have informed the Toledo Alcaldes Association in particular, given that we are appellants to the Maya land rights case. And it is a case that this office seeks to further advance and implement. Now, the Toledo Alcalde’s Association has taken the position to denounce the appointment of Mr. Requena primarily on the basis that he has made public statements against the Maya land rights. And, we have heard him on numerous occasions, making these public declarations against, customary land rights, against the claims of the Toledo Alcalde’s Association. And so then, we asked the question how can he be fit to implement in an objective way this very important case. So that’s our main and primary concern.”
Aside from the lack of consultation, Coc says that the association is also concerned about the familial relations that Gustava and Minister Oscar Requena share. They are brothers. Spokesperson Cristina Coc says that this might lead to a conflict of interest.
Cristina Coc, Spokesperson, MLA/TAA
“Secondary concern is that, you know, in in the spirit of good governance principles and in the spirit of good faith consultations with indigenous peoples we remind the government that it would be their duty and obligation to really consult in good faith when decisions like these are made. And then a third, not to diminish this concern at all but it’s certainly a secondary concern is that he is known as the younger brother of the area representative, Mr. Oscar Requena. And, of course, Mr. Requena is one of the appointed committee members. We have reached out to the minister. We have asked him if he has anything to say about this appointment. In fact, he has told us blatantly that he doesn’t know about it, that all he knows is that his brother applied for the position.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Do you know whether or not that position was advertised?”
Cristina Coc
“I don’t know what the process was, Hipolito. Like I said, the appellants were never informed. In fact, we learned of this appointment through a government press release. I mean, that does not bode well for building trust and good faith relations with the indigenous peoples of Toledo.”
