2025 - Channel 5 Belize

The Gloves are Off! Chester and Kareem Fire Back at Mike Peyrefitte

During Tuesday’s U.D.P. press conference, former National Security Minister Mike Peyrefitte didn’t hold back, accusing the Commissioner of Police and the Minister of Home Affairs of deliberately underreporting the number of murders in 2024. According to Peyrefitte, there were actually ninety-four murders last year, but the Belize Police Department only recorded eighty-nine. In his fiery critique, Peyrefitte also renewed his call for the immediate removal of Kareem Musa as Home Affairs Minister and Chester Williams as Commissioner of Police. When we caught up with Musa and Williams in Belmopan earlier today, they had some strong words for Peyrefitte.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“I saw that Peyrefitte was lamenting that in fact the number should have been ninety-four. Now, when I listen to Peyrefitte and Shyne, I get the feeling like they are the grim reapers of governance and politics. I never seen two people, well three, more pray out the lives of Belizean people than these people. They are praying out the lives of these people, the numbers show that we had eighty-nine homicides, but they are getting up there to complain that it should be ninety-four. We want more people dead in our country, like when they were in power, a hundred and forty-five.”

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“There is no false information being put out by the department. Your figure is ninety-one and I could understand your ninety-one, because you have two in there, that one is still not yet classified. That’s the one in San Pedro, and we also have one that is a manslaughter. That’s how you reach to ninety-one. We cannot categorize those as murders because manslaughter is not murder and that has not yet been classified. We cannot put that as murder at this time. So I can understand you. But I cannot understand how Peyrefitte arrived at ninety-four, and then to say that, to have a country with a murder per capita of twenty-four is unacceptable. I want to give him his records, the UDP records for the past, during their time in office, for the past twelve years. They came into office in 2008. 2008, we averaged 39.9 per hundred thousand. 2009, 30.1 per hundred thousand. 2010, 40 per hundred thousand. 2011, 37.8 per hundred thousand. 2012, 43.4 per hundred thousand. 2013, 29.0 per hundred thousand. 2014, 35.2 per hundred thousand. 2015, 33.4 per hundred thousand. 2016, 27.9 per hundred thousand. 2017, 38.2 per hundred thousand. 2018, 37.8 per hundred thousand. 2019, 34.7 per hundred thousand. 2020, 26.o per hundred thousand. Under the current administration, 2021, 31.3 per hundred thousand. 2022, 28.4 per hundred thousand. 2023, 21.5 per hundred thousand. And 2024, 21.7 per hundred thousand. So even if he wants to put it at twenty-four, it is still far better than what existed during the UDP’s twelve years in office.”

ComPol Says U.D.P. had 12 Years to Address Crime Situation

In response to Peyrefitte, the Commissioner of Police highlighted evidence showing that serious crimes, especially murders, have significantly decreased under his leadership. He also took aim at Peyrefitte’s claims, challenging the notion that the U.D.P. will magically solve the country’s crime issues if elected.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“I will tell you, I’m not going to say that I am the best, but I can say to you that since I became the Commissioner of Police, I have worked tirelessly, and you know this, to guide my officers, work with the public with a view to reduce crime. If you want to be honest, you can do the research and your research will reveal that under my tenure as commissioner, crime, particularly murders, have fallen. That is the… da facts di seh dat, you know. Da noh me. The numbers will say that to you. For Peyrefitte to say that if they were to be elected, they are going to find who is going to do this… they were in office for twelve years. How they couldn’t find that leader who could have done what they say they will do now and expect that the public is going to believe what they are saying? They were given ample opportunities.”

U.D.P. Chairman Says Police Top Brass Profiting from Positions

On Tuesday, the United Democratic Party, led by Moses “Shyne” Barrow, held a press conference at their headquarters to highlight what they see as the Briceno administration’s failures. One of the speakers was U.D.P. Chairman Michael Peyrefitte, a former National Security Minister and the party’s current shadow Minister of Home Affairs. Peyrefitte let it fly, castigating the top officials of the Belize Police Department and accusing some of them of using their positions to profit by setting up private businesses.

Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P

“We must also address a disturbing trend among certain high-ranking officers. Many of them have begun to blur the lines between public service and private gain. We have seen cases where senior officers have become deeply involved in personal business ventures, raising serious questions about where their funding comes from and whether they are using their positions of authority to further their private interest. This not only compromises their integrity but also raises doubts about the effectiveness of our police department. When high ranking police officers’ profit from their positions, it breathes a culture of corruption and conflict of interest, at the very least, the appearance of those. If officers use their status to line their pockets, how can we trust them to enforce the law fairly and without bias. How can people trust that their safety comes first when the pursuit of wealth seems to come before public service for some senior officers. We cannot allow this behavior to go unchecked. It is imperative that we establish independent oversight mechanisms to hold our police department accountable. We must demand full transparency from the highest levels of leadership in our department and ensure that there are no conflicts of interest. The police department must serve the public, not personal agendas.”

Should Police Officers have Side Businesses?

Responding to Peyrefitte’s remarks about senior police officers running side businesses, ComPol Williams and his political boss acknowledged that they don’t see an issue with officers having private ventures, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their responsibilities to protect and serve.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“Commissioners of Police, deputies, assistants, even low-level police constables have private businesses. We are not going to go down a road of restricting police officers from having a business. Now that business obviously has to be legitimate, they obviously have to maintain their reputation in carrying out their business. That is what is important, you have to look at that. If you’re swindling people, I fully agree with you that they should not have a business of that nature and remain police officers. They should come out of that department.”

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Honestly, if a person wants to venture into a business that is going to be honest and transparent, then there is nothing wrong with it. I could have opened a law firm and have a law firm running while I am the Commissioner of Police.”

Reporter

“That would be a conflict, though.”

Chester Williams

“Thank you very much. That would certainly be a grave conflict of interest. So I dare not do that. There was a Deputy Commissioner of Police who owned and operated a security company. You know this, right? A security company, I believe there is a greater, there is a huge conflict there, to have a security company and to be the Deputy Commissioner of Police. Nothing was said about that Deputy Commissioner who owned the security company and at that particular time the Deputy Commissioner had control of dangerous goods that deals with hiring and giving license to security guards. And you know what happened there, I’m not going to say it. Now, while Peyrefitte was in office, he had a law firm, right?”

Reporter

“He said he relinquished his shares.”

Chester Williams

“He had a law firm. And I will tell you again to do the studies, find out which law firm wrote the Portico agreement. These are things that you must be real about, you know. You can’t be throwing stones when you live in a glass house.”

Who’s Chester’s Political Boss?

Who exactly is the Commissioner of Police’s political boss? That was the million-dollar question posed to the Minister of Home Affairs earlier today, hinting that ComPol Williams might only be answerable to Prime Minister John Briceño. Here’s how Kareem Musa and Commissioner Williams responded to that intriguing query.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“My point is that you make it seem as though whenever the commissioner speaks or whenever he makes a decision, he has to call myself or the prime minister which he does not. And so, you have to remove that blurred line, because there has to be a clear line, and not politicize the role of the Commissioner of Police which, I think, that is what you’re trying to do. But at the end of the day, we work well, both myself and the commissioner and the prime minister and the commissioner. So, to say he’s answerable to any of us, I think that’s poorly phrased.”

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“I don’t know where you get the notion from that I do not want to answer to Kareem [Musa] because that is not true. Myself and Minister Musa have a very, very good working relationship. There’s absolutely no issue. I can say it in front of his face and behind his back, he is one of the best ministers I’ve worked with. Peyrefitte was good too. I will give that to Peyrefitte because the truth is, if I were to be told by another minister to do certain things that I believe is wrong, if I go to Peyrefitte, he would say, “ComPol, if you don’t feel it’s right, don’t do it.” And Kareem is just like that. So I will say to you that we have that respect for each other and the cordial relationship, in terms of how we work.”

Thomas Bardalez Walks Again

A man facing an attempted murder charge has walked free for the second time. On Monday, twenty-six-year-old Leroy Thomas Bardalez, well-known to the police and courts, was released after the Crown stated there wasn’t enough evidence against him. Bardalez was accused of attempting to murder nineteen-year-old Melroy Pelayo, who was shot and injured on March eighth, 2019, while walking with friends during a power outage on Rio Bravo Crescent off Faber’s Road. Justice Candace Nanton told Bardalez he was free to go as the Crown was dropping the case. Bardalez was initially arraigned at the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on March twelfth, 2019, and remanded on three criminal offenses, including attempted murder. In November 2024, Bardalez also walked free from murder charges. According to police, Pelayo was shot in the leg by one of two youths on bicycles. This led to Bardalez’s arrest and charges of attempted murder, use of deadly means of harm, and wounding. Police believed the shooting stemmed from a dispute in the Faber’s Road area. On November twelfth, 2024, Bardalez was acquitted of the murder of Ricky Nelson Miguel, who was shot and killed on September seventh, 2020, on Faber’s Road. The case fell apart because one of the Crown’s witnesses refused to testify, and the other couldn’t be found.

Ryan McCulloch Walks from Attempted Murder Charge

Another man has walked free after his case collapsed in the High Court. Nearly two years after being charged with attempted murder of a man and a minor, twenty-three-year-old Ryan McCulloch is now a free man. The victims, Harrison Parks and his then-sixteen-year-old cousin, refused to testify against their alleged shooter in front of Justice Derick Sylvester. The trial was set to begin on Tuesday, but the Crown’s efforts to get the victims to testify, including four visits, were unsuccessful. As a result, the prosecutor had to enter a nolle prosequi, dropping the two counts of attempted murder against McCulloch. The shooting incident occurred on Valentine’s Day, February fourteen, 2023, at the corner of Edwin Parks Avenue and Billy Webb Street in the Lords Bank area. Parks was shot in the right thigh, and his cousin was shot in the abdomen. Around 8:30 PM, Parks, the intended target, was walking on Edwin Parks Avenue when a grey car drove by, and an occupant opened fire. The motive for the shooting remains unknown. Police reported that Parks refused to cooperate with their investigation, and his cousin stated she couldn’t recognize the shooter and wouldn’t be able to identify him again. McCulloch, who lived in the Lords Bank area at the time, now resides in Cayo.

Police Department is Still Short of 4,000 Officers

Did the Minister of Home Affairs miss the mark on his Plan Belize Manifesto goal? When the People’s United Party campaigned for the 2020 general election, they promised to boost the Belize Police Department’s ranks to at least four thousand officers. However, they are still far from reaching that target. Here’s how the minister responded to this observation.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“I don’t know what you think or how much space we have at the police academy, but we can only facilitate, say, two hundred and twenty-five recruits.”

Reporter

“Yeah, but you made the pledge.”

Kareem Musa

“Yes, it’s over time. Have you heard that Plan Belize is a ten-year plan. Have you heard that yet? Okay, you are hearing it now.”

Reporter

“You all are moving the goalpost.”

Kareem Musa

“No, no. But in the last four years, I can assure you that we’ve had the most recruitments than any other administration and I think our numbers are all the way up to two thousand, six hundred, going up with the next recruit intake that’s coming up in May. So every year we’ve had at least one, if not two squads coming out from our PTA.”

First All Officers Conference held for 2025

Earlier today, the top brass of the Belize Police Department gathered at the National Police Training Academy in Belmopan for the first All Officers Conference of 2025. Prime Minister John Briceño and the Minister of Home Affairs were on hand to address the senior law enforcement officers. Kareem Musa announced that the police department is set to fulfill its promise of installing one thousand new surveillance cameras across the country.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“Today was our first all officers conference for 2025 and we had the good fortune of having the Prime Minister of Belize give his remarks to the officers, the high-ranking members of our department and it was a message of hope, a message of thanks to the officers. As you know, we’ve had two positive years, in terms of crime reduction, so we continue to receive the support, the full support of our prime minister and the administration, in terms of the resources that we need in this upcoming 2025 year, this fiscal year. We are also pleased to announce, the commissioner alluded to it a few days ago that we will be embarking on a very grand project, with one thousand CCTV cameras all across the country.”

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“The message was to congratulate and thank the officers for a job well done during 2024, and I also emphasized to them that while we did well in 2024 that there is still room for improvement and as we enter 2025, we most look at those areas where we fell short in 2024 and see how we can improve on those areas in 2025. I must say that I was extremely grateful for the prime minister this morning, gracing us at the opening and again, his message was well received by the rank and file in the room. The commitment was that government will continue to do what they can to invest in the growth and professional development of the police department.”

A National Strategy for Improved Chemicals Handling for Belize

Today, a diverse group of industry representatives and companies that use chemicals came together for a workshop focused on improving chemical management. The goal? To develop a National Strategy that ensures Belize meets its commitments to four key environmental conventions on managing chemicals that can turn into pollutants. The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Climate Change brought in consultant Stephen Sangster to lead the event. Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai emphasized the importance of proper chemical management for a healthy environment and hinted at upcoming legislation to regulate this area. News Five’s Marion Ali was on the scene and filed this report.

Marion Ali, Reporting

Today, representatives from various agencies and industrial companies gathered for a workshop that examined how Belize handles chemical waste. Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai explained that once chemicals are used, they turn into waste. It’s then up to the Department of the Environment to make sure this waste is managed properly, so it doesn’t harm the environment or our health.

Anthony Mai, Chief Environmental Officer

“Chemical has the capacity to create significant environmental harm and health-related harm. So it is important for the Department of Environment to put measures in place to be able to reduce the negative impact that chemicals could have on the environment and to human health. Today we’re here because we’ve hired a consultant to develop the base tool that we would need to guide our direction forward. So we have key institutions here because chemicals stretch across all sectors. Chemicals are used at the household level, at the health sector, in the agriculture sector, by academia, by the private sector, so it involves all sectors.”

Belize is already recognized as a trailblazer in the Caribbean and Latin America. To keep up the momentum, the Ministry has brought on board Stephen Sangster, a Chemistry Lecturer from U.B., as a consultant. His mission? To lead the charge in creating a solid framework for new legislation that ensures proper chemical management.

Stephen Sangster, Consultant, Department of the Environment

“Belize is actually one of the leaders in the region when it comes to implementing these agreements, We have a lot of laws and frameworks in place. We do have some reports that we’ve done but there’s more that we can do.”

Sangster emphasizes that as environmentalists and the legal team work on updating the legislation, it’s crucial to launch an education campaign. This campaign would teach people how to properly handle and manage the chemicals they use every day.

Stephen Sangster

“One of the main things that Belize has done is phased out a lot of the very persistent chemicals that stain the environment for long periods of time. We’re making sure we’re not producing it in country, that they don’t come into country, but there are a few that we’re managing as we go. Things like mercury and DDT that we use to control malaria, those chemicals are useful in our current climate but what we want to do is make sure that everybody is aware of how to best manage the use and day-to-day interactions with these chemicals and how do we dispose of it when we’re done with it, making sure that it’s not leaking into our environment. There is a lot of information that these agreements have provided some technical assistance in how do we manage these chemicals.”

Mai points out that although Belize has a solid track record in managing chemical waste, there are new areas the global community is aiming to improve. That’s where we need to direct our attention.

Anthony Mai

“Currently there are some major international conventions that Belize is a signatory to. For example, there’s the Basel Convention, the Rotterdam Convention, the Stockholm Convention, the Minamata Convention and recently there’s the Global Framework on Chemicals Management. All of these conventions are important. All of them look at chemicals from a different perspective and require different obligations from our country.”

Minister of Sustainable Development, Orlando Habet, said that once the National Strategy is finalized, he will urge the Cabinet to take the necessary actions to implement it.

Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development

“I will be taking some of these information papers and memorandum papers to Cabinet for their approval and those that will become the Act and Regulations will also have to go to the House for acceptance by the House of Representatives for them to become the Acts, but very importantly for us is that we comply but also because compliance is also providing human wellness that we need in our country, both for agriculture and human health, and in the broad sense, also for the environment.”

The Department of the Environment keeps a close eye on things, and when they spot violations and find those responsible, they don’t hesitate to take legal action against the offenders. Marion Ali for News Five.