Politics - Channel 5 Belize

Albert Jones Sr. Freed After Serving Time for Murder

Convicted prisoner, fifty-one-year-old Albert Jones Senior is tonight at home with his family after six years on remand for murder. Jones pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the chopping death of Alaine Garcia whose body was never found. Jones suffers from mental illness and alcoholism. Today, when he appeared in the High Court before Justice Nigel Pilgrim, his prison sentence began at fifteen years. Taking into account the time he has served on remand, as well as a six-year deduction, Jones was informed that he was a free man. Following the outcome of the trial, we spoke with attorney Marcel Cardona who represented Jones in court.

Marcel Cardona, Attorney-at-law

“I believe it has been two years or more that we’ve been back and forth from court. I believe that probably we’ve been to court maybe about forty times or more, back and forth on different matters along the way, but I am very, very pleased that today, Albert Emmanuel Jones Sr. has been granted his freedom by the Supreme Court, the High Court of Belize. Justice Nigel Pilgrim has decided this morning that he believes that in Albert Jones’ circumstances, a sentence of six years is proper and given that Mr. Albert Jones has already served six years in jail, then it’s basically time served. And Albert Jones was therefore ordered to be released immediately.”

Reporter

“Give us an idea of this murder that he was accused of and brought down to manslaughter.”

Marcel Cardona

“Well yes, this basically, he stood accused of the murder of a gentleman who, as the evidence demonstrated in the case or showed in the case, the very gentleman who he is accused of murdering was the gentleman who had physically abused his kid, Albert Jones Jr., about two and a half months earlier.”

Mayor Wally Nunez Denied Permission to Run Against Area Rep, Andre Perez

Three weeks ago, San Pedro Mayor, Wally Nunez made his intention to run against the Belize Rural South’s Area Representative, Andre Perez, public. Nunez took to his Facebook page to inform the constituents that he would be applying to the P.U.P. Executive to enter his name as a contender for an election convention. But today we learned that Nunez’s hopes were dashed when the executive’s response was that he was not going to get that permission to challenge Perez. In a Facebook post on the matter today, Nunez wrote in part, “Guided by the voice of the people I decided to continue leading them as their area representative. I have now been made to understand that this will not be possible. I respect the decision of our party and hold dear the mandate given to me by the people. I, Wally Nunez, will continue to work and walk with the people of Belize Rural South. I will continue to serve the people. I will continue to lead them forward! Adelante!,”. News Five tried to reach Nunez to get his reaction to the P.U.P. executive’s decision, but our attempts were unsuccessful.

San Pedro Mayor Not Allowed to Participate in PUP Contested Convention for Standard Bearer

A few weeks ago, San Pedro Mayor Wally Nunez launched his bid to become the next area representative of Belize Rural South. He made the announcement via his Facebook page on April 29th. He said, “The people of San Pedro and Caye Caulker have been asking for quite some time if I will represent them in the next general elections. Well, this is confirmation that I will be sending in my application to represent you all.”

He ends by saying, “Let democracy prevail!!”

Nunez’s ambitions were halted. He was informed that the PUP’s National Executive decided that none of the recently elected mayors are permitted to participate in any contested conventions for the position of standard bearer. They are only allowed to join endorsement conventions, which are uncontested.

Mayor Nunez posted on Facebook, “Guided by the voice of the people, I decided to continue leading them as their area representative. I have now been made to understand that this will not be possible. I respect the decision of our party and hold dear the mandate given to me by the people.”

Kaya for Albert?

Professional cyclist turned rising politician, Kaya Cattouse has her eyes set on Albert Division, several months after being voted in for a second term at the Belize City Council. The P.U.P. councilor has expressed a formal interest in running against incumbent Area Representative Tracy Panton in the next general elections, that is if Cattouse is selected from within her party as a standard bearer. This afternoon, we caught up with Cattouse and asked a couple questions regarding her future political ambitions at the constituency level.

Kaya Cattouse, P.U.P. Candidate, Albert

“I think that working at the local government level for the past four years has definitely motivated me to want to represent a smaller group of people on a larger scale.”

Reporter

“Now what made you choose the Albert constituency?”

Kaya Cattouse

“So, the Albert constituency has a lot of potential and, like I said, working at the local government level and walking around in that area, you can identify the needs of the people and so I identified opportunities that can be made possible to these people. I’m a city girl, coming from Belize City, not necessarily from the Albert constituency, but this is the largest downtown area in the largest city in the country and there’s a lot that can be done, physical infrastructure and social infrastructure for the residents of the constituency.”

Isani Cayetano

“How would you respond to any detractor that says you’re not from Albert to begin with and that’s one of those constituencies where you have to have some kind of roots on the ground.”

Kaya Cattouse

“Who said that? Who made that rule? I don’t believe that you have to be [from] or were born in a constituency to be able to link and relate to the residents of that constituency. I believe people in general have the same needs, regardless of the constituency that they come from.”

Isani Cayetano

“Who did you consult with, perhaps in your family or within your party for you to arrive at this decision to run in Albert?”

Kaya Cattouse

“Family and friends, I would say, and some of the of the ministers in the party. I won’t get into calling any names as yet.”

Reporter

“But you do have allies, one assumes.”

Kaya Cattouse

“Definitely.”

Isani Cayetano

“What is the sentiment of Mayor Wagner? I’m certain he has some kind of weigh-in on this decision or the outcome of this decision of yours.”

Kaya Cattouse

“Mayor Wagner fully supports me, one hundred percent. He stands behind me fully and he’s a good man to have on your side. I am very grateful and appreciative of the support of not only Mayor Wagner but all the ministers around us and the other councilors who are giving me that push.”

Kaya Aspires to a Seat in Central Government

On March sixth, Kaya Cattouse was elected, along with ten other P.U.P. candidates, for a third consecutive term at City Hall. But is her attempt at running for a seat in the House of Representatives a disservice to the masses of Belize City voters who cast a ballot in her favor during the last municipal elections? Kaya began by sizing up her political opponent in Albert, before speaking of her plan to transition to central government.

Kaya Cattouse, P.U.P. Candidate, Albert

“Going into a constituency or choosing a constituency, you don’t do this based on the opponent and while she may be a formidable opponent and is a two-time [area representative], I believe that I can come into this constituency with what I bring, the knowledge and the experience working at the local government level and for me it’s about a new drive, a new perspective, you know, wanting to give the people what we see they need and we believe that under a PUP banner, with a PUP minister, we can do this. My main goal is service to the community, service to the residents and I want to do this to the best of my ability and I want to make a commitment and dedicate to the residents whether it be at a local government level, at a municipal level or at the constituency level. So, the bottom line is service to the community, regardless of the level that we’re doing it. Working at the Belize City Council at the municipal level, I have been able to work across ten different constituencies, yes, the results were resoundingly reassuring at the polls both times. However, I believe that there is a transition period that everybody goes through and you come into local government with aspirations to move on to central government.”

Isani Cayetano

“Nonetheless, you would still be shortchanging the residents of Belize City who voted for you for a three-year term. If elections are called in 2025, that’s only one year into the term. They will say, well, look, we voted for the entirety of the term and not necessarily for one-third of it.”

Kaya Cattouse

“Belizeans, or the residents of Belize City will definitely not be shortchanged. We have a well-rounded team at the Belize City Council. Should I be successful at my bid for the Albert constituency, I believe that our city will be left in very capable hands.”

The World’s First and Only Hicatee Captive Breeding Facility is in Belize

The Central American river turtle, also known as the hicatee, is one of the world’s most heavily exploited species. Hicatees can only be found in southern Mexico, Northern Guatemala and Belize. One nonprofit organization nestled along the northern border of the Bladden Nature Reserve is working to replenish the hicatee population in Belize. Just over a decade ago, The Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education, BFREE, established the first and only hicatee captive breeding facility in the world. Before they began studying the species, not much was known about them. Through their groundbreaking research a substantial amount of data has been gathered on these turtles to better understand their behavioral patterns. Additionally, they have released hundreds of hicatees into the wild. We will have an extensive report on our visit to the facility in Wednesday night’s newscast. Tonight, we hear from Jacob Marlin, the Executive Director of BFREE who started the organization thirty years ago.

Jacob Marlin, Executive Director, BFREE

“Some of the core research project we have on the property right now, and I think that is why you are here, has to do with the Central American river turtle, local we call it the hicatee, interesting specie. We got involved with it twelve or thirteen years ago, my background is herpetology and I happen to know a lot of people in the international scene. So, a friend of mine reached out to me and asked what is going on with hicatee in Belize. One of the most critically endangered turtles in the world. I said yes, but I have never seen them, and I have a lot of other things going on. So, he asked me to look into it and so I started reading and talking to people and what I learned is that know nothing much about it at all. I started talking to people who go hunting and they know some about it, they know where to get them, but if you ask them what the status of the population is, nobody knows. So that led us to this collaboration with this organization called the Turtle Survival Alliance TSA which is a big international turtle conservation organization that works in dozens of countries across the world, trying to save the most critically endangered turtles. Turtles are interesting, there are only about three hundred and thirty species of turtles on the planet. They are considered one of the most endangered vertebrates in the world, along with primates and amphibians. Of those three hundred and forty species of turtles almost half are threatened with extinction. And of that half about half of those are seriously threatened with extinction. Of those species the hicatee is one of the top twenty-five of all the turtles in the world. In Belize we probably don’t think about that. Nobody knows, it is just not something people don’t know about. People like hicatee and rice. It taste nice, where is my hicatee, it is easter where is my hicatee. I get it. Culturally fine, people have been doing this for a long time.”

“Kaya Fi Di Alberts”

Belize City Councilor Kaya Cattouse has officially declared her candidacy for the Albert constituency. Cattouse has been serving as a city councilor for the past three terms. She took to social media today to say quote, “over the past four years, I have witnessed the challenges facing the Albert Constituency, and I’m more determined than ever to lead us back to our blue roots. Together, we can ensure a P.U.P. victory and pave the way for a better quality of life for all Albert residents by uniting under the P.U.P. banner and ensuring that no one is left behind”, unquote. Cattouse is the only P.U.P. hopeful to date that has publicly declared her interest to run in the Albert Division. If another person chooses to submit their standard bearer application, then the party will certainly have to decide whether they will endorse a candidate or hold a convention. The P.U.P.’s deadline for application submission is at the end of May. We will continue to follow.

Kaya Wants to Represent Albert

Belize City Councillor Kaya Cattouse announced a few minutes ago her candidature for the Albert Constituency. In a post, Cattouse said, “I’ve witnessed the challenges facing the Albert Constituency, and I’m more determined than ever to lead us back to our blue roots.”

She promises “a better quality of life for all Albert residents” if she is successful.

The current area representative is Tracy Taegar Panton.

“Boots” Martinez Files High Court Claim Against E&B Over Recall Petition

Former Port Loyola Area Representative Anthony “Boots” Martinez has officially filed a High Court claim against the Elections and Boundaries Department. Earlier in May, Martinez told the media that the department refused his request to have the one hundred and eighty-eight rejected names on his Gilroy Usher recall petition further verified, based on advice from the attorney general. As a result, Martinez indicated that he would be filing a claim against the department over the refusal. Well, today we met Martinez outside the courthouse. He was there to finalize his application submission. Here is what he told us.

Anthony “Boots” Martinez, Former Area Rep., Port Loyola

“I am here to deal with the registry of the supreme court to see the processes of the application for judicial review for the recall petition. The hundred and eighty-eight mismatched signatures of which I personally witnessed a hundred and seventy-two of the people signed and got back one hundred and fifty-eight declarations of the people saying they did sign the petition. So that is the only bone of contention in my view. They say, in my view, I believe that justice not only needs to be done but seems to be done. How you wah verify petition, in my view the law talks about duly verifying a petition and it falls in the chief elections officer hands and their team because they have the capability. They are the people who go, and check people’s addresses and they know there is nothing in the law that says there is one stop way of verifying. The people have phone numbers, an address you cannot even call and whatever the case may be. I have a fundamental problem with it. That cannot be the be it and end it all for the elections and boundaries because the court must have remedy to them kind of thing deh.”

Marion Ali

“Is there a timeline you are looking at?”

Anthony “Boots” Martinez

“We are looking to it as quick as we could, and we hope to get through it by November of this year because the law speaks to eighteen months after you can’t launch a petition eighteen months after the person is elected and one months before the next election is due.”

“Boots” Martinez Prepared to Run Again in Port, If His People Wants Him

And if you happened to have forgotten why Martinez is so adamant about having current Area Representative Gilroy Usher recalled, he reminded us today. He also told us that he will seek another term in the constituency if that is what the Port Loyola constituents desire.

Anthony “Boots” Martinez, Former Area Rep., Port Loyola

“Two things happen, I only bear one signature, this is about the residents of Port Loyola who in my humble opinion believe that Mr. Usher is not doing the proper service that is why they sign the petition. This is not about one person. This is about the people of Port Loyola. This is about the fourteen, eighty five, fifteen hundred people that sign the petition. This is about the people, not “Boots” Martinez.”

Marion Ali

“So you don’t plan on reentering?”

Anthony “Boots” Martinez

“Listen, I am a creature of instruction like my attorney. The people asked me to launch the petition, they asked me to append their signature of which I did. The next step they will decide.”

Marion Ali

“But what your stance, do you want to reenter?”

Anthony “Boots” Martinez

“It is not what I want. I am a creature of instruction, the longest serving member of Port Loyola, four terms, consecutive. From since Port Loyola was created I am the longest serving member in the National Assembly there. So for me it has to be the wishes of the people. Like what I said last week, into retirement now, economically it is better for me. A representative makes only three thousand a month. My pension alone from government is more than that plus I get pension from Social Security. But like I said, all of that is not possible without the people.”