During his visit to southern Belize, Opposition Leader Barrow also spent time in the Toledo East constituency where he joined U.D.P. standard bearer Dennis Williams on the campaign trail. Williams has been endorsed by the United Democratic Party to run against a P.U.P. candidate in an upcoming bye-election to fill a seat in the House of Representatives, following the death of Mike Espat. According to Barrow, the weekend was eventful with activities being organized and carried out by the political hopeful.
Shyne Barrow
Shyne Barrow, Party Leader, U.D.P.
“Brother Desho had a basketball tournament that was scheduled Saturday morning. We visited the marketplace on Saturday as well and we attended the Chocolate Festival that they had at the Welcome Center. So it was marvelous and brings into sharp focus the vision that the U.D.P. has for Toledo. I really believe that Toledo, while Dangriga is the culture capital, Toledo is the multicultural capital. When you look at the rich heritage from Maya to Garifuna, East Indian and all the other people, the Mestizos, it really brings home what a treasure, as far as tourism, Toledo is. And I do believe that more needs to be done to promote, package and market what Toledo has to offer, more investments, more P.P.P.s. I know that social security always complains that they have a hundred million dollar problem, Toledo would be a great place to invest as far as the tourism sector is concerned. That was the sum of our activities as far as politics is concerned over the weekend. So the machinery is up and running in all of the villages: Bella Vista, Trio, Bladen. All of the neighboring villages from Cattle Landing to Barranco, everywhere.”
The Ministry of Blue Economy and Disaster Risk Management, along with the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), reports that wildfires affecting San Pedro Columbia and nearby communities in the Toledo District have prompted the Governor General to declare a state of public emergency for the district on May 19.
A release from NEMO says that over the weekend, Minister of Disaster Risk Management Andre Perez and Toledo West Area Representative Oscar Requena visited the affected areas to assess the situation firsthand.
The Toledo District Emergency Operations Centre remains on high alert. Assessment teams are currently in the district conducting damage and needs evaluations. The Belize Defence Force and firefighters from the Punta Gorda Fire Station are actively participating in firefighting and search and rescue operations alongside community efforts.
There is no immediate fire threat to San Pedro Columbia, Crique Jute, Mafredi, Nah Lum Cah, or San Antonio.
We begin tonight with the significant losses that the recent wildfires have caused to several Maya farmers in southern Belize. In San Pedro Columbia, around one hundred farmers have lost their entire farms, taking away from them the only means of survival they depended on. The fires spread to other Maya communities, doing much of the same damage to farms and rainforest in those villages. Last week, there were wildfires that were being closely monitored in Crique Jute, Mafredi and San Antonio. Another that threatened the Cadenas outpost near the Sarstoon got so grim by Friday, that the smoke in the area made it difficult for the soldiers posted at the outpost to see and breathe. Despite all efforts to save the facility, it was consumed by the flames over the weekend. While that was happening in those areas, Ministry of Disaster Risk Management, NEMO, the B.D.F., the Ya’axché Conservation Trust and Toledo Institute for Development and Environment teams were out fighting fires in other communities in Toledo. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Marion Ali, Reporting
The fires that swept through several communities in the Toledo District have left significant losses in their wake. The fires became a threat to the communities from as early as last weekend when they threatened farms in several Maya villages, starting from San Pedro, Columbia. By the end of the week, the Cadenas Outpost near Graham Creek had also been consumed by the fires. Deputy Commander of the Belize Defence Force, Colonel Anthony Velasquez said the soldiers had to abandon the post.
Via phone: Col. Anthony Velasquez
Via phone: Col. Anthony Velasquez, Deputy Commander, Belize Defence Force
“We sent air reconnaissance in the area, and about Thursday, the intense smoke forced us to evacuate our soldiers from the, from Cadenas. So they took all they could with them, all movable equipment, and they evacuated to the Sarstoon F.O.B. However, they did daily patrols back to the Sarstoon area and attempted to remove other items as well. On Saturday, they returned and everything was in order, and Sunday, when they returned again the outpost was burned because of the intense wildfires.”
Chairman of San Pedro, Columbia, Basilicas Choco told us today that the teams were able to suppress the fires over the weekend, but that many of the farmers had been affected by the flames.
Basilicas Choco
Basilicas Choco, Chairman, San Pedro Columbia Village, Toledo
“I would say it’s more than more than 70 percent of our farmers have been affected. I don’t think we have any severe homes that are burnt. It’s just like camps that farmers usually make on their farms that store corns, other things that they have stored here, those are the buildings that are burnt down. Cacao is one of the major crops that has been destroyed, I would say about – the majority – more than 50 farmers that have cacao fields. We have farmers losing their corn, as they said. We have farmers losing other fruit trees, coconut trees, other fruit trees that they have, especially the farmers that are that live on their farm.
TIDE’s Terrestrial Manager, Mario Muschamp, said the NGO played a huge part in saving other villages from coming under threat.
Mario Muschamp
Mario Muschamp, Terrestrial Manager, TIDE
“We got a call actually from the folks at Ya’axché Conservation Trust last week Tuesday afternoon, pertaining to a fire that was along the highway next to the Golden Stream Corridor Preserve Field Station. They felt that the station was threatened by this fire. And so we were called to assist them with suppressing that fire. When we got there most of the rangers from had Ya’axché had already controlled that fire. We received a call from rangers that were on patrol into the Golden Stream Corridor Reserve on the boundary line with the Columbia River Forest Reserve. They were saying that there was a fire back in there, and based on information we got from them, that fire was in there already for a couple of days. What we found was happening is there were these rocks were actually rolling down the hills, huge boulders, so it was a little scary for us, but we were able to put fire breaks around those hills to ensure that fire, those fires didn’t come down those hills and then spread off into the forest.”
NEMO spearheaded the effort to suppress the fires, evacuate villagers and has already begun assessments of the losses. Area Representative for Toledo West, Oscar Requena, toured the affected areas along with Minister of Disaster Risk Management, Andre Perez. The images shared from that tour show extensive damage to the terrain and parched trees where lush greenery once existed. NEMO Coordinator, Daniel Mendez told News Five that as soon as they got the information of how grave the situation was, they mobilized the District Emergency Management Organization.
Daniel Mendez
Daniel Mendez, Coordinator, NEMO
“We were able to get aerial reconnaissance to really understand the magnitude of the fires. And then we started to provide support, immediate support to the communities that were being affected. There was an on the ground reconnaissance by Honorable Andre Paris, who was the Minister of Blue Economy and Disaster Reduction alongside the ever representative Honorable Oscar Requena. And based on that, it was determined that the impact was very severe, and it will require a significant amount in terms of the recovery of these areas.”
Classes in the affected villages were suspended until further notice, as assessment teams continue to monitor the smoke and visibility in those areas. Part of the operation, Mendez said involved a few search and rescue missions and placing a shelter in Crique Jute Village. While the BDF put the loss of the facility to around eighty thousand dollars and say that it will take a few weeks to replace the outpost in that southernmost area of Belize, Col. Velasquez assures that Belize’s sovereignty will not be compromised by this loss.
Via phone: Col. Anthony Velasquez
“Because it has burned doesn’t mean that we will be absent from the area. Our soldiers will remain in the area and we’ll do constant patrols as well from the Sarasota F.O.B to the area until repairs has been done.”
Muschamp warns that the hot weather conditions are a recipe for fire disasters and discourages people entering the forests from lighting fires.
Mario Muschamp
“We have been trying to tell people that during this time of the year, do not use fire because it’s harder to control, and there’s a high chance that you’ll escape. And then when you escape, you don’t know where it’s going to go, what damage it will cause. I think it’s high time now that as a country we start to promote the wise use of fires and address the laws that deals with fire. We currently have a National Wildland Fire Management Policy and Strategy sitting on a shelf that had it been put to use, we could have alleviated a lot of these problems that we’re seeing.”
The Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing was also called upon to assist in the firefighting efforts but Chief Engineer at the Ministry, Evondale Moody said they were not able last week because of the location where their heavy-duty equipment was at the time made it impossible for them to reach the villages. But Moody said that they are able to dispatch the equipment if necessary, this week to assist.
Evondale Moody
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“Last week we were in touch with NEMO as well and they had requested the assistance of MIDH to provide water trucks and also heavy equipment such as backhoes and excavators to assist them in dealing with the wildfires down south. However, because we were working in the Bella Vista area we were not able to provide that support. However, this week we expect to provide that support to them as best as we can.”
The equipment might very well be needed because late this evening, Chairman of San Pedro Columbia Village, Basilicas Choco told News Five that the fires that were suppressed and weren’t any longer a threat were again raging in the village. We’ll follow up on this story on Tuesday.
Toledo East Area Representative, Mike Espat passed away on April twenty-second, leaving the seat vacant. And with just two months left before a bye-election is held to fill the post, the People’s United Party’s candidates have set out on the campaign trail with hopes of being elected as the next standard bearer. Doctor Osmond Martinez, current CEO of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment, was the first to express interest in the post; officially launching his candidacy on May thirteenth. He is up against Nicanor Requena, former chairman of the Toledo Association of Tour guides, and Melhem Espat, son of the late area representative, during an upcoming convention. The winner will face UDP candidate Dennis Williams. News Five’s Britney Gordon spoke with two of the candidates to hear what their plans are for the constituency, if elected. Here’s that story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
With just a few weeks to go before the P.U.P convention is held on June ninth, when a standard bearer for the Toledo East constituency will be elected, aspiring politicians are busy campaigning. Among those running for the post is Nicanor Requena, an active member of the Toledo farmers and tour guide communities. His campaign seeks to ensure that the needs of Toledo East residents are met, just as much as other constituencies.
Nicanor Requena
Nicanor Requena, Area Rep Candidate, Toledo East
“So my name is Nicanor Requena, better known as Nic. I am an educator, I’m a biologist, I am a farmer. I’m a tour guide. First of all, I want to thank the People’s United Party for offering me the platform to be a candidate in the upcoming convention for Toledo East. I believe that the Plan Belize is in action and my goal, my vision is to ensure that Toledo East gets its fair part of Plan Belize, which is already happening. So it is a continuation of Plan Belize and ensuring that those priorities of our people are addressed.”
Requena has seen the struggles of the community, and it is the desire to offer aid and support that drives his campaign. He highlighted a need for better infrastructure, healthcare, educational and financial opportunities for youths.
Nicanor Requena
“As I go to the communities, people speak about the need for better health care, better education. Better agricultural roads. Better infrastructure in terms of roads to our communities. More opportunities for our youths. Access to land. Our people want access to water. Now in the peak of dry season, a lot of our communities have that difficulty. I also understand from our people that they want better phone service and internet service, particularly in the rural community. In terms of health care, one of the key things that I understand now and I hear from our people is the better need for our hospitals and our health posts, our clinics in the rural communities in particular, to be fully staffed with doctors, nurses and medicine twenty-four seven so that our people do not have to come into Punta Gorda or into Dangriga. So that, that is one of the key things.”
Also embarking on his campaign trail is Doctor Osmond Martinez, whose decision to offer himself as a candidate also stems from a desire to fight the economic struggles of the communities.
Dr. Osmond Martinez
Dr. Osmond Martinez, Area Rep Candidate, Toledo East
“My name is Osmond Martinez I’m the candidate now for running for the convention of the People’s United Party, convention that will take place on June ninth for Toledo East. First and foremost, I have to say coming from a family that was extremely poor, I grew up on houses that were made of thatch like the ones that we’re seeing here. And so when I look at the poverty estimates, it shows that in Belize we’re doing excellent in terms of poverty reduction, unemployment, bringing foreign direct investment into the country. When an analysis was done only for Toledo District it shows that poverty is still a big issue here. It’s actually increasing. We continue to have problem of unemployment in this area. We continue to have problems of investments. So when you look at the foreign direct investment, less than one percent has actually been invested in the Toledo district. And when I look at that, I started to ask why?”
Through his experience working with the Ministry of Economic Development, Martinez believes he can help create a development plan that will assist the communities in overcoming poverty.
Dr. Osmond Martinez
“So when I when I did that analysis, I said, you know what I have to offer myself to help the people of Toledo. to come out from poverty. We continue to have some serious issues here. One of the issues that we have is lands. For example, every Belizean have a right to own a piece of land. The people of Toledo East have a right to own a piece of land access to health, but health system that will be a primary health system. And in Toledo, for example, is where we have one of the weakest aspects in terms of the health. When we look at our hospital, we need to build a new hospital.”
Both candidates stress the importance of addressing poverty in the south. As a farmer, Requena empathizes with the struggles that farmers face, such as a lack of accessible roads and the challenge of selling produce. He hopes that by creating more opportunities for farmers, fishers, and youths, the communities will be able to grow economically.
Nicanor Requena
“I want to make sure that our farmers are able to have access through farmer’s road, better streets in our communities. I want to also make sure that our farmers are able to sell their produce and get a good price for that. I want to make sure that our youths have opportunities through sports, through education, high school is no longer enough. We need to make sure that our young people, Get a sixth form, get a bachelor’s degree so that they are prepared to contribute positively to the building of our nation. I also believe that our fishermen like our farmers are due an opportunity to create their livelihoods so that they can improve the standards of living so that they can contribute to the building of this nation.”
While on the ground meeting with members of the constituency, Martinez and Requena learned about the severity of these issues, further underlining the necessity to address them as quickly as possible. Martinez believes that through the creation of additional jobs, the constituency will transform completely.
Dr. Osmond Martinez
“These are the things that we need to change. It needs to change and it don’t need to change today or tomorrow. It needs to change from yesterday. We need to fix the roads, the infrastructure roads, not only for the optics of development, but for the optics of increasing the life of people. When you look at our health system in the communities here, there are no doctors here. We have no clinics. And then the distance from one of these villages all the way to Punta Gorda is almost three hours. And sometimes they don’t have transportation. They have to wait for buses. We will definitely put attention a lot of attention and priority in terms of health system, education, infrastructure, tourism and last but not least, which is the most important part is the only way. A country can run, but more important in this case, a constituency like Toledo East, can have a robust transformation, economic transformation is by creating jobs.”
With just a few months to go before the by-election is held for the appointment of a new Toledo East Area Representative, the candidates have launched their campaigns. And while the P.U.P. is preparing to elect a standard bearer at the upcoming convention, the U.D.P. has already made its decision. The United Democratic Party has endorsed Dennis Williams’ candidacy, and he has embarked on his campaign. On Saturday, Williams hosted a basketball marathon with the youths of Toledo east. This event was facilitated so that youths in the area would be able to develop traits such as discipline, hard work and unity which they can apply in all aspects of life. A first, second and third cash prize was given to participants. The U.D.P. said that, “the next Area Representative for Toledo East will embrace and empower the Youth. Leader of the Opposition.”
Over the weekend, residents and visitors partook in the annual celebration of the 2024 Chocolate Festival in Punta Gorda. This three-day event highlights the cacao bean, one of Toledo’s most important exports. During the festivities, chocolate lovers were able to purchase a variety of Belizean chocolate and cacao products, as well as other Belizean-made merchandise. News Five’s Britney Gordon attended the event to capture the excitement. Here’s that story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
If you were in Punta Gorda this weekend, then there is a high possibility you stopped by the 2024 Chocolate Fest. The festivities began on Friday, with an evening of wine, chocolate, and culture and ended on Sunday with the Cacao Cup football match. But it was Saturday’s activities that drew the crowd from across the country. The celebration of chocolate was filled with food, dance music, and of course, chocolate. Dennis Garbutt, Chairman of the Chocolate Festival, shared his excitement over the event.
Dennis Garbutt
Dennis Garbutt, Chairman, Chocolate Festival 0f Belize
“The Chocolate Fest, it’s here. We’ve been celebrating the Chocolate Festival for over 16 years now in Toledo and it’s literally Getting people to come and see Toledo. I represent the Belize Tourism Industry Association and our goal is to work along with the chocolatiers and the producers, the farmers, to make sure that we could turn it into some sort of an agro-tourism product. And it has been doing great. I remember when we just started some years ago, over sixteen years ago. When we started, for example, there was very limited chocolatiers. You could only find two or three chocolatiers across the country. Now you have well over ten chocolatiers producing fine quality chocolate for the rest of, for Belize and for the rest of the world. So this is not just a party. This is a way of life for a lot of people here in Toledo.”
As the name suggests, chocolate was the star of the show. A booth that was never without a line was that belonging to Ixcacao Maya Belizean Chocolate. This family-owned business was started back in 2000 and has grown into one of the most popular local chocolate producers. On sale were a selection of bars, jams, and butter made from cacao, but what stood out among the variety of sweets were the bottles of cacao wine on sale.
Henry Cho
Henry Cho, Chocolatier, Ixcacao Maya Chocolate Belize
“We produce a long list of chocolates, a total of flavors. We have dark and we only have a few selection of milk chocolates. Our primary focus is always going to be dark chocolate.”
Britney Gordon
“So this wine sounds very interesting. Can you walk me through that process of how you get wine from a cacao fruit?”
Henry Cho
“Well, the first process of making chocolate is fermentation and the outcome of fermentation would be the production of alcohols. So instead of fermenting for cacao to turn into chocolate, we decided to extract only the pulp so that we could convert it into a wine instead. And gradually it developed alcohols, and so we were able to bottle those up and to nickname it as our cacao wine.”
While Ixcacao were the only chocolatiers present at the event, there were several booths selling skin care products that were made using cacao. In celebration of the Chocolate Fest, Indira Andrewin of Coco Love, created a collection of products using chocolate.
Indira Andrewin
Indira Andrewin, Owner, Coco Love
“For the cacao fest you made. Okay. For the cacao fest, I made a chocolate collection. So we have four products. We have a body cleanser, a body exfoliant, a body serum, and a body butter. So a lot of people, when they think of chocolate, they just think to eat and it just tastes good, but actually cacao has so much benefits. It has so much antioxidants and these antioxidants help the skin to be youthful and moisturized. So it definitely is beneficial to the skin.”
Andrewin explained that she had started her company while she was in high school and was celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year at the festival. We also spoke with Jessica Reyes, owner of Reyes Organic Beauty, who told us about her line of sustainable beauty products. She explained that she makes her own cacao by hand for her products.
Jessica Reyes
Jessica Reyes, Owner, Reyes Organic Beauty
“So as I mentioned we do natural skincare products and pretty much we create natural soap bars and natural skin body butters All of them are based with cacao Pretty much is a pity that we do not produce cacao here as a butter. I had to purchase like a 10 pound bag of the cacao seed, mashed it, grinded, cooked it, and took out like about a hundred grams of it. But if we, we have so much cultivation here in Belize, it would be awesome if we can create those things here in Belize.”
Just a few booths down was another selection of cacao infused soaps. Dawn Dean, owner of Barranco Botanics, told us that she prides her products in being one hundred percent Belizean-made.
Dawn Dean
Dawn Dean, Owner, Barranco Botanics
“I make soap, natural soap. And what makes my soap unique is that it’s one hundred percent Belizean ingredients. The coconut oil that’s in my soap, because soap is oil, that’s what soap is made from, is all produced by ladies in their households from grated coconut, and they bring it to my factory and sell it to me, and then I use different local plants, like jackass bitters, cacao, green banana, madrida cacao, yellow ginger, honey. All of it one hundred percent Belizean.”
The event carried on until late into the night, after a day filled with cultural dances, music, and entertainment provided by Ozzy the Clown. The night ended with drinking competitions of Belize’s own Belikin chocolate stout. For anyone who wanted to taste this Belizean specialty, Belikin was there to provide a free sample of the beverage.
The National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) says it is actively responding to wildfires affecting San Pedro Columbia and nearby communities in the Toledo District. The Toledo District Emergency Operations Centre was activated last Thursday.
According to NEMO, an emergency meeting included representatives from the Fire Department, Forest Department, Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing, Ministry of Transport, Belize Defence Force, Ya’axché Conservation Trust, and Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE).
Initial assessments were conducted, and an action plan was created to provide immediate humanitarian support to affected families. NEMO says it maintained communication with the leaders of San Pedro Columbia, Crique Jute, Mafredi, and San Antonio.
An aerial reconnaissance confirmed the extent of the fire, assessed initial damage, and assisted in containment planning.
According to NEMO, there is no immediate fire threat to Crique Jute, Mafredi, or San Antonio.
An educator in the south has been arrested and charged for the rape of a student who attends the same primary school where he teaches. The incident happened in Aguacate Village, Toledo District on two occasions in the same week. The teacher has been arraigned on two counts of rape upon the thirteen-year-old student, who, accompanied by her grandmother, went to make a police report against the teacher on Monday. She told investigators that the teacher had sexual intercourse with her last Tuesday and Friday and that the incidents happened inside the school’s bathroom. Following the child’s report, police issued her a medico legal form and on Tuesday, the fifty-year-old teacher surrendered himself to police. He was cautioned and charged with two counts of rape. He appeared on Thursday before the Punta Gorda Magistrate’s Court, was denied bail and was remanded to the Belize Central Prison. His case will be called up on June twenty-seventh. Minister of Human Development, Dolores Balderamos-Garcia said that the law regarding sexual offenses are about thirty years old and will be updated.
Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development
“Just yesterday we heard about the rapes of several young girls, teenagers 13, 14, 15, and so that shows us that we have so much work to do in achieving gender equality, because if our young girls who do not even have the age of consent to sexual activity are being sexually assaulted and raped, then that – there is so much work to do. I just want to flag that and to say that our Ministry of Human Development, Families and Indigenous People’s Affairs, we will continue to work hard in terms of promoting that gender equality that we need.”
Reporter
“It’s very disturbing; one of them happened in a school. What are your comments on that?”
Dolores Balderamos-Garcia
“Now that one – you would almost want to lock up the offender and throw away the key. Mind you, everybody is entitled to a fair trial, but really that means that there’s so much work to continue doing because a 50-year-old teacher – and what makes it so much more heinous is that a teacher is in a position of trust. A teacher is in a position of trust and responsibility and to know that a teacher is accused of raping a student that is really beyond the pain.”
Forest fires are not uncommon at this time of the year. But reports coming out of San Pedro, Columbia are that wildfires have leveled more than fifteen hundred acres of land in the Toledo District over the last two days. These lands include an abundance of farmlands that residence cultivate to make ends meet. Area Representative Oscar Requena says he has had to join the fight over the last two days to put out fires in the community, as his property is also being affected. He says that while residents experience the destructive nature of wildfires annually, this is the worst it has ever been. Community members have been coming together to assist each other in protecting their livelihoods. But the task at hand is overwhelming and their resources are few. To add to the damage being done to farmlands, wildlife is also being lost to the inferno. Images of torched tapirs, ocelots and gibnuts have surfaced. We spoke with Requena over the phone. He told us that he believes this runaway wildfire originated from a careless farmer who left a small fire unattended.
On the Phone: Oscar Requena
On the Phone: Oscar Requena, Area Representative, Toledo West
“This is a very serious situation that happened in San Pedro Columbia and of course over the last few days we have witnessed fires burning in many other communities, Golden Stream, Medina Bank and Crique Hute and several other communities. This dry weather has of course severely been one of the main reasons why fires have really escalated and burn a lot of farmlands in San Pedro Columbia alone. I believe that well in excess of fifteen hundred acres of land have been destroyed, farmlands. Essentially what has happened is that people’s livelihoods have been destroyed and it is very difficult for them. I believe the source of the fire is as a result of a careless farmer who was burning and really left the fire untended. There is an urgent need to put in place these strategic plans as to how the communities being impacted are going to move forward as we prepare to mitigate the severe effects of fire. I am certain that from a community perspective we need to come together and get government agencies and NGOs to come together and develop a clear strategy as to how this is going to be dealt with because fires in the Toledo District, particularly in these areas is not something new. This has been happening quite frequently, but of course this year has been one of the worst years.”
