Former Area Representative Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez has been behind the Office of the Governor General since February sixteenth in an attempt to find out about the status of petitions that were collected from voters in Port Loyola to trigger a recall referendum in that constituency. Martinez is seeking the ouster of sitting Area Representative Gilroy Usher Senior by way of a vote. However, that effort, it would seem, is being frustrated by the GG’s office. According to Martinez, on several occasions he was informed that there was no update on the status of the petitions, only to find out earlier today that the petitions were only handed over to the Chief Elections Officer a few days after he called a press conference on the matter.
Anthony Martinez
Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez, Former Area Rep, Port Loyola
“It was disclosed this morning by the Chief Elections Officer that she had just received the petitions on the twenty-first of February. That was the day after we had the last press briefing. Now, ah wah tell yoh di real truth, what I find that to be. That is flouting the law. You, as the Governor General, you ascent all laws into play and have little things to do per day and all day to do it. I have some difficulty with that and I have difficulty, in my humble opinion, in the Governor General breaking the law. And I find that to be very delinquent, her office to be very delinquent, very disingenuous and totally dishonest. I will say this, numerous calls were placed to her office for which I believe as the person that launched the petition, my channel for answers is the Governor General’s office and when you say to me, your office says to me numerous times, the petition has not, yoh noh get wahn answer yet. You said, “No response yet on the petition.” When you know that you neva send di petition ova to the election, the Chief Elections Officer as the law mandates because the law says that the Governor General on receipt of the petition shall forward the petition to the Chief Elections Officer forthwith.”
According to Martinez, residents of Port Loyola are deserving of answers from the Office of the Governor General as to why it has seemingly flouted the law. He also says that all legal options are being explored in respect of consequences for breaking the law.
Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez, Former Area Rep, Port Loyola
“The general public and especially the people of Port Loyola need, in my humble opinion, need answers to what happened there.”
Reporter
“So, now that you’ve learned this, will you take legal action?”
Anthony ’Boots’ Martinez
“Well, speaking with the senior attorney this morning, we are looking at legalaction because everything is time and money. But it’s not here nor there, but talking with Mr. Barrow this morning, there should be some legal recourse that we could take against the Governor General and her office.”
Reporter
“You would have to prove though how you had losses.”
Anthony ’Boots’ Martinez
“Now that’s another case… I am saying to you, breaking the law, breaking the law noh have some consequence? And ih noh matter what I say in terms of what happen wah happen and I maintain that. But I am saying we noh reach there yet. I am saying we are contemplating on the avenues for what recourse is there before the court for somebody breaking the law. There has to be some kind of recourse. So I am just saying that we’re looking on that. Me and Mr. Barrow, we spoke this morning and we’re looking at what it is, because nobody is above the law.”
Late this evening, the Government of Belize issued a release responding to the statements made by Martinez that bring the Governor General into disrepute. The release goes on to say, “our laws further mandates that it is unlawful for any person to bring the Governor General in her capacity into contempt, disrepute or disaffection. Whether one agrees or disagrees with this, the fact remains that this is what the supreme law of the country and the laws of Belize command. Recent statements made by Anthony “Boots” Martinez to the media scandalizing and bringing Her Excellency into disrepute are unwarranted, unprecedented and unlawful. The Cabinet has requested the Attorney General to provide advice on this matter”.
On Friday, there was a candlelight vigil held in honor of fifteen-year-old Lamisha Moody. The high school student was innocently shot and killed not far from where she lived in the Jane Usher Boulevard neighborhood. She was not the intended target of the deadly attack, as the gunmen were there to take aim at Troy Hyde. In the spray of bullets, both persons were mortally wounded. Friends, family, students, as well as the faculty and staff of Anglican Cathedral College attended the vigil and shared testimonies.
Aunt of Deceased
Aunt of Deceased
“Lamisha da mi wahn bright person. Lamisha smart. Lamisha love to sing. Lamisha da mi one ah di bravest person. When her grandfather died, when di Fada look pan Lamisha, ih seh how dis young lee gial gwein sing? She could stand up up deh? And she rocked that church. Lamisha was supposed to be one of our future… Lamisha’s life was taken innocently and I hope that the police get justice for my niece. They took her away from us. That was not right.”
ACC Student
ACC Student 1
“Lamisha was very close to me. She was like a big sister to me. Every evening we walked home, we told each other jokes. We dance, we sing and she would always tell me, just remember that I da di older one, and we would laugh and talk. I never expected this to happen because that same evening I was with her and when I heard the news, I was really broken. I did not know what to do and I just want Lamisha to know that I wah always deh ya fu she and I wah be strong.”
ACC Student 2
“[Good] evening. Me and Lamisha, we weren‘t that close but I will always remember the times when Lamisha told me to be strong, not only for her, but for my family. And the day that her accident happened, Lamisha told me that she would see me the second day. When I came to school, I was very heartbroken because I believed that I would have seen her. No one knew that this would have happened to Lamisha. All I pray is for Lamisha to know that I will always have her in my heart and I will always, always love her and she will forever be a part of the ACC family.”
A candlelight vigil is underway at the Anglican Cathedral College where students, teachers and parents are gathered to mourn the loss of fifteen-year-old Lamisha Moody. The high school student was gunned down on Wednesday night here in Belize City, as she stood in front of a shop in the Jane Usher Boulevard neighborhood. Moody, along with Troy Hyde, a well-known street figure, was shot and killed during an attack in which Hyde was the intended target. The teenage minor had gone out to purchase foam plates ahead of a class trip when she was shot and killed. In the wake of the deadly shooting, the faculty and staff of A.C.C. issued a release condemning the wanton gun violence that claimed the lives of Lamisha Moody and Troy Hyde. On Thursday, the Commissioner of Police indicated that the vehicle believed to have been used in the deadly assault has been impounded. An arrest is yet to be made, however, police remain on high alert in the event of a reprisal.
Fifty-seven-year-old Rosalito Pacheco, a taxi driver from Corozal Town, mysteriously disappeared in early February. Today, a family of three, a mother and her two sons, was dragged before the Belize City Magistrates Court to be arraigned for handling stolen goods. Police allegedly discovered Pacheco’s vehicle and keys at the home of forty-four-year-old Tricia Young, a resident of the Fresh Pond area in Burrell Boom Village. Young and her two sons, eighteen-year-old Imari Young and twenty-two-year-old Christopher Young, have been jointly charged with the crime of handling stolen goods. The trio appeared before a Senior Magistrate with attorney Richard “Dickie” Bradley. At their arraignment, they pleaded not guilty to the charge. Their attorney then asked the Senior Magistrate to take record of his clients’ time of detention and when they were brought to court. Bradley contended that the time exceeded forty-eight hours and violated the rights of his clients. Imari and Devin Young also told the court that they were badly beaten by police officers while in custody. The brothers allege that plastic bags were placed over their heads during interrogation and that they were beaten with a two-by-four piece of wood. The court took note of these allegations and with no objection to bail, the trio was granted bail in the sum of two thousand dollars each, plus one surety of the same amount. The court also demanded that they report once a week, on Fridays, to the Burrell Boom Police Station. We heard from their attorney outside the courtroom.
Richard “Dickie” Bradley
Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney
“The disturbing thing is that in the case of the two sons, you heard them individually explain to the senior magistrate the ordeal that they suffered in the case of the second accused, I won’t call his name, he was badly beaten at the police station in Burrell Boom, where in addition to, as he said, wapped several times in a two by four and a plastic bag being put over his head while handcuffed to try to get some air and he was punched and kicked and the younger brother who is only eighteen also suffered some beating at the hands of the police to end up with a charge that they were handling a stolen vehicle which was not found in their yard. It is a serious matter for the police in the sense that the vehicle is said to be owned by a person who has gone missing. So we can understand that they are trying to breakthrough with an investigation but that is no excuse for what we heard in court this morning that the commissioner of police and the minister responsible for the police who are in government for three years need to have some written guidelines and public know. And don’t tell us to make a report at Raccoon Street, noting ever comes out of that. We need an independent investigative arm that deals with police officers who behave like criminals. That is uncalled for to try and suffocate someone to get information which they didn’t end up getting anything for.”
A pair of Mexican nationals will spend the next three years behind bars at the Belize Central Prison after pleading guilty to the charge of theft and abetment to theft of two rental vehicles. Back in July 2023, a 2020 white four-door Kia Sorento and a 2021 white four-door Equinox, each valued at sixty thousand dollars, belonging to Budget Auto-Rental Car were stolen. The duo is comprised of Alejandro Gonzalez, who is charged with theft and Carlos Morales, who is charged with abetment to theft. They were arraigned on October 2023 and appeared today before Justice Nigel Pilgrim who stated that if the men had been tried and convicted before a jury at the High Court, then the penalty would be the same, which is no less than ten years. However, Pilgrim began the penalty at six years and after revisiting the case made before the crown and its proven elements, Pilgrim noted that the duo cost the company more than two hundred thousand dollars in losses and inflicted psychological damage as well. As a result, the starting penalty was raised to eight years. Pilgrim proceeded to deduct three years due to the pair showing signs of remorse and an additional year and eight months was deducted for their guilty pleas, leaving both with a three-year, four-month sentence for each car to be run concurrently. Pilgrim also ordered Vasquez to pay a sum of forty-six thousand, five hundred dollars with depreciation for the loss of the Equinox, while Morales was ordered to pay the sum of forty-seven thousand, seven hundred seventy for the Kia Sorento.
The Christian Workers Union, the representative body for stevedores, is not impressed by the government of Belize. Negotiations have been in the works between the government, which is the owner of the Port of Belize, and stevedores over the sugar payment owed to them for several years now. On February fifteenth, a proposal was presented to the union and now, having read it, the members are not pleased. The union held a meeting today in order to discuss how they plan to move forward and counter respond. We attended the meeting where C.W.U. President, Leonora Flowers, expressed the union’s displeasure. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with that report.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Leonara Flowers
Leonara Flowers, President. C.W.U.
“Today, we are meeting with our members from the Port of Belize, our union, to find out and get directive what they want us to do. You may know that last week, on the fifteenth of February, we got a proposal from the interim board at the port. Needless to say, our members are not at all pleased with what was returned to us. It is just a regurgitation of what was given when the port was under the previous management. And we did not expect the government to do this. So today we are getting directive from our members. Where this is going.”
Flowers stated that the contents of the proposal were utterly disrespectful in her eyes, claiming that pension that members are already entitled to, was being passed off as the sugar payment stevedores are asking for.
Leonara Flowers
“I am even ashamed to see what’s in that first proposal. It’s disgusting. It’s unconscionable. It’s just a frustrating bunch of, you know what. This has come to the team before in 2020 and it was completely rejected. What they proposed to do again as I stand here, I will tell you shamelessly The interim board is proposing to give to the stevedores money that already belongs to the stevedores, part of pension that they have already paid for, they are already entitled to that. So that is what they’re proposing to give back to say that is as we call it the sugar money that is unacceptable and we’re not having it and that is why we’re out here today with her members to give us a clear directive. Where do we take this from here?”
Flowers explained that the union has been ready to present its proposal for several years and wishes to start the negotiations at its offer.
Leonara Flowers
“We had our proposal from we began like two, three years ago. When the interim board came in, they knew what that proposal was. And they said to us, don’t give us your proposal, we’ll come back to you. And they came back, so low. So extremely low and with a huge disrespect as well, to come and say to our members, you know we’ve been saving some pension for you, this is already yours. Take this and go away. You don’t do that to people. We’re not going to have that. And we’re looking at this straight at the government. Straight at the government. And we also know that in Belize City, we have all those members, ministers of government, who have gone on record to say they have the stevedores back. They should be paid. They should get what they’re entitled to. That’s not happening. So we’re looking at them as well for some responses today.”
Flowers further stated that she never expected these proceedings to occur when the Government of Belize acquired the port and is calling on them to do better.
Leonara Flowers
“I expected that we will sit and negotiate and they will look at this stevedores and remember that an ESAT decision has said, sit and negotiate and remember that they signed an agreement to say when sugar leaves the port of Belize, if it does, then there shall be an award. Where is that award? Where is it today? The government needs to do better and we are calling on them to do better.”
In December 2023, Prime Minister John Briceño stated that acquiring the port was the best decision the government could make for Belize and was optimistic about negotiations with the stevedores meeting a successful conclusion with time.
John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño (File: Dec 14, 2023)
“I think it was best for us to be able to sit down to negotiate a settlement for us to be able to take over the port. We did not want to go down the line of nationalization. We have seen what happened with the previous government in 2009 when they nationalized BTL, and it was fight after fight, and the liars made millions of dollars. And we wanted to avoid that. And then to ensure that we can find a settlement that would be in the interest of Belize. And we believe that that’s what we accomplished. Now, the Stevedores, they need to understand that we are just taking over this company. And we need to try to see how we can fix it. And I am sure that the Interim Board will probably find the time to be able to meet with them.”
Since being opened to vehicular traffic a few weeks ago, motorists traversing the new Haulover Bridge have reportedly been speeding. We have, at least on one occasion, also reported of an accident that took place recently at the approach to the structure. To reducing speeding, the contractors have built a pedestrian ramp on one end of the bridge. A few questions have been raised regarding that construction, considering the fact that motorists view the pedestrian ramp as unnecessary since its location is not in a residential area. Chief Engineer Evondale Moody explains the reason for the crossing.
Evondale Moody
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“The pedestrian crossing is basically a pedestrian ramp to slow down traffic because, as you can see, even with those pedestrian ramps that we have there, as soon as the vehicles leave the roundabout they’re speeding up and that is what has created a couple accidents in the past few weeks because people are speeding across the bridge. That will take some education and I believe we will have to start from the primary school because, based on our experience, it’s hard to educate the adults now because they are still speeding. No matter what we do, we do the advertisements, we do the public awareness, they’re still speeding and this is only, as I said, five hundred and twenty-eight meters and they pick up speed as soon as they leave the roundabout. So I think it’s just education and we have to continue to push that.”
Earlier today, Prime Minister John Briceño and Foreign Minister Francis Fonseca met with Ambassador Uzra Zeya, as well as a high-level delegation from the United States. The mission called attention to Belize’s leadership on humane migration, and emphasized the successful co-chairmanship of the Migration Roundtable and commending initiatives such as the Amnesty Program. Uzra Zeya is the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights.
Uzra Zeya
Uzra Zeya, U.S. Ambassador
“Over the last few days, I’ve had excellent wide-ranging meetings with Prime Minister Briceno, Minister of Home Affairs Musa, Minister of Defense Marin, National Security Director Delcid, along with other senior officials and the Special Envoy for the Development of Families and Children. I also engaged dynamic leaders from civil society and the National Women’s Commission and the National AIDS Commission. So I want to extend my sincere appreciation to Prime Minister Briceno and Foreign Minister Fonseca for their close collaboration and our growing partnership in Belize and throughout the region. The United States is grateful for our flourishing relationship anchored in shared commitments to democratic values and human rights. We are also proud to be the leading trading partner and source of investment funds for Belize and its people. The United States invested three million dollars this past year to help make a difference in areas that Belizeans care about, improving civilian security, strengthening the justice sector and securing Belize’s borders. In fact, since 2015, we have provided over fifty-seven million U.S. dollars in security, economic, health and humanitarian assistance to this great nation and through my visit, I have seen firsthand the dividends of this cooperation. We also recognize Belize’s principled stand as one of twelve countries recognizing Taiwan. This cooperation with Taiwan is benefiting the Belizean people as seen in the recent global cooperation and training framework event focused on combating gender-based violence that brought together advocates from Taiwan, Belize and the United States.”
The discussions underlined the importance of prioritizing issues of human rights and engagement with civil society, with particular focus on protecting marginalized members of society. The delegation stressed the importance of enhancing citizen and human-centered security, strengthening the justice sector and securing Belize’s borders.
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“We had a very good discussion today. The Under Secretary had the opportunity as well to meet with the Prime Minister earlier this morning. We just had a very good discussion, we talked about citizen security, human rights, you know, democracy, the amnesty program, the migration issue and issues that affect the most vulnerable in our society.”
Reporter
“Is this something that came up between yourself and the Under Secretary, the number of Belizean asylum seekers who have headed to the United States?
Francis Fonseca
“We discussed that very openly, you know. We didn’t talk in great detail about the numbers of people going, but you made a very good point earlier. The whole asylum process, as you rightly pointed out, was affected. Many people said why or asked themselves, “Why should I go through this process when in fact I have an opportunity to get into the United States of America?” We found that many of the people who had applied, when they went looking for them, had actually left the country. [We don’t have] the full numbers on that but quite a few, even in my own constituency in Belama, I’ve noticed a number of families have gone… a number of families have gone to try their luck, as you said, and I haven’t seen them again. So I suspect they’ve been successful in reaching their destination.”
