Earlier today in Sugar City, the People’s United Party, as well as the United Democratic Part, also led throngs of supporters, along with their municipal candidates to the Sandy Hunter Library where two slates were officially nominated. Here’s correspondent Dalila Ical with that story from Orange Walk.
In Dangriga, we heard from incumbent Mayor, Robert Mariano who is seeking a second term in office under the People’s United Party. Mariano and his slate were officially nominated today in that municipality. We also heard from the United Democratic Party’s Mayoral Candidate, Alex Lucas who was also officially nominated today along with his slate. Here is what they told us.
Robert Mariano, P.U.P. Mayoral Candidate, Dangriga
“As you know we are coming out for nomination day and as you can see we have so much of our supporters who have turned out already to give me that support for nomination day. We will be having the Sweet Pain Band who will be backing us up all the way to Town Hall and from Town Hall we go to drums of our fathers and back to the party hall where we will be having a small social among our supporters and then we end one thirty pm.”
Alex Lucas, U.D.P. Mayoral Candidate, Dangriga
“I am offering myself because we have a lot of work to do in beautiful Dangriga. WE need proper streets, proper drainage, we need assistance for tuition for students. We need elderly care, feeding programs in our school because kids are going to school hungry. We need employment opportunities for our youths. People are graduating and don’t have a job. We need to invite entrepreneurs and business people to Dangriga so we can improve our way of life in Dangriga.”
The time is drawing nearer to the 2024 municipal elections. On March sixth, Belizeans from all over the country will gather at the polling stations in their respective city or town to cast their votes for the new council. Until then, electoral candidates set off on their campaign trail, visiting the homes of voters in their area in the hopes of securing vote in their favor. Tonight, we are heading west to the town of Benque Viejo Del Carmen where you will be introduced to the mayoral candidates of the People’s United Party and The United Democratic Party, as well as a few of their councilors. Here is tonight’s episode of Meet the Candidates.
Marco Tesucum, U.D.P Mayoral Candidate, Benque
“My name is Marco Antonio Tesucum. Most people know me as Marky. I have lived here all my life and I have been a teacher for approximately thirty-five years and so basically I know most of these people in this town. We are looking forward to work with the institutions, the high schools especially, and try to assist them as much as we can with students. Many students go to classes without, um, breakfast perhaps, or even though they might go, but they might not have for lunch. So we are planning, for example, on a Saturday, they can work at least half day and they can earn some money for their week.”
Jorge Rosales, P.U.P Mayoral Candidate, Benque
“So really why I got into politics. I’m the mayor of Benque Viejo at the moment, 2021 to 202. And why I got in into the mayor candidacy was because the area where I live, which is at the Carolina area up in the hills, we never had the roads fixed and I was a contractor at a time. Being a contractor I had some vehicles and the way of life that was over there. I didn’t like it. So I decided, I said one day I will be mayor and I’m trying to come and fix everything that is wrong in Benque. We will try to implement two hundred thirty works like call center and remove the where the, bus terminal is at the moment, which is not a terminal. It’s just a parking area where they’re parking and move, uh, Make a central bus terminal by the cancha where that’s where the call center will be and that will bring in the socio- economic businesses to a point that will be the center area of Benque Viejo”.
“I’m pushing for opportunities for the young people, for single mothers. For a better like clinic, have a 24 hours clinic so people don’t have to go to Ignacio. So that’s about it. And how is the campaign going so far? It’s going very good. I think we do have an opportunity for the 6th of March. I think we’re gonna OUT 0:33 come out victorious.”
Jenny Martinez, P.U.P. Councilor Candidate
“I’m a medical scientist by profession and an entrepreneur in Benque and I’m looking forward to serve my community, which is a passion of mine. We are campaigning on various issues social issues, education. Health is one of my priorities. Prioritize the health sector, education, and the social well being of the community on a whole.”
Britney Gordon
“What inspired you to join the campaign this year?”
Maria Martinez, U.D.P. Councilor Candidate
“Of course my love for my beautiful town and to also to uplift it from where it is. To take it to another level because my whole life I’ve been a teacher and I’ll always look for the benefit of everybody in this country, the children, the adults and the youths in a whole. So that’s where got my inspiration and because I’ve also been in politics before. So I feel like I have that to be with the people and help people.”
Shamir Polido, P.U.P. Councilor Candidate
“We have a lot of youths in BenqueViejo and if I go in the municipality on March seventh, I want to help the youths to start their new businesses. Start giving them incentive so they can prosper. Or also, help them with trainings or other forms of materials so they can use for their businesses.”
Last weekend was bustling with activity in Benque Viejo, as both U.D.P. and P.U.P. candidates set off to continue their campaign trail and secure voters for the upcoming municipal elections. Leading the red campaign is former councilor and first-time mayoral candidate, Marco Tesucum, while the blue is led by current Mayor of Benque Viejo, Jorge Rosales. Tesucum believes that there is much social work to be done in the area with an emphasis on youth involvement, while Rosales seeks to further the development him and his team accomplished in infrastructure and industry development. Ultimately, it will be the voters who decide who is most fit to fill the positions. We visited Benque Viejo to find out what the residents of Benque Viejo are most hopeful for this election, Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon With that report.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Although quiet in the weeks approaching elections, Benque Viejo is still decorated with banners and flags, signaling the big event to come and the PUP and UDP parties are both hard at work on their campaign trails trying to secure the votes for the big day. The UDP candidates who were out in the afternoon comprised of Mayoral candidates, Marco Tesucum and his councilors who emphasize their desire to assist the youths in the community through sports programs, jobs, and education.
Marco Tesucum, Mayoral Candidate, U.D.P.
“We are looking forward to work with the institutions, the high schools especially, and try to assist them as much as we can with students. Many students go to classes without, um, breakfast perhaps, or even though they might go, but they might not have for lunch. So we are planning, for example, on a Saturday, they can work at least half day and they can earn some money for OUT 2:00 their week”
The PUP candidates are comprised of current mayor, Jorge Rosales and his councilors who are seeking to further their infrastructural work and create job opportunities.
Jorge Rosales, Mayoral Candidate, P.U.P.
“We will try to implement two hundred thirty works like call center and remove the where the, bus terminal is at the moment, which is not a terminal. It’s just a parking area where they’re parking and move, uh, Make a central bus terminal by the cancha where that’s where the call center will be and that will bring in the socio-economic businesses to a point that will be the center area of OUT 3:51 Benque Viejo”.
But what are the residents of Benque Viejo asking for come March sixth? We asked a few residents what they are hoping to see implemented in their hometown. Some residents expressed a desire to see further infrastructural development.
Britney Gordon
“What are some concerns that you have about Benque and what are you hopeful for this upcoming election?”
Elias Castellanos, Resident, Benque
“Well, just to make them fix good then streets.”
Britney Gordon
“What’s one change that you would like to see implemented as a result of the upcoming elections?”
Raul Jimenez, Resident, Benque
“Well, one result I would like to see is that they can kind of fix the streets because there’s where Like places, like up there, there’s like a lot of streets that have a lot of holes, so when it rains a lot, it gets really muddy, really horrible to be in there.”
Alongside the roadworks, a reoccurring issues was the need for jobs in the area.
Marion Ali
“The next municipal government, which will be elected on March sixth, what would you like for them to address?”
Errol Coleman, Resident, Benque
“As I have been seeing from them is that they have been working on it, make them keep it on working and on, and if they could develop more, what. We have not been seen here in Benque or what we usually is, we need is that create more employees for the youth that they come on for from high school or whatsoever. It’s, they prefer to go outside. It’s something that we doesn’t have as much as creating maybe one call center here. Jobs, like great jobs so that people could have their money.”
Britney Gordon
“What are you hoping come out of this election?”
Gustavo, resident
“We all hope that if the government changes or not we need jobs in this town. People are jobless here.”
Whether the vote will skew red or blue, only time will tell on March sixth. Britney Gordon for News Five.
As you all know, today the entire country was teeming with activity as the candidates for the upcoming municipal elections were officially nominated. That, off course, includes Corozal which saw its P.U.P. nominees parade through the streets in the morning, followed by an Independent candidate, and the U.D.P. candidates later that day. Then, after the respective festivities of the parade, candidates entered into the Corozal Magistrate Court to be nominated. We attended the event today in Corozal to see it unfold.
Britney Gordon
“So you’ve officially been nominated, can you tell me what this means for you and your candidacy?”
Rigo Vellos, P.U.P. Mayoral Candidate, Corozal
“It’s always a privilege to be able to give and be given the opportunity to serve our people of Corozal. So we are all excited and we’re happy. We’re happy that this process has happened. We can leave it behind and we can focus now on what we need to focus. Which is to make sure that we win on March sixth.”
Britney Gordon
“And what will you be doing moving forward to ensure that?”
Rigo Vellos
“The work continues. As a council, because we are elected, the work continues. But of course, on the campaign trail, we’ll still be visiting our people asking and pledging for that support on March sixth.”
Marleni Tapia, P.U.P. Councilor Candidate, Corozal
“I’m very privileged and honored. I’m feeling energized. I thank all the supporters who came out this morning. It is showing that the PUP is still strong here in Corozal. We are ready to continue the work with Mayor Rigo Vellos and my team PUP7.”
Britney Gordon
“So it’s much harder to promote yourself as an independent candidate. So what are you doing to let people be aware that you’re running?”
Hernan Riverol, Independent Mayoral Candidate, Corozal
“I have been, like I told you, I’ve been working with the for years. I even have, things that I did in the past about Christmas parade, giving our gifts, back to school, the kids giving away, some food to some people, some all over the area that they incur that, I mostly deal with the, mostly the needy person though, the ones that need the help in Corozal.”
Ricardo Ake, U.D.P. Mayoral Candidate, Corozal
“Nomination Day, the day that everyone is looking forward to put their name on that ballot. But nevertheless, a little bit nervous but at the same time very enthusiastic, energized. Words cannot express what the people are bringing to me here. Even if they are not here, even if work has them, or showing their support in being here.”
Benjamin Maestro, U.D.P. Councilor Candidate, Corozal
“I feel very enthusiastic. I feel that we have the support of our people. Our people know what’s coming, and it’s a good message for all of us the candidates in the street for the UDP.”
While in Belmopan, we also caught up with Tanya Santos, the recently appointed Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Immigration. She was asked for an update on the ongoing investigation at the Immigration Department Belize City Branch. As we reported, one employee has been placed on administrative leave following reports that falsified passports receipts were being entered into the system leaving numerous passport holders with illegitimate passports. Here is what C.E.O. Santos told us.
Tanya Santos, C.E.O., Ministry of Immigration
“So far, the investigation continues, clearly but we have had suspension of the officer and we are still gathering more information. So it is, bit by bit, day by day, the more we are finding out so.”
Reporter
“How many passports were illegitimately issued using this false receipt system?”
Tanya Santos
“I am not at liberty to say that at the moment but there were a few that we have encountered and people are also coming in to report it and still wanting to claim their passport that they paid for.”
Reporter
“When they come to say they paid for it, you all don’t have a legitimate receipt for that payment.”
Tanya Santos
“No we don’t and so it is an issue we are internally addressing as well, attempting to resolve and correct on behalf of the applicant. The scam isn’t per say with the passport. The scam is amounting to a financial issue. It could have occurred in any particular department of any Ministry. It really is the falsification and fraudulent production of receipts. And that could have happened in police. It could have happened in Lands. It could have happened anywhere but the fact that it is related to passports makes it a lot more egregious. So yes we do take it seriously which is why we wasted no time once we found out. We took the necessary steps and an investigation is still underway. We have made reports already. We have staff who have made reports and the investigation is taking its course.”
Reporter
“Might these passports have ended in nefarious hands since it was a fraudulent process that someone was selling these passports through?”
Tanya Santos
“I don’t think it ended up in nefarious hands. But anything is possible at this moment as the investigation continues and yes there is a loss of revenue and we are still determining the extent of that loss of revenue.”
C.E.O. Santos says an official police report will be filed following the ministry’s internal investigation.
It has been just over a month since Santos took over the reins as C.E.O. of the Ministry of Immigration. Contrary to reports suggesting that she took the post with great reluctance, Santos says she embraced the challenge. She was asked about her experience working at the ministry over the last six weeks. Here is what she told us.
Tanya Santos, C.E.O., Ministry of Immigration
“I realized the big challenge it would have been. I also recognized that it is a big vote of confidence on my part from the Prime Minister and the leadership of the government. Therefore I embraced the challenge. I am not somebody who looks to be wasting time. I take my job vey5r seriously. I know there are struggles in this ministry. I know that there are challenges within the ministry but also with the service the public receives. I am also on the receiving end when I go for services in the Ministry of immigration and I have expressed to the staff as well that I have been the recipient of bad treatment and service. I absolutely embrace this challenge and it is one day at a time, one challenge at a time, one problem at a time. It is a big, big cake to eat but a little of it day by day.”
A Santander employee died in a freak accident on Saturday while working on a cage that the company uses to transport sugarcane. Police reports are that Anastacio Vasquez, an employee of Santander for eight years, was repairing a tire on the machine when the cage slipped off and fell on him. He died on the scene. Santander says it spoke with the employees that were in the immediate area. Those employees informed management of the sequence of events that led to Vasquez’s unfortunate demise. We spoke over the phone with Beverly Burke, the PR Manager at Santander, who informed us that the company is still reeling from Vasquez’s death. She says Vasquez was executing a task that he has done countless times during his time of employment there.
On the phone: Beverly Burke, PR Manager, Santander Sugar Group
“Very sad time for us here at Santander, Mr. Vasquez has been with us for a total of eight and a half years, a long standing excellent worker for us. He worked for us initially as welder, his profession a mechanic. So, what transpired on Saturday night was we had one of the cages we transport sugarcane in, the tire went out and they jacked it up to make the necessary repairs. Mr. Vasquez went to the side of the cage to retrieve a tool and in so doing his assistant shouted to him that it was slipping and as opposed to, the direction he took was in the same direction where the cage was slipping and unfortunately it toppled over and crushed him.”
Paul Lopez
“Is this something that, in the company’s view warrants some sort of investigation?”
On the phone: Beverly Burke
“What we did was that immediately we were called and I informed the authorities within the jurisdiction. We came to the location and they did their investigation and we chalk it up to an unfortunate situation, I don’t know. It is one of those accidents that you are left with your jaw dropped thinking how did this even happen. I mean, we would classify it as a freak accident. These are stuff they work with all the time. The terrain we harvest through there are often times tires you have to change out and stuff like that so these stuff are jacked up often, tires are changed and they go about their normal scope of work. So it still is very much hard to process.”
Twenty-nine-year-old Wenjing Lei, a Chinese businessman, appeared before a Senior Magistrate earlier today where he was read two criminal offenses, including one count of use of deadly means of harm and one count of wounding. It is alleged that on February eighteenth, Reno Castillo was standing in front of Guan Fa Store along with another individual when an argument ensued between Castillo and the shopkeeper. According to the welder, during the exchange of words between himself and the grocer, Wenjing Lei, who was inside his uncle’s place of business, produced a firearm and fired a single shot which caught him in the foot. In court this morning, attorney Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley appeared on Lei’s behalf, where he informed the court that the virtual complainant was present to address the matter. The Senior Magistrate explained that there was no such instruction to the court and briefly adjourned the matter. This afternoon, Lei’s attorney did not return to court and his client was subsequently told that since the allegation made against him involved the use of a firearm, he would not be granted bail. With that, Lei was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until March first, 2024. We understand that Castillo has provided an additional statement to police in which he requested no further court action, however, that information has not been forwarded to the court.
An American National is to undergo a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation in order to have her plea taken in court. She is thirty-eight-year-old Adeola Lara Ade-Ekisola, who was brought to court after allegedly assaulting a police officer. The mother of three appeared in court this morning where she had to be forcibly restrained for her safety and that of the others in the room during her arraignment. According to Ade-Ekisola, she is currently unhoused in Belize. She also stated that she is fearful of returning to the U.S. because of a threat to her life there and is seeking refuge in Belize. She demanded to speak to the U.S. Embassy to which the magistrate stated that they will be making contact on her behalf. Not much more could be made out from her statement, as they verged on incoherent. The court ordered that she undergo the evaluation as she in unable to give a plea. Until then, she has been remanded to Belize Central Prison.
