Caneros Block Philip Goldson Highway Amid Tensions in Sugar Belt

Prime Minister John Briceno is presently out of the country and the situation in Orange Walk remains volatile where the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and its membership met with government officials, including Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai, Chief Executive Officer Servulo Baeza and Minister of National Defense Florencio Marin Junior, earlier today.  The meeting on the compound at the Sugar Industry Research and Development Institute, SIRDI, preceded the blocking of the highway that traverses Orange Walk Town.  Since the annual sugar crop commenced on December twenty-eighth, the BSCFA is yet to deliver cane to the mill, as the association remains at odds with Belize Sugar Industries Ltd. over the signing of a commercial agreement.  The BSCFA and the Government of Belize have been locked in a series of meetings since last Thursday and the discussions continued through the weekend.  But tonight it is apparent that the parties may be no closer to arriving at an amicable solution to the standing impasse.  Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has been on the ground in Orange Walk since this morning and while there is no report of violence, the Belize Police Department has maintained a visible presence since the start of the crop last week.  We begin with footage of what has been taking place at the SIRDI compound today that resulted in the blocking of that stretch of the Philip Goldson Highway.