A tapir was tragically struck and killed near Maya Center Village. The incident, which occurred on a busy road, has sparked concern among conservationists and locals alike.
The Belize Audubon Society’s Assistant Tourism Officer, Rafael Choc, was quick to respond to the scene. Demonstrating a coordinated effort, Choc, alongside the Maya Center police, traffic officers, workers from Lowen’s Hardware, and officials from the Ministry of Works, collaborated to manage the situation.
The team worked diligently to remove the deceased animal from the roadside and buried the tapir.
Tapirs hold a special place in Belize’s natural heritage, being the national animal and a symbol of the country’s rich biodiversity. The loss of this tapir is a stark reminder of the challenges facing wildlife in Belize, particularly the dangers posed by road traffic.
A Belize Defense Force soldier is wanted for questioning tonight after he reportedly discharged a personal firearm on Monday evening near Fairweather Camp in Toledo District. The B.D.F. has been tightlipped on the incident. Despite several attempts to confirm the shooting with senior command, we have been unable to do so. What we have been furnished with is an internal report that documents what allegedly took place at the military installation. Sometime around five p.m. on Monday evening near the outskirts of Punta Gorda, Staff Sergeant Adolfo Williams reportedly fired several shots from his personal nine-millimeter firearm into the air. Multiple witnesses confirmed the shooting to the police and there were no reported injuries. We contacted the B.D.F. for a response but were told that a report has been made and the police will be conducting further investigation. However, at the time that we contacted Punta Gorda police earlier today, News Five was informed that there was no report of the incident. The whereabouts of Staff Sergeant Williams and possible motive for the incident are yet to be confirmed.
An inspector of police finds himself on the opposite side of the law tonight as he faces a charge of Wounding. Christopher Martinez is accused of wounding Aaron Flowers while he was detained on June nineteenth of last year. Today Martinez asked the court for a sentence indication on grounds that he is contemplating pleading guilty. He will get that indication on May twenty-third, when he can decide if he still wants to plead guilty or whether he wants to take his chances at trial. Martinez remains on active duty with the Special Patrol Unit, pending the outcome of his criminal case. The allegation against him is that in June of 2023, Martinez wounded a businessman whom he beat up while he was detained inside a holding cell. It is alleged that Martinez took the padlock from the cell area and inflicted injuries to Flowers’ head. Martinez appeared in court today in the presence of his attorney, Andrew Bennett, while the Crown was represented by the D.P.P., Cheryl-Lynn Vidal. The request for a sentence indication today was a turn of events because Martinez had maintained his innocence and at his arraignment almost a year ago. The victim, Aaron Flowers, was present to testify against Martinez, but again the matter was adjourned for another in a series of adjournments over the year. Issues discussed before the adjournment included what sentencing is the Crown seeking for the crime should Martinez plead guilty; what were the injuries sustained by the victim and what was used to inflict the injury; and the fact that the defendant is a police officer. The D.P.P. indicated that the Prosecution is expecting a just sentence, which may not necessarily mean a custodial sentence. A video footage shows that Martinez removed a pad lock from the cell block area and that was he used to assault Flowers with.
Attorney Bryan Neal has been sanctioned by the General Legal Council to pay a fine of three thousand, five hundred dollars after it was found that he breached several rules of the legal profession. Neal appeared before the G.L.C. following a complaint by a former client accusing him of professional misconduct. He was later found guilty. On March, twenty-ninth, 2023, Mr. Jinyue Young retained the services of Bryan Neal to recover possession of his property in Burrell Boom and paid Neal five thousand dollars. The services were never rendered, neither did Neal communicate to Young that he was unable to act on his behalf, despite collecting the monies. The fine must be paid within thirty days to the Registrar of the High Court.
On Monday, over three and a half tons of drugs were seized in the southern area of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The reports of the discovery came shortly after Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa informed the media that, according to Mexican government officials, cartel activity was dying down. The past several weeks has seen unrest from the Mexican and Belizean public as a surge of violent crimes were reported in connection with the cartels. Belizean authorities have assured the public that the police force is at work to ensure that these operatives do not cross over into Belizean territory and, according to Musa, the Mexican officials are allaying concerns regarding the prominence of cartel operatives. However, the large quantity of drugs was seized by the Mexican navy after they spotted two boats offshore that were attempting to enter Mexican territory. They carried out an investigation which led to the discovery. Mexican authorities are investigating further.
Is there another shortage of sugar on the local market? According to B.S.I., there have been complaints of a scarcity of sugar, despite the miller having increased the amount of sugar being sold on the domestic market when compared to the same period in 2023. B.S.I. says that notwithstanding the availability of sugar locally, the contrabanding of plantation white sugar continues unabated. The company says it has written to the Government of Belize once more to urge Cabinet to review and increase the price of domestic sugar. A release from B.S.I. says, (quote) the wide disparity between domestic prices and regional prices, combined with production shortages, particularly in Mexico is creating a lucrative incentive for sugar to be smuggled outside of Belize (end quote).
Earlier this month, the Belize Sugar Industries issued a press release on the report by the independent expert commissioned to determine port charges and how they should be applied. In the release, the B.S.I stated that Hugh O’Brien concluded that the industry was saving significant costs from the transition to the Port of Big Creek through more efficient loading. And today, the B.S.C.F.A has issued a release of its own release in which it stated that O’Brien’s report looked at much more than just that one element. Chief Executive Officer of the B.S.C.F.A, Oscar Alonzo says there were several other port-related charges that O’Brien’s report analyzed and made recommendations for, and that a few of these were concerns that they had raised concerns over. And while the B.S.C.F.A is satisfied with the work that O’Brien did, they express in their release that there are other critical cost items that require evaluation, such as local handling charges and manufacturing allowance. Alonzo shared with us the other charges that O’Brien analyzed that they were happy with.
Oscar Alonzo
Oscar Alonzo, Chief Executive Officer, B.S.C.F.A
“The report also included recommendations from the expert on how information can be recorded and be provided in a manner that would make it transparent and accountable. And it is similar to what we have been raising with BSI, right, that one of the recommendations that we had made was the fact that these costs need to be separated. In the negotiations there were proposals to change in the deduction terminology of ocean freight to ocean freight and terminal handling charge as one cost classification. And we had been asking that they be separated and that separate figures be provided for each of them. Also, there was the proposal in the negotiations that cost of stevedoring be mingled with throughput fee. And again, we had requested that this cost be separated and in order to provide greater and a better understanding and a better appreciation of the values of these, costs, right. In the metric value statement that is provided by B.S.I in the calculation of the price of sugarcane, it appears that these costs will be enumerated in that fashion and we agree with the independent expert that these costs should be separated, should be itemized and the figures provided for each of them. There’s the other issue regarding the use of the terminology “tons” right. Different documents use different definitions of ton. Some use metric ton, some use short ton, some use long tons. And this also creates a bit of misunderstanding, noh. So those were the two main recommendations, right that the expert made in order to provide real transparency and accountability.”
Now that O’Brien’s report is complete and he has made recommendations for both the B.S.C.F.A, and A.S.R./B.S.I. to consider regarding port charges, the association is now looking forward to other testy matters at hand. It was over a year ago that the government announced it would convene a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the modernization of the sugar cane industry and improve its viability. Since then, the terms of reference have been determined and the exercise was gazetted in March. A.S.R./B.S.I.’s attorney, Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith had said in a previous press briefing that his clients view the inquiry in the same light as they did the government’s sugar industry regulations. The High Court had struck down the regulations on grounds that they were an invasive attempt to delve into the private business of the company. A.S.R./B.S.I. has also denounced the inquiry, but today Alonzo said the B.S.C.F.A was looking into forward to its start.
Oscar Alonzo
Oscar Alonzo, Chief Executive Office, B.S.C.F.A
“The Commission of Inquiry is still an ongoing process, and this is why we feel right that what was done by the expert only relates to two costs. There are other costs that we hope the Commission to Inquiry to look into as far as the review of the sugar industry as a whole, noh? The commissioners have been appointed, the terms of reference have been agreed to and what is being delayed is the commencement – the establishment, the actual sitting down and the commencement of the work at the commission. As far as we’re concerned, BSI is in agreement with the terms and conditions of the agreement. They have even proposed two experts to be commissioners, which have been accepted by the Prime Minister, and I think they were simply waiting the names. And as far as we understand, our names have been received and the commission should begin its work. But we are concerned and we hope that the Prime Minister would have the work commence as quickly as possible because originally, it was intended that the work would have been completed by the end of July this year. Now, several months have passed and then we are concerned that this will extend into next year. We would like this thing completed because remember the agreement that we signed in January was for a period of two years.”
It’s been over three decades since the municipal boundaries for several towns, including Corozal, Orange Walk, San Pedro, Dangriga, San Ignacio and Benque Viejo, have been expanded. In fact, the last exercise that was conducted by the Ministry of Local Government was to delineate the boundaries of Hopeville and Punta Gorda Town. Both communities are adjacent to each other. In the weeks ahead, a series of meetings will be held to sensitize the public on what is being put forward as a municipal boundaries re-delineation exercise. The initiative has been long in the making, and Cabinet has given the go ahead for consultations to begin. Clifford King is the Director of Local Government.
Clifford King
Clifford King, Director of Local Government
“Cabinet has approved that the proposal goes to public sensitization and so that’s what we are embarking to do beginning next week. We are going to bring this to the attention of general public that this is the new consideration for the municipal boundary and what are the implications of this. How is this going to impact municipal development and the obligations of the municipality to provide services? But also, from a resident and a business perspective, what are the implications for you as residents. And so we are going to be having these discussions in the public and town hall meetings starting next week in Dangriga, Monday, and we are hoping that residents will turn out to be apprised of what is being proposed. Municipal boundaries, as they currently exist, really date back to a very long time, as a matter of fact to the 1980s and 1990s. The most recently updated municipal boundary was for Punta Gorda Town and you may remember when the Hopeville Community was established and that was then taken into account. But for the other six municipalities, namely Corozal, Orange Walk, San Pedro, Benque Viejo, San Ignacio and Dangriga, those boundaries go back to the 1980s and the 1990s. What has happened over the years, naturally the space around these municipalities have grown naturally. Expansion has naturally come for residential and commercial purposes and for industrial purposes.”
According to King, services are being provided to these smaller communities by the municipalities that are nearby. In the case of San Pedro, it is the only town on the island of Ambergris Caye. As such, services are also being provided by the San Pedro Town Council to smaller islands that aren’t far off.
Clifford King
Clifford King, Director of Local Government
”We recognize that in many instances, in fact all instances, the municipal body, just by the nature of what they have to do or what they’ve been doing, they provide services to these areas and residents in these areas demand these services. For example, these areas have streets, they have drainage. In many instances, the municipal government collects garbage and disposes of garbage, there are public spaces that are maintained, street buffers, they have parks and playgrounds that are being maintained in these spaces that are right around what we have known as the established boundaries for these towns. But these areas are not a legal part of the jurisdiction, if you can put it that way.So in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and in consultation with the town councils and the village councils that buffer these communities, we sat down and we’ve had numerous meetings to finally end up with what we have as the proposed expansion and re-delineation of boundaries in some areas. So you’ll find out that in some places like San Pedro, there’s an expansion, there’s a proposed expansion of the boundaries of the town to, essentially include most of the island. And there’s a rationale behind that, of course, there one town on Ambergris Caye and so everybody on that island basically comes to the town council for services and this even extends to some of the islets around the island. People come to the town council for services and generally in those instances it’s for the basic infrastructure services and for the basic garbage collection services and disposal, if you could put it that way. What is important to note is that just because of the natural development of municipalities, these kinds of things need to happen almost every ten years. Unfortunately for us in Belize, we don’t always take that step to do these things as a matter of process and procedure and so when they come to light, they create red flags or they get people anxious. But really, these are things that should be happening on a more regular basis.”
