As the Trump Administration in the United States continues to shake up the global economy with increased tariffs, vulnerable nations that rely heavily on imports are feeling the heat. These tariffs threaten to spark an international trade war, which could have a ripple effect on investments, exports, and the overall cost of doing business. At today’s U.D.P. conference, Mesopotamia Area Representative Lee Mark Chang highlighted the looming challenges these tariffs pose to Belize. He emphasized the urgent need for the country to brace itself for the potential economic impact and find ways to mitigate these pressures.
Lee Mark Chang, Area Representative, Mesopotamia
“Despite these looming realities, our government remains silent. Silent on inflation, silent on the cost of doing business. Silent under the rising pressure that families and businesses are about to face. This is not leadership. This is reckless, and it’s the belief in people who will pay the price. The United Democratic Party is now sounding the alarm before the damage is done. We are calling on the government to act urgently and responsibly. There, there are solutions there are way forward. The UDP proposes the following immediate steps, diversify our trade partners. We must open new doors in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe. So we are not dependent on just a few countries. Support small businesses and medium businesses. Strengthen our local industries. Make capital easier to access for entrepreneurs the true drivers of our Blue economy. Boost agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing. The more we produce and sell ourselves, the stronger our independent we become. Simplify doing business, slash unnecessary custom delay, lower the cost of moving goods across the borders. And create real incentives for export. Police cannot afford to stand still while the world shifts around us. We must be proactive, not reactive. We must lead with vision, not panic. We must protect our people, all workers, all business, and our families from the storm that is coming.”
Doctor Randall Edgell, a Neurologist who attended Saint John’s College and pursued his medical education in the U.S., has been honored with the prestigious Sydney Souers Award. Edgell, the son of Belizean author Zee Edgell and brother of journalist Holly Edgell, is a Professor of Neurology and Surgery and the Director of the Souers Stroke Institute at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. For the past eighteen years, he has led the institute’s stroke services in education and research. Speaking to News Five today, Edgell shared that he plans to use the monetary award to fund further research.
Dr. Randall Edgell, Award Recipient, St. Louis University School of Medicine
“Sydney Souers was a wealthy philanthropist. I guess he started his life as an admiral in the US Navy in World War II. He actually was the first person to lead the C.I.A. in the United States and unfortunately had a stroke. He was treated at our institution back in the 1970s, and at that time, he felt he received good care. His family was very grateful and then later in the 1980s, his wife left some money to the university to create this position, this endowed professorship in stroke care. And this was the award that I was lucky enough to receive a few days ago. All universities have this type of award in endowed professorship. It’s one of the highest honors you can receive as a university professor, and it’s given to people who stand out in their career for having accomplished special things in terms of teaching or research or national prominence. I don’t get to spend the money itself. I have access to – it is invested in stock market and I get to spend the interest that accumulates on that fund. And so that’s what I have access to each year. I think in my case, I’ll be using it to advance a type of research that I am involved in, looking at stents. Stents are small metal cylinders that are used to open up blocked blood vessels and there’s a particular area in the back of the neck called the vertebral artery that takes blood to the back of the brain and that’s an area where there’s not a lot of research on stenting.”
The tragic death of an eleven-year-old in Guyana has ignited violent protests, resulting in a hotel and a home being burned to the ground. Adrianna Younge, a resident of Tuschen, disappeared on Wednesday while at Double Day Hotel with relatives. The community launched a search party but faced resistance from the hotel owner and law enforcement when trying to thoroughly search the premises. Relatives were allowed to enter late Wednesday night, but their search was unsuccessful. Early Thursday morning, residents gathered in front of the hotel, burning tires and demanding answers from the owner. Shortly after, Adrianna’s lifeless body was discovered in the hotel pool. This discovery sparked a series of events, including the destruction of the hotel and the owner’s home by protesters. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
This shocking video captures the moment when missing eleven-year-old Adrianna Younge was found lifeless in the pool at Double Day Hotel in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, Guyana. Reports indicate that Younge disappeared around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday while swimming with her family. Her relatives claim that the hotel owner and staff were reluctant to assist in their search efforts. On Thursday morning, protests erupted in front of the hotel, supporting the child’s father, Subrian Younge, just before Adrianna’s body was discovered.
Subrian Younge
Subrian Younge, Father of Deceased
“I tell you all again, like I tell social media, these people in there knows about my daughter, from the staff, to the boss, to everyone that was in there from one o’clock between two o’clock knows what is happening in there. I could move, I could get up from here right now and go home, you all give me my daughter let me go home. The soonest you give me my daughter I will go home.”
Younge’s body was discovered in the pool two hours later. Here’s what Younge’s aunt had to say to a reporter in Guyana.
Aunt of Deceased
Aunt of Deceased
“We were beginning the police to lock down the place so that we can search. They did not do that. A police by the name of Reece said he will lose his job if he does that. Day Day son is claiming that she left. He never offered any sympathy anything. They never allowed us to search as a family until after eleven going unto twelve.”
Videos and images from the late Wednesday night search show that Adrianna Younge was not in the pool at that time. The gruesome discovery of her lifeless body was made by a search party on Thursday morning. Her father, Subrian Younge, is seen jumping into the pool to retrieve her body.
Voice of: Guyana Resident
“We checked this pool. We checked this morning. This girl was not in this pool. This girl was not in the pool. This girl was not in this pool.”
Suspecting foul play, the situation quickly escalated into a violent protest. The Double Day Hotel was looted and later set ablaze. Following the discovery, the father gave an emotional statement.
Subrian Younge
“We search the pool this morning. We searched the pool at six this morning with police. I didn’t go there, but six of my family. They searched the whole building. I was standing there watching them and the pool was righter there. Nobody did not see the body. After ten, my daughter body appeared just so magically, dead. They would have wait for us to go away for them to move the body. But here is what I said, I would have never moved until I see her body. If it was today, I would have stand here today, tomorrow I would have done the same thing. The next day I would have done the same thing, but God.”
Protestors then turned their attention to the home of the hotel proprietors, just three streets away. It was also set ablaze and burned to the ground, while a main road was blocked. Newsroom in Guyana reports that the hotel owner has been detained by police. President Irfaan Ali issued a statement shortly after Adrianna Younge was discovered, announcing the formation of a special team to lead the investigation. He emphasized that the full truth must be uncovered, and no resource will be spared to achieve this. He also requested a detailed explanation from the police regarding their actions since the matter was reported. President Ali visited the family on Thursday evening. The protest continued today as the community seeks answers. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
The people of Guyana are in shock following the discovery of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge’s body in the pool of the Double Day Hotel. The young girl had been reported missing on Wednesday afternoon after visiting the hotel with her grandmother and other relatives. Despite initial searches by family members and police, her body was not found until early this morning.
President Irfaan Ali has intervened directly, ordering a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding Adrianna’s death. He has instructed the Commissioner of Police to assemble a special team to lead the probe and stressed that no resources will be spared in uncovering the truth.
The discovery of Adrianna’s body has sparked intense public outrage, leading to protests in the Tuschen community. Residents have blocked roads, burnt tires, and even set parts of the hotel ablaze, demanding justice and accountability.
Many have drawn parallels to a 2012 incident at the same hotel, where a young mechanic was found dead under suspicious circumstances. Although charges were initially brought against the hotel owner’s son and a staff member, both were later acquitted.
News Five provided live broadcast this morning as law enforcement authorities tracked a Tropic Air flight that was hijacked by a U.S. national leaving Corozal. He has been identified as forty-nine-year-old Akinyela Sawa Taylor. A passenger on board the aircraft shot and killed Taylor moments after the plane landed at the Phillip Goldson International Airport. News Five’s Paul Lopez tells us more.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
This is the flight path of an aircraft hijacked by forty-nine-year-old U.S. national Akinyela Sawa Taylor. Armed with a knife, Taylor demanded that Howell Grange, a pilot for Tropic Air, fly him out of the country. The flight had fourteen passengers, including an infant. Flight tracking shows the pilot made a sharp turn after takeoff, circled around, then headed south. South of Belize City, the plane turned east over the Caribbean Sea, circled Caye Caulker and San Pedro Town, then returned over land near the Phillip Goldson International Airport. It went back out to sea before landing at the airport an hour and a half after leaving Corozal. A licensed firearm holder on board shot and killed Taylor moments after landing. These Cessna Caravan planes can travel over a thousand miles in ideal conditions, but the pilot told Taylor they were low on fuel, according to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“And at one point in time they demanded that he landed at an area where they can refuel. Our greatest concern was the fuel consumption of the plane. The information we were getting was that the fuel was depleting, and the plane was still at a very high altitude moving.”
Law enforcement, medical, and fire personnel were ready at the Belize City Municipal Airport in case the pilot landed there. Taylor had stabbed three people on board: Jair Castaneda, a Tropic Air employee, Fitzgerald Brown, and the pilot, Howell Grange. Images and videos from the plane show a severely injured Castaneda, while the other passengers huddled at the back of the plane.
Howell Grange
Chester Williams
“So we had deployed at the International, Belize City Municipal, Caye Caulker, San Pedro, Dangriga and Even the Coastal Road, because there is an airstrip there. We did this to ensure that if the plane landed, we would have been able to intercept the hijacker.”
Jair Castaneda
When the plane made its second pass over the Caribbean Sea, it had only twenty minutes of fuel left. Authorities then called in Astrum Helicopter to track the aircraft.
Chester Williams
“We were now thinking outside the box, knowing the fuel was depleting we were hoping we didn’t have to move from a search and rescue to search and recovery. The think was for the helicopter to follow the plane to see where it would land so if they received to crash land the plane in the sea or one of the islands we would have been there quickly to respond.”
A social media user caught this video of the plane flying over Saint George’s Caye, just east of Belize City. The passenger who shot and killed Taylor after the plane landed was among the injured and is being hailed as a hero. This is the first incident of its kind in recent history, leaving many to wonder why Taylor hijacked the plane and what his story is. U.S. Embassy of Belize Public Affairs Officer Luke Martin was at the PGIA, working with local authorities.
Reporter
“Can you tell us about what you found out about the hijacker and what was his motive?”
Luke Martin
Luke Martin, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy Belize
“We don’t have any information on him at all. We know that his name was being released. We don’t know what was his intention, why he wanted to go back to the U.S., the reason of it. So, right now we don’t have any information on that.”
Paul Lopez
“So you have confirmed that he was trying to get back to the U.S. on this plane?”
Luke Martin
“That is reports that we have heard, but we have nothing direct on that. This is something that the Belize authorities, we trust them to resolve and look at well. We share that commitment with them to make sure Belize is safe, airlines are safe, tourist are safe, borders are safe and secure, this is all part of that as well. It highlights that important event of everybody investing their time and money.”
Local authorities have uncovered more details about Akinyela Sawa Taylor. Over the weekend, Mexican authorities denied him entry at the northern border, but he managed to sneak into Belize through an unauthorized entry point.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“There was an issue last night from what I was told at the freezone involving the same person. So he seems to be a problematic person, and so that is what we know about him a part from the fact that he is a U.S. veteran.”
Commissioner of Police Chester Williams praised all the agencies that responded to the hijacking, highlighting the pilot’s bravery. Williams noted that if the pilot had panicked, the outcome could have been very different.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“It is a matter of making sure we have proper command and control. I took command of the operation and guided what the police weas going to do, lasing with different counterparts, looking at the U.S. Embassy, the Coast Guard, the BDF, even the CEO in the prime minister’s office. My minister, I kept constant dialogue with him. It is to ensure we are all in sync in terms of what we do when have these incidents. At the end of the day, one slip can cause mayhem. So we have to ensure that whatever we do is done with the intent to create good and achieve good. I believe that all the agencies involved today did execute their functions properly and that is the reason why we have the results we have. And, I cannot forget the pilot. The pilot for that plane did an exception job, even in terms of his communication with the tower as this was unfolding. He remained calm and was extremely focused in terms of what he was going to do. Had he panicked it could have had a different outcome.”
As the humanitarian crisis in Haiti worsens, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is urging the international community to step up support for those displaced by gang violence and instability. In a statement today, the IOM revealed that over one million people are now displaced within Haiti, a number that has tripled in just a year, leaving many without shelter, water, or medical care. Additionally, nearly 200,000 Haitians were deported from neighboring countries last year, adding to the nation’s struggles. This week, IOM Director General Amy Pope visited Haiti to discuss with government officials how to improve migration governance, expand access to legal documentation, and strengthen reintegration efforts. Pope emphasized the urgent need for action, stating, “the Haitian people are showing remarkable strength in the face of unthinkable hardship, but relying on resilience alone is not a strategy. The Haitian people need support, and they need it now. The cost of inaction will not only be measured in lives lost, but also in broader instability that affects us all”.
Belize has confirmed cases of measles for the first time in thirty-four years. The Ministry of Health and Wellness announced in a virtual press conference that the first suspected cases appeared after Belizeans visited Mexico in March. Two people returned with symptoms like fever and skin rashes, and tests confirmed they had measles. This breaks Belize’s record of being measles-free since 1991. The patients are from the Corozal and Cayo districts and were part of a group that recently came back from Mexico. The rest of the group is now in isolation, being monitored for any signs of fever or rash. The ministry is urging the public to get vaccinated against measles, which takes about twenty-one days to recover from. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Marion Ali, Reporting
After more than thirty years without measles, Belize confirmed two cases of the virus on Saturday. Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Director of Public Health and Wellness, said the group, from four different communities in Belize, traveled to Chihuahua, Mexico in January and returned on March thirtieth. The rest of the group is in isolation and showing no symptoms so far, with most of them being vaccinated. The patients are teenagers.
Melissa Diaz-Musa
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Director, Public Health & Wellness
“The details of the two positive cases are as follows: a 17-year-old male unvaccinated who started with fever, rash, and cough on April third. Laboratory confirmation of measles was received on April twelfth. The second case is a 17-year-old female unvaccinated who started with symptoms on April second. Laboratory confirmation of measles was received on April twelfth. All fifteen travelers have been interviewed by the staff of the Ministry of Health and Wellness and are being monitored regularly for signs and symptoms.”
Musa explained that they acted as soon as they got reports of patients with symptoms, while waiting for test results to confirm measles. These cases come amid a surge in measles across the Americas, with over five hundred confirmed cases in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and Argentina. Although many people in Belize are vaccinated, the rate is still below the ninety-five percent target, especially in the Cayo and Belize Districts. The Ministry of Health is urging Belizeans to get vaccinated.
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa
“The Ministry of Health and Wellness urges the public to ensure vaccinations are up to date, particularly for children. Parents, check your children’s vaccine cards to determine if their vaccines are up to date. Adults who have not received an MMR vaccine or who are uncertain of their vaccination status should visit a health facility to receive the vaccine.”
Natalia Beer
Dr. Natalia Beer, Technical Advisor, Maternal and Child Health, Ministry of Health
“Any unvaccinated person traveling abroad who come in contact with persons that may be infected with measles, more than likely will be infected with measles. We have so many flights in and out of Belize and if we look at the data in the U.S., a lot of destinations from Belize, they’re having outbreaks.”
Dr. Natalia Beer, the ministry’s Technical Advisor for Maternal and Child Health, urged everyone, especially those in certain age groups or with existing health conditions, to get vaccinated, particularly if they plan to travel outside Belize in the next month. What makes this illness highly contagious is that patients can spread it even before they show any symptoms.
Dr. Natalia Beer
“The person is contagious even before having signs and symptoms, so it makes it more difficult for one to say, I will stay away from persons that are ill with fever and rash. But the contagious period starts even before that. The high-risk group that we need to target now is unvaccinated children and teenagers, unvaccinated adults from 20 to 59 years, adults greater than 60 years, unvaccinated healthcare workers, immune-compromised persons, pregnant women, and populations living in communities with low vaccination coverage.”
Measles usually starts with symptoms like fever, runny nose, red eyes, and a rash that begins at the hairline and spreads down the chest, back, limbs, and the rest of the body. The illness typically lasts for about twenty-one days from the onset of symptoms. The ministry has started holding monthly mobile clinics in remote communities to give out vaccinations, but they’ve noticed that people are hesitant to get vaccinated. This hesitancy has increased since the COVID outbreak. Marion Ali for News Five.
The medical team stressed that people with chronic illnesses should get vaccinated for measles. Those with weakened immune systems are at risk of severe cases if they catch the virus. While many people recover completely, Doctor Russell Manzanero, an epidemiologist with the Ministry of Health, explained that those in vulnerable health categories can suffer lasting effects or even die.
Russell Manzanero
Dr. Russell Manzanero, Epidemiologist, Ministry of Health & Wellness
“The very young, those who are older, pregnant women, those who have a weakened immune response, such as those perhaps living with cancer or one of the chronic illnesses that are perhaps not managed properly. Those are individuals who have weakened immune system, so those are the persons of concern of where the severity might be even greater. It varies from perhaps, we may have a lung infection, it develops to pneumonias, you can have inflammation and swelling of the brain, but these are instances where hospitalization rates perhaps are not that great. These are the severe cases. In that instance, if you do have a neurological complication that you do get a swelling to the brain, you might have side effects of hearing loss or vision loss, blindness. Yes, there are some cases of death.”
Earlier this week, two American fugitives were deported from Belize to the United States to face serious charges, including weapons trafficking and rape. The fugitives were tracked down and returned with help from the U.S. Embassy in Belize. Today, we spoke with Commissioner of Police Chester Williams about Belize’s teamwork with the United States to ensure that fugitives face justice in their home countries.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“We continue we continue to work with our counterparts. Occasionally we get information of a fugitive bin here, there or somewhere. And once that occurs, then we get into motion working with the US Embassy in the final location. And then we do surveillance and eventually we move in and apprehend. We have done that recently with with a number of fugitives on the US and once that occurred, then they’re then taken back to the US where they would face whatever charge they may have to face. In the United States.’
Reporter
“Since January, have we had any belief on returnees deported?”
Chester Williams
“I have not been following the deportation much. I can’t really give you an answer, but I know that I have seen lists with a number of persons returning home but very little if any at all as it relates to persons of interest. Those persons that we have seen coming home are not persons of interest to us, and so we just normally go through, just go through the normal routine with them so we are with those who are of interest to us.”
