February, 2025 - Channel 5 Belize

Dane Gillett is Acquitted of Murder

Dane Khalil Gillett, twenty-seven, has been acquitted of the shocking, execution-style murder of fifteen-year-old Dwayne Gabourel, an SJC student, who was gunned down in September 2021. Gabourel’s death was believed to be a gang-related retaliation for Michael Henry’s murder. Wearing a red shirt, Gabourel was shot four times by a masked gunman who jumped off a motorcycle, approached him at a shop, and fatally shot him before speeding away. After his acquittal, we spoke with Gillett and his attorney. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano.

Dane Gillett, Acquitted of Murder

“Dis just go fi show that di system full ah lotta abstract, yoh undastand. Di court clearly prove todeh that whateva dehn mi charge me fah, no evidence deh fi prove that di person, da me da di one weh pull di trigga. No evidence deh fi prove that.”

After spending three years and five months on remand for the shocking murder of a fifteen-year-old SJC student, the alleged shooter, Dane Gillett, is now a free man. Today, Justice Derick Sylvester delivered a thirty-five-page ruling, setting a new precedent.

Orson “OJ” Elrington, Attorney-at-law

“We had both oral submissions and, as well as written submissions, and at the conclusion, the judge felt as though the evidence was so tenuous that a conviction on the evidence presented by the crown would have been unsafe and, therefore, upheld our no case submission.”

The case relied heavily on video and circumstantial evidence, which was too weak to convict. Justice Sylvester concluded that the evidence was so tenuous that a jury couldn’t safely convict the accused.

Dane Gillett

“And dehn know that fi dehn evidence weh dehn got mi cyant prove that from di start. Dehn still mek I sihdown da jail three years and five months and tek weh lotta time outta my life and outta my family, yoh undastand. I just mi wah mek people sih. End a di day I just wahn di system do dehn job properly because then at the end ah di day fi deh backa dehn place deh soh, man di suffer back deh, back deh rough.”

Dwayne Gabourel was tragically shot on September twenty-fifth, 2021, while running an errand for his mother at a grocery store on North Front Street. He was an innocent bystander, targeted simply because he was wearing a red shirt. The murder was thought to be in retaliation for Michael Henry’s execution. After being released, Gillett expressed his condolences to Gabourel’s family.

Dane Gillett

“I just woulda wahn tell di lady condolences fi ih loss. I know how ih feel fi lose somebody close, like that. I got somebody weh mi dead, fourteen years old, dehn shot he up nine times, yoh undastand. No justice neva come out fi he neither. So I know how da lady wah feel. I know dehn mussi di sihdown deh and dehn mussi bex right now because dehn mussi feel like da me kill dehn pickney. Ah hope dehn realize that di court prove todeh that I da noh di one weh do di crime, yoh undastand. So I just would wahn dehn clean fi dehn heart towards me. I just wahn dehn clean it up. Condolences and everything towards di people and love all the time.”

Isani Cayetano for News Five.

License Plates Finally Back in Belize

The long wait is over! This morning, the Department of Transport started handing out license plates, stickers, and driver’s license cards to those who have already paid. Many drivers, especially in rural areas, have been waiting for months, even years, for these. The department began its tour in Belmopan today, where we spoke with Minister of Transport Rodwell Ferguson. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the story.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

After years of waiting, Belizeans can finally collect their license plates, stickers, and driver’s licenses. Today, the Belize Transport Department launched a nationwide distribution tour in Belmopan, sending out multiple teams to district offices across the country to provide extra support. Minister of Transport Rodwell Ferguson admitted that the delay has caused significant inconvenience to the public.

Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Transport

“ I feel very guilty to a certain extent because I’m the minister responsible for transportation that covers rice and plates and stickers. And so on a regular basis, I keep telling the staff that we need to fix this issue. And so over the last month and a half, the CEO and myself sat down and tried to find a solution. And so we made a very large order to the Ministry of Finance and asked them for their approval. So today and over the next three weeks, we are going to have ten thousand license plates total of different categories.”

This initiative is designed to make the distribution process smoother, clear up the backlog, and improve customer satisfaction. It kicked off today in Belmopan and will continue in Belize City on Friday, then move to Corozal and Orange Walk on Monday, and wrap up in Dangriga, Independence, and Punta Gorda on Tuesday.

Rodwell Ferguson

“So we’re hoping that we can now be able to come back to normalcy to make sure we always have license plates and stickers. As a person comes to license, he’s a whole vehicle. It’s an embarrassment to the ministry and I want to make sure that embarrassment is over. So I can safely say that this will be a thing of the past. So today, as we are issuing, I think in San Ignacio, Santa Elena and Belmopan, and eventually we’ll go north, Belize City, and end up all Punta Gorda. So I asked the staff to also have a license plate show, so that the people come in and bring their receipts and get their license plates and their stickers as they come in.”

To pick up their documents, customers need to show their receipts as proof of payment and the original Certificate of Title from the same office where they paid. One driver, Daniel Orellano, is relieved to finally have his license in hand.

Britney Gordon

“So how long have you been waiting to get your driver’s license or license plate?”

Daniel Orellano, Cayo Driver

“Around one month. Yeah.”

Britney Gordon

“So how are you feeling after coming here today and finally picking it up?”

Daniel Orellano

“Well, after a long, a long month waiting, I feel comfortable already. Because every time I pass through a checkpoint, they always, they ask for the plate, for the license. So now, I feel good.”

Britney Gordon

”Which one are you picking up?”

Daniel Orellano

“The plate and the license.”

Ferguson has implemented a new strategy with the Transport Department to ensure that this delay never happens again.

Rodwell Ferguson

“It could be a miscalculation. And we live in a very small developed country, we don’t expect to have so many motor vehicles. So I emphasize to the staff that now there must be a minimum stock level and a maximum stock level. So once you reach a hundred for argument’s sake, it’s time to reorder license plates. Don’t wait until you reach zero or five.”

Ferguson says the ministry is pushing for a budget increase to keep enough stock on hand and prevent future shortages.

Rodwell Ferguson

“There should be no shortages. And hopefully by May, because of the backlog and present requests by May, we can put in another big order. We even asked the Minister of Finance to increase the budget for license plates and stickers. We’re hopeful that this will not happen in the future.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

Agriculture Minister Discusses Halted Sugar Crop

On Wednesday night, we reported that Belize Sugar Industries (B.S.I.) is temporarily halting sugar production for the 2024-2025 season. B.S.I. explained that heavy rains have led to poor quality and low quantities of sugar cane, and bad road conditions have made the situation worse. Today, we heard from the Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai, during his appearance on Open Your Eyes.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture

“The mill has closed because of insufficient cane reaching the mill. The fields are excessively wet. The quality of the cane is horrible. The mill will run out of excess bagasse. They burn baggase to produce energy. There is a cold front coming in that will bring some rainfall. If the mill closes because of this issue, or if sugar cane is not reaching the mill, the mill will be forced to closed down, because they are using up all the reserved baggase. They will be unable to restart the crop. That puts at risk the entire sugar crop for 2025. So, I read that thing on Facebook. It is wrong and political mischief. But I must say that we continue to fix sugar roads and because of the weather, the frequent rainfall pattern, it is destroyed. You fix it again, it is destroyed. So, the government is losing. The cane farmer because of the quality is losing. The TCS, the ton of cane to sugar is at sixteen tons. You are losing money.”

New Cane Quality Assessments to be Implemented by B.S.I.

Production at the Belize Sugar Industries has been paused due to persistent rainfall, which has led to muddy yields from farmers. But that’s not the only problem. The mill has also been dealing with a fusarium infection affecting northern cane crops and poor road conditions. B.S.I. says a new system is needed to prioritize cane quality over quantity. B.S.I. Communications Director, William Neal, shared more details on the issue.

William Neal, Communications Director, B.S.I.

”We’ve had projects of that nature before, we’ve had pre harvesting cane testing pre harvest cane testing and so the farmers are aware of that. We’ll definitely have to get back to our quality system where farmers are paid for quality and that will improve the way they manage their cane and also the way they harvest their cane because we definitely need to do it on a quality basis. As I said, you can’t tell if cane is ripe just by looking at it. So we’ll have to have a system that we’ve already demonstrated actually works. There will be a need for that to be put in place to be more beneficial to the farmers themselves. But we have these projects coming up that we’re implementing, like I said, the one for building the adaptive capacity of sugarcane farmers in Northern Belize, which is funded by GCF. And being managed by the Five C’s. So, those are some important things, but definitely we need an overhaul and a transformation of the delivery system to make sure that we’re bringing the best scheme possible to the mill.”

Composting, Your Plant’s and the Environment’s Best Friend

Chemical fertilizers are being swapped out for compost, a greener alternative. Composting involves breaking down organic material into nutrient-rich soil that boosts plant growth. Studies show that food scraps in landfills release a lot of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. But those same scraps can be turned into compost instead. It’s not just food scraps—animal manure is also great for composting. In tonight’s installment of Belize on Reel, News Five’s Paul Lopez dives into the composting process.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Have you ever wondered what happens to your organic food waste after you toss it in the garbage bin, and it’s picked up by the truck? Fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, bones, and leftover bread all end up at a nearby transfer station and are used as landfill. When mixed with other household garbage, these organic scraps decompose and release gases that are harmful to the environment.

Tara Hoisington, Consultant, Recycle Organics

“With climate change being a concern, there are three sources of methane contributing to climate change. The first is fossil fuel, the second is agriculture and the third is coming from landfills and waste. They found that twenty percent of methane contributing to greenhouse gases typically comes from organic matter being suppressed among other trash and in the anaerobic environment creates a gas called methane.”

Tara Hoisington, a consultant at Recycle Organics, explained that methane is twelve times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Recycle Organics is on a mission to reduce the amount of methane released into the air through backyard composting. But what exactly is composting? We asked Louis Wade Junior, the owner of Blessed Garden, to explain.

Louis Wade, Owner, Blessed Gardens

“Composting is the human effort to duplicate humus, which is the natural process that takes place in the ecosystem. What composting does. It takes organic material and speed up the natural process of decay and decomposition, ensuring that the right nutrients are available for the plants you want to grow.”

Tara Hoisington

“Canada had donated two hundred compost bins to get backyard composting education program started in the country. We had gone into four town, San Pedro, San Ignacio, Belmopan and Corozal and we had distributed these bins. We done workshops. We are doing a six-month pilot program where we go to the person’s home who decided they want the bin, we give them tutorials, lessons on how to properly compost, as well as having a form to fill out every month to gauge how much food waste is getting diverted from the trash, as well as organic matter like leaves.”

Hoisington shared that the initiative is off to a great start, with most participants eagerly using their compost bins and repurposing over half a pound of organic food waste daily. In Belmopan, Louis Wade has made composting a central part of his gardening operation.

Louis Wade

“Most people want black dirt, they ask for black dirt, but they mean something by that, because soil color does not determine fertility. You can have very black soil, but if it does not have compost or organic material in it, then it is still not going to give you the results you want. So, when people say they want black dirt, what they are really talking about is that they want highly fertile soil that produces a good quality.”

Unlike Recycle Organics, Wade uses animal manure for his composting. To the untrained eye, a mix of horse and chicken manure, rice waste, and a special blend of microbes from Belize Agro Enterprise Limited might look unappealing. But after weeks of decomposition and careful moisture management, the result is like gold for farmers.

Louis Wade

“Horses and cows eat only grass, so you really should not be afraid of their poop. But when people think about poop, they have all these negative connotations. When in reality, the stomach of the cow and horse breaks it down in such a way that you still have these organic materials in cow and in horse. Another thing you can also use is tilapia. I will show you my little tilapia experiment. You feed the tilapia and fish also release ammonia, a little bit of uric acid into the water and so you can actually take that water from the tilapia, and you can actually water your plants with tilapia water and you will get the proteins you need.”

Wade mentioned that dried leaves and freshly cut grass are also great for making organic compost. He combines these materials with black soil to create a highly sought-after product that he sells all over the country.

Louis Wade

“How do you know very good soil, how do you measure very good soil. You measure very good soil, by squeezing it and then it is suppose to hold together and when you loose it it should break back apart. That is your test right there.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez

Handmadeinbze Art Exhibition Launched in Belize City

Artworks from twenty-five artisans across the country are now on display at the Museum of Belizean Art. The exhibit, called ‘Hand Made in Belize,’ was launched today by the Institute of Creative Arts in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture. News Five’s Paul Lopez was at the launch and filed this report.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The Institute of Creative Art, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, has launched an art exhibit showcasing work from twenty-five artisans. The pieces range from calabash shell lamps to embroidery and wood carvings. Minister of Culture Francis Fonseca mentioned that the National Institute of Culture and History is supporting these artisans by helping them market their work for potential export.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture

“Absolutely fantastic project. It is an exciting initiative by NICH. We pay tribute to the artist, the artisans who are really behind this development project. As I pointed out it is a project that has three objectives. We want to document who the artisans are in Belize. So we want to have an accurate database of artisans in Belize. We want to work with them on marketability, how can we help them to promote that, to market that. Then as I pointed out, at the end of the day we really want to make sure our creative people can make a living. So the export market, how can we work with them to provide opportunities for their product in the export market. Culture is my business and this is a key initiatives we have focused at NICH because we understand that so many of our artist are creative people, but they need support in terms of marketing their products.”

Baron Neal, a resident of the Cayo District, makes what he refers to as butterfly collages. It’s a creative process that needs delicate tools. The end result is a stunning piece with vibrant colors and amazing designs.

Baron Neal, Artisan, Iry’s Butterfly Art

“It means a lot. I started this art from my brother in 2004. I have been doing it for twenty years. It took me about twelve years to reach this skill level that I am at. At this moment I have taught ten different persons and they have learned this skill and are helping their family. I have hired a local carpenter and a local glass shop. But at this moment with my art, I feel very great because I am inspiring my youth. Everybody is seeing me make a living off of art work. I was a math teacher and I quit that job because I believe my art work can help people in this world and people in Belize.”

Meet Keith Francisco, the artist behind this stunning Jankunu crown. Francisco shared that his talent stems from his deep love for Garifuna culture and the demand for these beautiful crowns. Today, he is proud to have his work displayed inside the art exhibit.

Keith Francisco, Artist

“Dah wah nice feeling or me to see my art on exhibit in this exhibition here. This dah wah Jankunu crown. This crown, we use this piece for when it’s Christmas this is the gear we use for that festive season to dance and do our display, like a house to house thing. I have been doing this from like 2013. What make me get into it, because anytime I need crown for me and my kids I need to spend money and make crown. So I put my interest into it. My bigger brother taught me how to get started and it is from then I started to do this jankunu crown. To make one of these could be like two days. It is a lot of time because when I get started I start with the roses. This is the hardest for this. It would take me a whole day to make all these roses. Then I wrap my hard box and put on the rest of pieces.”

Francis Fonseca

“All in all it is fantastic initiative and I pay full tribute to Gilvanno Swasey, Yassir Musa, the entire team at ICA, Kim Vasquez, the artisans who are from every districts, so many different communities coming together to make this a reality.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

Stella Maris to Get New Principal and Infrastructure Upgrade

The Ministry of Education is nearly done with its investigation into the death of Stella Maris student Gabriel Orellano. Today, Minister of Education Francis Fonseca confirmed that the investigation is wrapping up, and the findings will be shared with the public after the family is informed. When asked about a possible leadership change at the school, he mentioned that the current principal is set to retire in April.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education

“I think the report is almost complete. The ministry either today or tomorrow is having a meeting with the Belize Police Department. So that we can finalize our own report. So that is where it is. I expect that sometime next week we will have a final report. We have committed to meeting with the family first. We want to meet with he family, share that report, address it with them, share any questions or concerns they have regarding that report and it is an internal report. But as I have promised and committed after we done that, we will share that report with the public.”

Paul Lopez

“We have heard the principal in a recording makes some statements that does not sit well with certain members of the general public regarding autistic children. Talk about your knowledge of the principal, your understanding of her reputation and if she is fit to be in that position.”

Francis Fonseca

“I did not hear the comments, but principal Cantun has a long history in special education. She came from Orange Walk where she is serving at a special education institution. She came highly recommended. But we are reviewing everything. The truth is she will retire very shortly, at the end of April actually. So, in a sense it is a moot question because we will have to find new leadership for Stella Maris.”

CARICOM Leaders Debate Haiti Elections Amid Escalating Security Crisis

CARICOM leaders kicked off the 48th Regular Summit in Barbados today. The meeting officially started Wednesday evening with a regional leader back in office, ready to make waves. One of the key topics was the escalating crisis in Haiti. CARICOM Chair and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley stressed the need for a democratic transition but warned that just setting an election date for November fifteenth wouldn’t be enough. From Bridgetown, Peter Richards has the details.

Heads of Government Meeting Attended Virtually as Election Nears

Belize is skipping the in-person CARICOM meeting in Barbados. With the General Election just weeks away, the ruling party decided to join virtually to stay in the country and keep campaigning. Minister Fonseca explains their choice.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“We are participating virtually as other countries are. We are participating virtually, Ambassador Lawrence, C.E.O Mai, Ambassador Mai are participating in everything. The only thing we wont be participating is the closed meeting, what they call the summit, which is a few hours where the leaders are alone, completely alone. Not even the foreign ministers are in that meeting. But we are participating in everything else virtually and other countries are doing the same. So, of course not, we have not stopped that at all. Everybody knows we are in election, we have an election and over the years we have been to meetings where other countries have had election and their leaders have not participated because you have to be on the ground. Belize is firmly committed to the work of CARICOM. We are strong effective members of that group and we have strong respect for that grouping.”

Will Belize Become a “Stopover” Nation for U.S. Deportees?

Will the U.S. ask Belize to take in deportees, both Belizean and foreign, like they have with other Central American countries? Costa Rica and Panama have already accepted hundreds. Could Belize be next? We spoke with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francis Fonseca, to find out.

Franis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“We have had discussion with the charge’ d affairs here. No such request has been made to Belize as yet. if it is made, it is something we would have to see the details of that proposal. It is something we would have to take to Cabinet. Cabinet will ultimately make that decision depending on the details of that proposal.”