Brianna Bennett - Channel 5 Belize

Facebook Post Questions Government’s Role in Stake Bank Intervention

Today, a Facebook page called Belize Marine Life posted an intriguing update titled “Stealing Stake Bank.” The author posed a provocative question: which Minister promised approval for this and why? While the post didn’t give names, it referred to two key parcels of land. The first is a sixteen-acre section, part of the Stake Bank port project, described as the heart of a much larger development. This area is surrounded by twenty-three acres owned by Michael Feinstein, which is currently tied up in court. The post revealed that confidential emails, sent before the receivership, showed a proposed thirty-acre expansion in the sale to MSC Cruises. This expansion goes beyond the sixteen-acre port project and the twenty-three acres owned by Feinstein. The author suggested that this expansion was planned without Feinstein’s knowledge, highlighting how OPSA, the Honduran interest, and the bank were not only trying to take control of the project but also planning to enlarge it without his involvement. The post hinted at a, “backroom deal” that would have been impossible without political assurances, and questioned the cost and recipients of these assurances. Prime Minister John Briceño addressed the issue on “Open Your Eyes” today, stating that the government is simply trying to act as an honest broker in this situation.

Isani Cayetano

“There’s also a lawsuit before the court regarding the compulsory acquisition of the twenty-three acres of land, and the owner is essentially saying that he wants a particular sum for the overall twenty-three acres of land, and, of course, he wants one dollar and twenty-five cents, if I’m not mistaken, in perpetuity.”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“So, you think he’s serious to sell?”

Isani Cayetano

“Well, I’m not sure where he stands on that. He has placed that on the record that that’s what he’s asking for. I am asking you, where does your administration stand on that outside of what is taking place before the court?”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Well, first of all, when there are issues with court, you have to be careful what you say. I don’t want to prejudice the case in any way whatsoever. All we’ve been trying to do is to be an honest broker. Here is a massive investment. It’s becoming an eyesore because nothing is happening there. And the longer we take to settle this, the worse it’s going to get. As it is, I think they’ve already had almost three acres of erosion. It washed away, because nobody’s there to, to put in the seawalls and to put in the seawalls and to protect it and so forth, I’ve been told. I’ve not been there. I’ve been there only once with one of the local investors when he went to show me and you could see it’s a massive investment. So in all of these buildings, if you don’t take care of it, rust is going to get in. It’s going to go to nothing. I think we as a responsible government, it’s a huge investment, if it was two people fighting over a way smaller investment of course, we’re not going to get involved. But remember, successive governments have said that this project is in the national interest of Belize. When it came to – and this started out way back under the PUP, the Musa government, when they came with a plan to say, well, we want to purchase this because we want to do this cruise port, which was very, it’s still very important. And we agreed to it. The UDP government, in two occasions, came to the House, passed legislation saying that Belize was going to support this because it’s in the national interest. Fast forward to our time now, here’s a dispute over a project that successive governments have said is in the national interest of Belize. We got involved as honest brokers, trying to find a compromise between the two groups. But what – well, they, they can’t come to an agreement. I don’t want to prejudice or give my – how I feel about it, but they can’t come to a compromise. So know, here comes the investors that really have the money and they’re the ones that put up the money, most of the money, come to us, “Well we can’t come to an agreement.” Now we have MSC, one of the largest cruise lines. And also they do containers. They move containers – the largest company to move containers around the world. They have over two hundred thousand people working. They’re saying, “Well, now, we’d be interested, but we don’t want to get into this mess. The only way we’d be interested is if this mess is settled, and we buy over then.” So that the only way we can do that is by compulsorily acquiring land. In Cabinet, we had a long discussion, and the agreement was that the government and people of Belize must be protected from any lawsuits, that if there’s any lawsuits, tax payers will not pay a single dollar, a single dime.”

Isani Cayetano

“A sort of indemnity.”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I’m coming to the point. So based on that, we decided we want an indemnity, and not only the indemnity, but we also need a deposit of about seven million dollars in the name of the Government of Belize at the Atlantic Bank. So once we felt that we – and we went through the indemnity. We had our lawyers going back and forth to ensure that it’s a solid indemnity. We said, okay, we are going to pro proceed. We put out the notice basically to tell the owner come, we want to acquire it, can we come to an agreement? Same terms. So obviously it’s not happening. Now they went to court again and we have to wait to see what the court is going to say on this matter and at the same time, well we’re hoping now MSC and met with them here. Albino and two other top people from MSC and said they’re excited. They came for the first time to Belize. And they flew by helicopter and look at the Blue Hole, the reef, the country. They’re excited. And there he says, “you guys are one of the most beautiful countries. We want in.” We spoke to them about the Port of Belize and they say, “well, we’re prepared to do this and also consider investing in the container portion of the port. So, exciting things are coming but we need to get things done. We need to solve these problems to be able to go to the next point.”

PM Says Mexico Pledges Increased Power Supply to Belize

Prime Minister John Briceño has returned from the historic swearing-in of Mexico’s first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum. One of their discussions centered around Mexico’s power supply to Belize. Briceño highlighted that Belize is already consuming the amount of energy in 2024 that was projected for 2028, thanks to our economic growth and the increased need for cooling appliances during long heat waves. President Sheinbaum assured Briceño that she would uphold the gentleman’s agreement made with her predecessor, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, to maintain the current power supply to Belize. However, their conversation took an interesting turn, exploring the possibility of Belize purchasing power from ships that sell electricity. This could not only help us meet our energy shortfalls but also open opportunities for Belize to buy and sell power.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“There’s a group in Belize now that they’ve been talking to another company outside of Belize that they have these ships that have, that have, um, these huge plants. So, they’re saying that they can contract this. They have already signed an agreement with this group, and they can bring the board. But the board produces 80 megawatts. We can’t use it. A good thing about the agreement that we have with CFE, we can buy and we can sell. So our idea was to go to them and pitch the idea. Listen, it will be far easier for Belize to bring the ship to Belize. We use what we need and then we send over the rest to you. At a very small margin to pay for the expenses. And they were quite excited because, like us. Quintana Roo depends pretty much solely on tourism. Last year they had over eighteen million visitors, so they can’t afford the blackouts just like us. So we had a very good meeting. We set up a team that would comprise people from BEL, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Finance, I think PUC to meet with their technical people to start to work on how we can, how we can do this.”

Belize Looks to Buy Power Outside of Mexico Arrangement

Belize is also exploring options beyond our northern border for additional electricity supply, as our consumption has exceeded projections by four years. The Prime Minister mentioned another potential agreement to secure more electricity for Belize. This comes after a recent discussion he had with a company outside of Mexico.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I spoke the day before on the same Tuesday night. I met this young man from the Garza family. They are going to be providing the electricity for the four seasons. And their plan is to, well, they just want to meet you because it’s a big investment. I’m talking about the possibility of maybe they could sell. So I explained to him, you have Caye Chapel, Caye Caulker and San Pedro, or Ambergris Caye. and with submarine cables, you can easily do that. And again I said, but look at Mexico. Listen, we have this agreement. And they were planning to come like around December, but now they want to fast track probably sometime this month or early next month to come and look at Belize, because a part of their investments are so they build transmission lines, especially in the north where you have a lot of private producers of electricity and they need to get on the transmission line to distribute. I said, well, right now the transmission line that we have, in the next few years we’re going to max it out. We need to build another transmission line. And the media says, you know, that’s something we do. You could come and look and maybe we can build the transmission line and then we lease it out as opposed to BEL or government putting the money in. So there’s a lot of opportunities, a lot of excitement about Belize. So we’re working on the issues of energy.”

PM Briceño Says Elections Will Not be Called Before January

One of the hot topics on the morning show was the P.U.P.’s readiness for the upcoming election whenever Prime Minister John Briceño decides to call it. While he acknowledged that there’s still plenty of work to be done, the PM expressed confidence that his party will perform well when the time comes. He also hinted that the elections won’t be held before January first but stopped short of revealing exactly when he’ll make the big announcement.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“We don’t have National Party Council meetings by WhatsApp. We have it in person. And we had over three hundred people. And it was very good, and people are energized. They’ve seen the work that we’ve been doing, and the work, I mean, and yes, there’s always, you know, we need more streets, we need more roads, you know. We need expansion, water, schools, all of that is there. But they have seen the tremendous work that we have done as a government. So they’re very excited and pumped up. They left everyone calling elections, no. But we have a lot of work to do. I’m very excited about the team that, that we have in place. And I believe that we’re going to do very well. And that whenever we call elections, people are seeing the work, they’re feeling the work. But all of us always want more, always want better. And that’s the way it should be.”

Yet Another Fatal Motorcycle Accident

There is yet another motorcycle accident fatality to report on. On Sunday night, Christian Baizar was riding his motorbike on the Philip Goldson Highway when he was allegedly rear-ended by Ford Explorer. At the time, Gustavo Cardinez was the driver of the Explorer. Unfortunately, Baizar succumbed to the injuries he sustained. ACP Hilberto Romero told us more.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division
“On Sunday the sixth day of 2024 around eight p.m., police responded to a fatal road traffic accident on the Phillip Goldson Highway. Upon their arrival they saw a motorcycle with damages and a Ford Explorer with damages as well. The driver was identified as Gustavo Cardinez and the person driving the motroycle was identified as Christian Baizar. Christian Baizar was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. An investigation was carried out and Gustavo Cardinez is custody pending charges reference this fatal road traffic accident. The information is that the pickup hit the motorcycle from behind causing this fatal injury to Baizar.”

Independence Village Man Charged with Attempted Murder

Last week, we told you about a domestic dispute that led to a woman being set on fire in Independence Village. Tonight, police have officially arrested and charged Travis Lopez for attempted murder. The charge comes after he allegedly poured gasoline on his common-law-wife Karima Logan and set her on fire.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“On Thursday the third of October, police responded to a domestic dispute at Independence Village. Upon the arrival they saw Karima Logan with burnt injuries. She was taken to the hospital for treatment. Investigation reveals she had a domestic dispute with Travis Lopez who threw gasoline on her and lit her on fire. An investigation was carried out and Travis Lopez has since been arrested and charged for the crime of attempt murder.”

Belizeans in Diaspora Brace for Category 5 Hurricane

Last month, Hurricane Helene tore through the United States, causing chaos in several states. Now, hot on its heels, Hurricane Milton is making its presence known. On Monday, Milton ramped up to a category-five hurricane as it headed toward Florida through the Gulf of Mexico. We reached out to a few Belizeans living abroad to hear how they’re preparing for this powerful storm. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the story.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene tore through Florida, Belizean American Christine Jones is bracing for another major storm and this time, it’s a category five. Jones has been living in Florida for about five years, residing in Ruskin Town, south of Tampa, Florida.

Christine Jones, Florida Resident

“This morning I spent helping my neighbors put up their shutters and now it’s my turn. I have my shutters out. They’re going to help me put mine up. I was driving around trying to make sure I got a tank full of gas earlier. I’ve got food, nonperishables. I’m good for a week, as long as I don’t get flooded out. I have my fire camp stove. The skills from the fire heart days in Belize come in handy. Yeah, so the main concern for me is that if we don’t get flooded, my roof doesn’t blow off, which. Hurricane Ian, I think three years ago, I lost a part of my roof, so I have a new roof. So I’m hoping that everything holds together.”

Hurricane Helene was the most powerful storm to hit North Tampa, Florida since 1851, leaving a trail of devastation across several states and claiming over two hundred lives. Now, Hurricane Milton is making headlines, having rapidly intensified to a category-five storm and setting a record for the Tampa Bay area. It’s expected to make landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday. Belizean Shadini Henry, who has called Florida home for over eight years, shared that in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, her family struggled to stock up on essential supplies.

Shadini Henry, Florida Resident

“It was hard to find in the stores. Water, couldn’t even find water in the stores. Luckily we found some afterwards. We could not we have the both of our vehicles full with gas, but it was hard all the gas. I imagine by today because we got ours filled last night. It was hard to find a guest to fill in the cars, but I imagine by today they’re all gone. They’re all out. We have stacked up on nonperishable items.”

As the storm draws near, there’s a chance it might lose some of its intensity. However, it’s expected to affect a wider area, including the Yucatan Peninsula. Belizean Windel Castillo, who has been living in Merida for almost three years, shared that he’s decided to stay calm and not panic as the storm approaches.

Windel Castillo, Merida Resident

“This is the first time that we’ve had, like, about four hurricanes back to back coming to us. And this is the first one that’s actually turned into a Category five, and it’s not changing trajectory. So I always make sure I’m prepared. And for the last three months, it’s been raining almost every day. From since three p. m. on to six, seven. So just to be on the safe side, always make sure I have my stuff ready.”

Castillo has lived through a category four hurricane previously and believes he is adequately prepared for the approaching storm.

Windel Castillo

“It’s not my first rodeo, to be honest with you. I think that in the event I do get in panic, then it could be worse. But I have my windows sealed. I have enough. supply. I have everything that I think I need for a hurricane. And so I’m not that worried per se.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

Muy ‘Ono Resorts Celebrate $1 Million in Donations

Today, eight resorts under the Muy ‘Ono brand celebrated a remarkable milestone: their first million-dollar philanthropic achievement. Since 2018, these resorts have been committed to giving back, except for 2020 when the pandemic halted global economic activities. With today’s donations to those in need, they have collectively donated the funds to the community. The celebration took place at LifeNet Belize, a church-based organization in Belmopan. News Five’s Marion Ali was there to capture the moment and brings us this report.

Pastor Paul Cassanova, Manager, King’s Children’s Home

“Whoever came up with the idea, I believe is inspired. It gives us the notion that all the tourism industry is doing is not only for those at the top, but we get the crumbs, and the crumbs taste nice.”

Marion Ali, Reporting

The crumbs that Pastor Paul Cassanova speaks of are those that eight resorts in Belize have been giving out to needy institutions since 2018. The beneficiaries include homes for children and the elderly.

Reynaldo Malik, Chief Operating Officer of Muy ‘Ono Resorts

“The leadership at Muy ‘Ono, we don’t participate in selecting those. The selections are made by the employees at our individual resorts. So you will see, if you notice the recipients here today, that they’ve came from a wide variety of locations: Dangriga, further south, Cayo, Belmopan, Cotton Tree, et cetera. And that’s because the recipients being selected by the employees, represent where the employees actually live, not necessarily where the resort is located.”

Today, several institutions once again benefited from the generosity of Muy ‘Ono’s philanthropic efforts, as shared by the brand’s Chief Operating Officer, Reynaldo Malik. Among the recipients, King’s Children’s Home received a generous donation of fifteen hundred dollars from one of the resorts. Pastor Cassanova expressed that this contribution will significantly support the home’s needs.

Pastor Paul Cassanova

“I’m especially impressed with the fact that they have a program where it’s philanthropic and we are able to be beneficiaries of it. It’s unlike anything else I’ve seen within the business community. I think the way they have it set up speaks volume to the heart and the mind they have to reach out to the community and serve the community. We do really appreciate it.”

According to Malik, had COVID not interrupted the workflow in 2020, this million-dollar milestone would have been long realized. But the pledge continues.

Reynaldo Malik

“We would have certainly gotten past one million last year. As a matter of fact, I mean, we were on track in coming off 2019. That was then the very best year for tourism, and we were on track toe. Enjoy a tremendous year as an industry and not more, you know, as well for 2020. But unfortunately, what happened happened, and it set us back on. But we’re glad that we’ve no made it. 1 million mark and to your point, we’re hoping that we’ll be able to get the two million faster than we got to 1 million.”

Malik explained that the donations come from a portion of the profits made from booking as well as from patrons.

Reynaldo Malik

“The moment you book a room at one of our resorts, we donate an automatic amount out of that. So, the amount varies by resort because all, some of our resorts are different sizes than the others. So, for instance, at Hopkins Bay, that amount is a dollar U.S. per night. So if you book, you went and stayed there for five nights, we would donate five U.S., we put five U. S. away. When you’re checking out, we hope that you enjoyed your stay with us and we ask you to match that 5. We generally get about forty percent of our guests to participate in the program. So of the one million dollars donated, if you want to do the math, we’ve contributed about seven hundred thousand ourselves and the other 300, 000 came from guests putting some funds into the kitty, so to speak.”

The effort is one that Prime Minister John Briceno encouraged other businesses to take as an example of not only creating jobs, but to give back to the community.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“When you look at what your organization has been doing, and that today you’re reaching the million dollar mark, I wish that more companies can see what you’re doing, and that then they would be either inspired, or feel a little bit ashamed, and say that we also have to do our part because he has a lot of needs.”

Marion Ali for News Five.

Belize Assumes Chairmanship of the Permanent Council of OAS

Belize has taken on the Chairmanship of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) at their headquarters in Washington DC. During a formal ceremony on October fourth, Ambassador Victor Fernandes of Barbados handed over the ceremonial gavel to Ambassador Lynn Young of Belize, marking this significant transition. Belize steps into this leadership role at a crucial time for the hemisphere. Ambassador Young’s appointment highlights Belize’s strong commitment to regional cooperation, democracy, and development—key principles of the OAS. In his acceptance speech, Ambassador Young expressed a deep sense of responsibility in leading the Permanent Council and reaffirmed Belize’s dedication to the core mission of the OAS.

Lynn Young, Ambassador, OAS

“His Excellency Nestor Mendez, Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Fernandez, colleagues, distinguished guests, permanent representatives. It is with great humility and a deep sense of responsibility that I stand before you today as the newly appointed chair of the permanent council for the Organization of American States. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the members of this distinguished body, to the members of this distinguished body for entrusting Belize with this important role and I extend my appreciation to our outgoing chair and his vice chair for their exemplary leadership during a challenging period of our hemisphere.”

Belize Hosts Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Workshop

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade is set to host a Regional Workshop on the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement for Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Placencia. This key workshop aims to boost understanding of the BBNJ Agreement, covering the rights and obligations it entails, and providing Caribbean SIDS with the technical support they need for joining and implementing the Agreement. The BBNJ Agreement acknowledges the unique challenges faced by SIDS and ensures their specific circumstances are considered. It also encourages their active participation in decision-making processes, alongside other developing nations. Earlier this year, Belize made history by becoming the first Caribbean nation to ratify this vital ocean biodiversity agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Aniceto Rodriguez Ruiz, EU Delegation to Jamaica

“Recognizing that the health of our oceans is deeply tied to the prosperity of coastal communities, sustainable development and global biodiversity. The Caribbean’s unwavering commitment during the negotiations was instrumental in securing this historic deal that is the BBNJ Treaty. And now there is another task [which] is to translate this achievement into action on the ground into reality. I would also like to commend the Caribbean nations that have already ratified the BBNJ Treaty, Belize and Barbados. This early ratification demonstrates the leadership and sets a powerful example for the rest of the world. I’m very happy to emphasize the European Union’s commitment to supporting DOALOS in organizing these capacity building workshops. In addition to the EU’s contribution to the workshop, I’m excited to highlight another source of financial and technical support for Caribbean states in implementing the BBNJ Treaty. The EU Global Ocean Program which will provide forty million Euros over six years, focusing on sustainable ocean use and technical assistance for developing countries.”