The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) has issued a public call for dialogue with Prime Minister John Briceño and key government officials to address urgent concerns in the sugar industry.
In a press release, the BSCFA said that their concerns extend beyond personal grievances. The association expressed apprehension about the alignment of government policies with multinational interests, which they believe could have far-reaching implications at the parliamentary level.
The BSCFA stressed the importance of open national dialogue, ensuring that all voices—including farmers—are heard in discussions about the industry’s future.
To facilitate this discussion, the BSCFA has invited Prime Minister Briceño, Minister of Agriculture José Abelardo Mai, and Minister of State for Economic Development Osmond Martinez to a meeting. The proposed session, set for Friday, April 4, 2025, aims to address unresolved issues and chart a path forward for the sugar industry.
The Community Rehabilitation Department (CRD) has received a major technological boost with new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment valued at BZD $95,396. The initiative, part of the PACE Justice Project, is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to strengthen case management in Adult Alternative Sentencing.
The donation includes 34 all-in-one desktop computers and 10 printer/scanner units, which will enable probation officers and intake staff to digitise records, streamline documentation, and enhance efficiency in managing probation cases.
This development aligns with Belize’s Alternative Sentencing Act, 2024, which seeks to reduce prison overcrowding and case backlogs by expanding non-custodial sentencing options. The Act prioritises rehabilitation and community reintegration, particularly for low-risk offenders, making probation services a critical part of the country’s justice reform efforts.
The PACE Justice Project plays a key role in modernising Belize’s legal framework by integrating digital solutions and alternative sentencing mechanisms. By investing in these resources, Belize is advancing toward a more efficient, rehabilitative, and just legal system.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed Thursday that the United States would respond forcefully if Venezuela attacks Guyana amid an escalating territorial dispute involving vast oil and gas reserves, the Associated Press reported.
Rubio, on a three-nation tour of the Caribbean, made a brief stop in Guyana’s capital, where he met with President Irfaan Ali and other officials. Speaking at a joint news conference, Rubio warned that any Venezuelan aggression would have serious consequences.
“The regional threats are based on illegitimate territorial claims by a narco-trafficking regime,” Rubio said. “And I want to be frank, there will be consequences for adventurism. There will be consequences for aggressive actions.”
Guyana, home to significant offshore oil deposits, has become a key player in U.S. efforts to promote energy independence in the region. Earlier this month, the country accused Venezuela of sending an armed naval vessel into disputed waters near ExxonMobil’s massive oil fields.
Rubio made clear that any further incursions would not be tolerated. “It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they were to attack Guyana or attack ExxonMobil or anything like it,” he said. “It would not end well for them.”
In Caracas, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez dismissed Rubio’s remarks, saying Venezuela would not abandon its claim to the Essequibo region and accusing the U.S. of destabilizing the region.
The territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana has intensified since ExxonMobil’s 2015 oil discovery in the Stabroek Block, which holds an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil. The Maduro government has repeatedly condemned Guyana’s development of the fields, calling it “illegal.”
American tourist 45-year-old Mark Strus was seriously injured in a boating accident near Caye Caulker on Thursday afternoon.
It happened at around 4:00 p.m. when Strus was kayaking with his three children on the northern side of the island. According to witnesses, a boat en route to San Pedro crossed their path, and in an attempt to avoid a collision, Strus and his son jumped from the kayak.
Strus went underwater and was struck by the boat’s propeller, sustaining a severe head injury.
Strus was transported to the Caye Caulker Polyclinic, where he received treatment for heavy bleeding before being airlifted to Belize City. Authorities report that Strus remains in critical but stable condition.
The Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association (CSCPA) has extended its congratulations to Prime Minister John Briceño and the People’s United Party (PUP) on their recent electoral victory. In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the CSCPA expressed its commitment to collaborating with the government and other stakeholders to advance the sugar industry.
The CSCPA praised the Prime Minister’s decision to oversee the sugar industry portfolio. The association stressed the importance of investor confidence and strategic development to enhance economic gains for all involved.
Recognising the complexity of the sugar sector, the CSCPA called for a collaborative approach involving investors, millers, farmers, government ministries, and financial institutions. The association urged the government to revisit and adapt the strategic development plan introduced in previous years, focusing on improved milling efficiency and sustainable farming practices.
The sugar industry, previously overseen by Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai, is now under Prime Minister John Briceño’s leadership, with Dr. Osmond Martinez appointed as Minister of State for daily operations. While A.S.R./B.S.I. supports the change, the BSCFA opposes it, alleging the decision was influenced by an emergency meeting with ASR Group, which owns Belize’s only sugar mill. The association called the move ‘alarming,’ questioning its implications for Cabinet decisions.
Tonight, authorities suspect a drug ring is operating in southern Belize after discovering the remains of a drug plane that was deliberately set on fire after landing on Wednesday night. Earlier today, News Five spoke with BDF Commander Azariel Loria and Coast Guard Commandant Elton Bennett, whose teams assisted the Belize Police Department in securing the area. The plane landed on a makeshift airstrip in a remote part of Toledo near Graham Creek, close to the Guatemalan border. Initially, there were reports that two law enforcement officers were detained in connection with the incident. Today, we learned from Loria that another person from the remote area was also detained. Authorities believe the landing is linked to a suspected drug trafficking network operating in southern Belize. We understand that satellite phones and communication equipment were found at the detainee’s residence. Let’s hear first from Loria, followed by Bennett, on this latest discovery of a drug plane.
Azariel Loria
Brigadier General Azariel Loria, Commander, B.D.F.
“We need to do quite a bit of investigation when it comes to that and get to the bottom of it. I think that there was one major figure that was detained and I don’t know if he has been arrested at this point in time from one of the villages down in the south, which could lead us to more. It’s a drug trafficking network that we’re trying to dismantle in the south. I think that by the detention of this person, I don’t want to share the details and I would prefer for the Commissioner or somebody from the police department to go into those details. But I think we will have the potential to solve and in so doing, dismantle the network down in the south.”
“We form a part of the joint enforcement teams that would deploy whenever an aircraft of interest is declared and that night we were activated and we had several Coast Guard operations that were placed on alert and deployed to different areas in order to intercept any traffickers that will be coming along the coast. So we look after the coastal areas and then the Belize Defense Force and the police department would’ve had enforcement teams well inland. So we were up tracking and trying to place our personnel at the best possible location in order to intercept. I do understand that they discovery the plane in the southern area just off the Sarstoon and that’s in the jungles. It’s very difficult terrain to operate in. I don’t know all the details as yet.”
A veteran police officer has been officially discharged from the Belize Police Department following an internal review. The termination letter stated, quote, In light of the serious nature of the allegations against you, the impact on the reputation of the Belize Police Department, and after careful consideration of the submission by your attorney… I hereby exercise my power and discharge you from the Belize Police Department, effective March 28, 2025, end quote. Back in late February, we reported the discovery of the body of twenty-nine-year-old Raheem Usher from Libertad Village, who had been missing for over a month. His body was found in San Antonio Village, not badly decomposed, indicating he had been held captive for a long time before being shot twice in the head. Usher was found handcuffed, wrapped in a sheet, and covered in plastic. The sheet had a handwritten threat aimed at those ‘bringing down planes with drugs,’ listing six names, including the officer’s. On March twenty-fifth, the law firm of Morales & Company wrote to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams on their client’s behalf. The letter states, quote, our client categorically rejects the baseless allegations of involvement in illicit drug activities, including drug trafficking operations. Our client has served the Government of Belize as a police officer for over twenty-two years with an unblemished disciplinary record. His dedication to interdicting illicit drug trafficking activities within the Anti-Drug Unit for over seven years has been exemplary. He has played a crucial role in successful anti-drug operations alongside other members of the police department and special agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency of the United States of America. Considering the above, our considered view is that our client is serving the Government of Belize as an efficient non-commissioned police officer and it is highly unlikely that he will cease to be an efficient officer of the police department. We trust that your opinion will reflect our views and that you will not discharge our client from the police department, end quote.
Two of the six fishermen from the north were granted bail this morning by Justice Nigel Pilgrim in the High Court. Lerman Norman Leslie, thirty-one, from Chunox Village, and Ronyer Alexander Cruz, twenty-four, from Sarteneja Village, were each granted bail of nine thousand dollars, with two sureties of four thousand, five hundred dollars each. Prosecutor Dercene Staine did not object to their bail. As part of their bail conditions, they must report to the Corozal Police Station every Monday and Friday starting March thirty-first, 2025, until the case is resolved. They must attend all court hearings, avoid contacting prosecution witnesses, stay within the jurisdiction unless permitted by a High Court judge, and not get arrested or charged with any new offenses while out on bail, or their bail could be revoked. The fishermen, along with Pastor Mark Anthony Humes and four others—Freddy Estuardo Chavez, Angel Aragon, and Marvin Teul—were initially charged with possession of one thousand, one hundred and thirty-seven grams of cocaine. At their arraignment on March nineteenth, 2025, they were all denied bail. However, on March twenty-first, 2025, the charge against Pastor Humes was dropped, leaving only the six fishermen facing charges. The bail application for the remaining four fishermen will be heard on March thirty-first, 2025, in the High Court. The arrests stemmed from a bust on March eighteenth, 2025, in Orange Walk Town. Police intercepted a gold Dodge Caravan driven by Pastor Humes, who was reportedly hired to transport the fishermen from Belize City to Orange Walk. The six fishermen are due back in the Orange Walk Magistrate’s Court on May twenty-second, 2025.
Former Opposition Leader Moses ‘Shyne’ Barrow is demanding a retraction and apology from 7News Belize, claiming they defamed him in a report about his diplomatic passport. Through his lawyers, Barrow alleges that the media house, led by News Director Jules Vasquez, falsely suggested he resisted returning his diplomatic passport to the Government of Belize. The controversial report, aired on March 26th and posted on 7News Belize’s Facebook page with the headline “GOB Says to Shyne, ‘Game Over’, Yanks Diplomatic Passport,” claimed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had instructed Barrow to return his passport and that he was reluctant to comply. However, Barrow’s attorneys argue that he had already handed over the passport earlier that morning at around 10:51 a.m., hours before the report was published. The letter to Vasquez and Tropical Vision Limited (7News’ parent company) states that the report was designed to damage Barrow’s reputation, making him look defiant and uncooperative.
In related news, Barrow has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Belize News Network (BNN), also accusing them of spreading false and defamatory statements about his diplomatic passport. The letter, from Pitts Pitts & Associates on Barrow’s behalf, demands the immediate removal of a March 26th article on BNN’s Facebook blog. The article allegedly claimed that Barrow refused to return his diplomatic passport and had stolen government property. Barrow’s attorneys refute these claims, stating he voluntarily returned the passport to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via his staff before the article was published. They argue that BNN’s post was not only inaccurate but also intended to cause “intentional embarrassment and malicious harm” to Barrow’s reputation.
Legal steps are also being taken against Hot Off the Press – Belize, a Facebook blog, for defamation. The law firm Pitts Pitts & Associates, representing Barrow, issued a cease-and-desist letter on March 27, 2025, demanding the immediate removal of a defamatory article published on March 26, 2025, on Hot Off the Press’s Facebook and Instagram pages. According to the letter, the article, titled “Shyne’s Diplomatic Days Numbered,” falsely alleged that Barrow refused to return his diplomatic passport, suggesting dishonesty and non-compliance with government directives. The letter says these claims are entirely baseless. It added that Barrow had voluntarily returned the passport to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to the publication of the article. The law firm has demanded the removal of the defamatory statements, a public apology, and compensation for damage to Barrow’s reputation.
The Ministry of Health & Wellness is pulling back several pieces of workout equipment from parks across the country. These yellow and red outdoor fitness machines were found to have dangerously high levels of lead. This alarming discovery was made thanks to research and testing by Doctor Joaquin Urbina from the University of Belize, along with Doctor Adam Kiefer and Doctor Addie Buerck from Mercer University in Georgia.
Joaquin Urbina
Dr. Joaquin Urbina, Assistant Professor, U.B.
“Around October 2023, a group led by Mercer University came down to Belize, and in particular the group was interested in doing a collaboration with the University of Belize on a lead in paint study and they proposed a study done on outdoor gym equipment. They were, I guess, curious to find out what the led concentrations were and together with UB students and some of their students, we conducted the study. At the same time, they conducted a study along with us on how to carry out the study using what we call a portable X-ray florescence device which measures the concentration of heavy metals, including lead. We found out that a big majority of the equipment across the country had great amounts of led in the paint. There’s a lot of documented evidence and this is supported by UNICEF and other agencies across the world and they report that prolonged lead exposure may lead to some chronic symptoms as a result of the toxicity of led. But this is over a prolonged period of time. This may include dizziness, among other symptoms, even skin disorders. If the exposure is directly on the skin.”
