According to Mencias, what has been taking place is load shedding, a controlled process of temporarily reducing electricity consumption across different areas to ensure the stability and continuous operation of the national electricity grid. During the presser, the Chief Executive Officer also informed that CFE, Belize’s energy supplier in Mexico, was only able to provide twenty megawatts to the grid until three o’clock this afternoon.
John Mencias, C.E.O., Belize Electricity Ltd.
“So we have to load shed and that is what happened on Monday. And that is actually what is happening right now as we speak, that CFE has agreed today to supply us about twenty megawatts up to 3:00 this evening. It’s three o’clock already? But as of three o’clock they are going to cut it down to zero which means that we have to take off even more feeders throughout the country. So those are the reasons for the recent power interruptions. There’s a shortage of generation capacity in the country. Now, I want to make it abundantly clear to everyone that CFE is not acting outside of the contractual arrangements with BEL. What we purchase from CFE is called opportunity cost energy. It use to be called economic energy which means that it is interruptible at any moment’s notice. However, CFE has worked with us, they have tried to give us two hours notice, sometimes it is less. The relationship with CFE goes way back. It goes way back to the 1980’s. They have been a reliable provider of electricity for Belize. They have enabled us to keep our costs down, but importantly, also, they have provided us with great support and to put that in context, our systems are interconnected. We are very small compared to them. Any jolt in our system, they are able to handle it for us and that is the importance of being connected to a big brother like CFE. However, we have been aware for some time that they have also been having generation shortage problems of their own and also what we call transmission congestion problems. And that is why we have been emphasizing that we need to build in-country generation capacity to a level to be able to meet our peak demand within our own country. That does not mean that we’re saying we don’t want to continue our relationship with CFE. We want to continue that relationship with CFE. They provide us, as I said, with grid support and when the price of energy from CFE is low, we want to purchase it. it’s to our advantage. However, our focus has been since 2019, on energy security. Well from before. But we have made a point, we are driving the point that we have to stop relying on CFE to meet peak demand in country.”
Over the last few days, we have been reporting an increase in cartel activities in neighboring Chetumal. Two hundred military personnel were deployed to Chetumal earlier in the week following the daylight murder of a businessman and an active-duty police officer on busy streets in the city. There are growing concerns that this spike in violent crimes at the hands of cartel elements will spill over into Belize. Also, Belizeans are avoiding travelling into Chetumal for the usual leisure and business. Oscar Arnold, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico says the surge in cartel activities within the city is being fueled by a feud between rival gangs. He advised Belizeans to observe some caution if they are traveling across the northern border. Chetumal falls within the Mexican state of Quintana Roo which is a tourist hub. So, will these recent occurrences in Chetumal affect the flow of tourism dollars from Belize? And are there Belizeans who also stand to lose? News Five’s Paul Lopez travelled across the border into Chetumal today to find out firsthand how things have changed over the last week. Here is that report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
A military crackdown in Chetumal, amidst a recent spike in cartel violence, has raised concerns among Belizeans. On Monday, two hundred military personnel arrived in Chetumal in artillery vehicles and a helicopter to assist local authorities in their crime-fighting efforts. Annually, thousands of Belizeans travel into Mexico for leisure and business. Today, we are in the neighboring city to find out how great of a concern these recent developments are to those travelling to Chetumal.
Liseth Casimiro
Liseth Casimiro, Belizean Travelling to Chetumal
“We hear about the crime right but it is like, if you nuh involved in them kinda thing deh you nuh wah fraid. We have been over there this week and we had no issues, everything is calm and we had no issue with those people. So, i think everything should be fine.”
We met Liseth Casimiro at the Corozal/Mexico border heading to Chetumal. She told us that this is her second trip across the border this week, as she exchanged her Belizean dollars for Mexican pesos from a money changer or “peseros” at the border. One peseros told us that his business is already feeling the negative effects of the reports of increased cartel activities in Chetumal.
Voice of: President of Northern Peseros Cooperative
Voice of: President of Northern Peseros Cooperative
“Of course I think and strongly believe that everyone is concerned about the situation, not only we as money exchangers. And, in reality we are working here and we have seen a drastic change, a drastic decline of Belizeans going over to the Mexican side, especially in the hours of five in the evening. We have seen a decline drastically.”
Paul Lopez
“Is that usually the peek hour?”
Voice of: President of Northern Peseros Cooperative
“For people going over yes.”
Pablo Guerra
Pablo Guerra, Peseros
“I think that maybe it is not too afraid to go to Chetumal right now. The thing is you must take care right now. We hear that maybe they have the cartels in Chetumal and they might come here, but we have to trust in God first. If we go to Chetumal we have to carry God with us.”
Another Belizean we spoke with off camera was traveling from Cayo to pick up a relative at the airport in Chetumal. He told us that his decision to venture into Chetumal today was only out of necessity.
Voice of: Cayo Resident
Voice of: Cayo Resident
“We have concerns about what is going on, but we the go out of need, because we the pick up my sister at the aiport in Chetumal so that is the only reason we the hurry guh deh. From what we understand if you stay during the day and not at night everything should be ok and you stay weh the crowd deh nuh.”
Perhaps the upside to the decreased traffic going across the border is the expedited way travel documents are processed both on the Belize and Mexico sides. We then travelled into Chetumal, Mexico. A police checkpoint is situated only a short distance from the border crossing. Our first stop was at Plaza Las America, a popular mall in the city frequented by Belizeans. The next stop was the New Market where Belizean bus operators park their buses. Belizeans gather at this market when commuting to and from Chetumal using public transportation. Here we found out that bus operators have also seen a decline in commuters.
Voice of: Bus Operator, Chell’s Bus Service
Voice of: Bus Operator, Chell’s Bus Service
“We only bring two persons yesterday and one person today and today is suppose to be a busy day and nothing the happen.”
Paul Lopez
“And you think it is because of the crime?”
Voice of Bus Operator
“I don’t know sir.”
Paul Lopez
“And how do you feel being in Chetumal right now?”
Voice of Bus Operator
“I nuh feel no way because I come fih work. I nuh the do nobody nothing.”
Voice of: Bus Operator, Tillett’s Bus Service
Voice of: Bus Operator, Tillett’s Bus Service
“To be honest with you, you hear on the news that somebody the dead everyday. You hear a lot of sirens and a lot of things out here. Basically business decline a lot because usually dah market you have six busses and the bus operators they afraid to come across because of the same reason.”
Paul Lopez
“Do you think there is a great cause for all of this concern right now?
Voice of: Bus Operator
“The thing is I have twenty-five years over the border and if you look fih bad dah bad yo wah get. If you come and deal with your business and deal with what you have to deal with you dont have to worry about nothing. But if you come dah Chet come party and do all you nuh have to do well obviously you will find your own demise nuh.”
To get a local perspective on the situation with the reported cartel activities in Chetumal, we sat down with Rafaela Flota, inside the New Market. She is a resident of the city, and she operates a food business along with her sisters in the market.
Rafaela Flota
Rafaela Flota, Chetumal Resident
“Actually I think that the whole city is very worried about this situation and we think that it will affect us with tourism.”
Paul Lopez
“Why is this happening right now in Chetumal?”
Rafaela Flota
“I think it is a fight with the cartels. I think they are looking for the plasas. a lot of people in Chetumal is very concerned.”
Paul Lopez
“What is your advice to Belizeans when they come to Chetumal now? Should they do something to protect themselves?”
Rafaela Flota
“I think that with the people that are not in problems, they are safe.”
Paul Lopez
“Are there places you shouldn’t go, some places you shouldn’t go when in Chetumal?”
Rafaela Flota
“We don’t know about that because the crime is in the streets, it is anywhere and everywhere.”
And if you go looking for an increased presence of law enforcement officers in Chetumal City, it won’t take long to spot a police mobile speeding down a main avenue with sirens on. The heightened sense of security became more evident as we drove from one location to another. But amidst the reports of increased cartel activities and the evident surge in police and military presence, there are Belizeans who are not deterred.
Keon Soberanis
Keon Soberanis, Belizean in Chetumal
“It is an every day route for me. I come here to eat. I come here to enjoy myself, to do little shopping for myself. So it is a regular little trip for me everyday. I feel kinda scared sometimes right. I heard the news and haven’t been here for like two weeks. But I came today and it is not like what people are saying right.”
Ivan Middleton
Ivan Middleton, Belizean in Chetumal
“Honestly, coming from a humble place I still could actually forward and make my way through because either way I still would make it through.”
Paul Lopez
“Now what has been your experience been like over the last few day?”
Ivan Middleton
“Well it has been calm. I have not experience much crime and violence. It was calm where we were, we were in Calderitas, a little bit down from Chetumal and where the crime is happening so.”
Mister Tillett
Mister Tillett, Orange Walk Resident
“As I get in on the border I start ask questions and everybody I talked to say that the people who local and come here have no risk right, so I nuh fraid yet.”
On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, police arrested and charged Alrick Lamb, 28, with two counts of Contempt of Judicial Order. One count was for failing to sign in every Friday at the Raccoon Street Police Station, and the other count was for committing an offense while under bail from a Magistrate Court, which prohibited further charges during bail. The following day, on Thursday, May 2, 2024, police arrested and charged Alyon Pernell Domingo, 22, a Belizean construction worker from San Pedro Town, with two counts of Contempt of Judicial Order. One count was for failing to sign in every Tuesday and Friday at the Corozal Police Station, and the other count was for not residing at his registered address in the Corozal District while on bail for the charge of gang membership.
On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, police arrested and charged Allen Albert Anderson, also known as “Grace,” a 24-year-old Belizean construction worker from Ladyville Village, Belize District, for the offense of belonging to a gang.
On the same day, Julian Emilio Woodye, a 24-year-old unemployed Belizean from Belize City, was arrested and charged for the same offense.
Also on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, Kenyon Carlton Flores, a 23-year-old Belizean construction worker from Belize City, was formally arrested and charged with being a member of a gang.
Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) has announced scheduled power interruptions across various service areas in response to temporary in-country generation shortages and a reduction in supply from Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) in Mexico.
Over the past few weeks, daily electricity demand has fluctuated between 85 MW and 125 MW, while in-country generation capacity is currently capped at a maximum of 95 MW. This has led to increased reliance on CFE, which typically provides up to 55 MW of capacity to the grid. However, BEL has received communication from CFE indicating challenges in sustaining energy supply to Belize, with potential curtailments expected over the next 48 hours.
To manage these supply shortages, BEL will implement load shedding measures starting at 10:00 a.m. this morning. Initially, areas such as portions of Orange Walk will experience interruptions. In the early afternoon, load shedding will extend to portions of Corozal, San Ignacio, Dangriga, and Independence. This action is necessary to balance the available energy supply effectively.
Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) has provided an update on its efforts to enhance power generation capabilities amid ongoing challenges with supply from Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) in Mexico.
The gas turbine at Westlake on the George Price Highway, a key backup power source for BEL, is currently undergoing upgrades and is temporarily offline. This unit is expected to resume operation early next week. Additionally, BEL is in the process of installing a gas turbine in San Pedro, with completion anticipated by the end of May. These additional generation sources will significantly bolster BEL’s capacity to meet demand over the next year, even in the event of supply curtailments from CFE.
BEL expresses gratitude to its customers for their patience and understanding during this period. The company remains committed to maintaining a safe, reliable, and sustainable energy supply across all service areas nationwide.
The selection of Fritz Bélizaire as Haiti’s new prime minister has caused a rift within the transitional council entrusted with appointing new leaders for the country. Four out of the seven voting council members announced their choice of Bélizaire on Tuesday, surprising many Haitians and revealing an unexpected political alliance.
Now, council members who oppose Bélizaire, a former sports minister during René Préval’s second presidency from 2006 to 2011, are considering their next steps, which may include challenging the decision or resigning from the council.
The transitional council, tasked with preparing for elections and tackling security challenges, announced Edgard Leblanc Fils as its president and proposed Fritz Bélizaire, a former sports minister, as the new interim prime minister.
Established with support from the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), the nine-member council, sworn in at the National Palace last week, includes seven voting members. Its responsibilities include appointing a new prime minister and cabinet.
The council will wield certain presidential powers until a new elected president takes office by February 7, 2026.
Disunity is stirring within the Benque Viejo del Carmen Town Council as Deputy Mayor Jenny Martinez publicly announced her resignation via social media on Tuesday night. Martinez, appointed to the position following the recent municipal elections, attributed her decision to a perceived preference for a male deputy mayor over a female counterpart.
Martinez voiced her concerns, stating, “We women have the capability. Four men voted in favor of appointing a new deputy because they believe women are incapable of holding high government office.”
Despite receiving the second-highest number of votes and officially assuming the role of deputy mayor on March 19th, the council opted to reassess her appointment last month after being informed that the highest vote count does not automatically secure the position.
In a social media video, Martinez conveyed her disagreement with this decision, ultimately leading to her verbal resignation from the role of deputy mayor.
One person lost his life following a vehicular crash on Tuesday afternoon. The victim has been identified as twenty-nine-year-old Marcelino Pop, a delivery man from Belmopan.
According to police, at around 12:30 p.m., officers responded to a traffic accident on St. Mathews Street in the Maya Mopan Area of Belmopan City. They arrived to find a silver Nissan Rogue and a blue Meilun 100cc motorcycle, both damaged.
Investigations revealed that twenty-one-year-old Calvin Martinez was driving the Nissan Rogue on Saint Matthew’s Street. As Martinez approached the corner of St. Jude Street, the motorcycle traveling collided with the left front side of the Nissan Rogue.
The collision caused Pop to be thrown off his motorcycle into the truck’s windshield and then onto the ground. Pop sustained serious head and body injuries and was rushed to the Western Regional Hospital. Unfortunately, he passed away while receiving treatment.
We begin our newscast tonight with an escalation in deadly cartel violence just north of the Belize border with Mexico, in Chetumal, Quintana Roo. The popular Belizean destination has become a warzone for feuding drug gangs that operate in that southern Mexican state. Violent encounters between heavily armed gunmen have prompted the Mexican military to dispatch two hundred members of the Mexican army, air force, and national guard to the Othón Blanco municipality to quell growing insecurity among residents. This follows the murders of a businessman, as well as the head of the Secretariat of Citizen Security, and a minor whose father is a municipal police officer. Authorities have made several arrests and there has also been the kidnapping of a captain of the Mexican Army, who was released hours later. The rash of violence between the cartels has raised serious concerns among Belizeans who travel to neighboring Chetumal. News Five spoke with Oscar Arnold, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico, about the recent upheaval and his safety advice for Belizeans traveling to Quintana Roo.
Oscar Arnold
Oscar Arnold, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico
“The official word coming out is that it’s two rivalling groups, two groups who are feuding and as such, the incidences have been targeted to people who supposedly are on a list. The entire Quintana Roo area as is a tourist hotspot, is a tourist destination. It includes everywhere from Calderitas, Bacalar, Xcalak, Tulum, Playa, Cancun. For Mexico, tourism is a $40 billion US a year industry, so it’s not something that they take lightly, and as far back as 2019, the federal government had dispatched national guards. They had dispatched 1500 national guards, so the Cancun and Tulum area to address and arrest the issues that were flaring up there in crime. So we’re seeing it at a smaller scale in Chetumal, and what they’ve been doing is that they’ve sent these National Guard men to try to support and assist and try to quell any further incidences from occurring. As it relates to Belizeans, I believe that the Government of Belize, the Foreign Affairs office as well as the security apparatus in Belize have been monitoring it. There’s been numerous meetings. I’ve been asked to send whatever, intelligence, whatever report that we have on the ground so that they can review it and take a look at it to see if there’s a decision that needs to be taken. I don’t think we are there yet, but Belizeans should observe some caution if they’re traveling across the border. I know that we go there for recreation we go there to shop we go there to visit family members, we go there for medical reasons. But I would advise them to stay on the major roads, don’t travel at night, don’t travel alone. Make sure that you have all your requisite paperwork. If you’re taking a vehicle over their insurance registration, and also to ensure that you check in formally at the immigration checkpoint at the border crossing. We’ve had several instances where Belizeans just drive across and then they run into a roadblock or a checkpoint later on down the road and then they get charged for committing some sort of immigration violation. Belizeans going over to Chetumal should expect to see increased security, increased roadblocks in and around Chetumal.”
On the home front, Belizean authorities met earlier today to discuss citizen and national security in the face of mounting cartel aggression in southern Mexico. With concerns being raised among business owners in the Corozal Free Zone, as well as travelers, and residents near the northern border, the security apparatus came together this morning to discuss a strategy should the violence seep into northern Belize. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams spoke with the media this afternoon.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“I guess by now the information coming out of Chetumal has been widespread within the Belizean population and there is some cause for concern by Belizeans in the event that what is happening there may trickle into Belize. And while we can look at the information coming out of there as reliable, there is also some that is not reliable. We know how your colleagues in the media can be at times, but as the security apparatus of the country it is important that we meet and so we met this morning to discuss our strategy in terms of how we are going to address the issues locally. There is no cause for concern or alarm as there is no information at this time to indicate that any of the players from Chetumal have or is coming into the country. But just as a means of precaution, to give the Belizean people that sense of safety and security, we met to discuss how we’re going to deploy our resources in the northern area and to see how we can reorganize our current northern operations to make sure that we can cover as much ground as we can. Our team, police and BDF, remains extremely vigilant along the irregular border crossing, as well as the regular border crossing. So there is where we are at this time.”
