2024-05-20 - Channel 5 Belize

Wildfires Destroy Cadenas Outpost; Displace Several Families in Toledo

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, 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, 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, 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, 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.”

Marion Ali for News Five.

MIDH Official Says Their Equipment Are Available to Fight Wildfires

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, 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.

Kareem Hamilton is Charged for Kidnapping of Female Minor

On Friday, we led our newscast with an upsetting story involving a foiled kidnapping attempt. An individual, whose criminal history includes a guilty plea for an unnatural crime, was apprehended by Belize City police after he snatched a five-year-old girl from a trampoline in her yard. The harrowing incident happened on Thursday, while twenty-five-year-old Shandy Pech was about to take a bath. Her daughter was outside in the yard playing when a male suspect, identified as Kareem Hamilton, appeared on the scene and attempted to abduct the minor. It wasn’t until another child who witnessed the ordeal reported to Pech what had taken place that she sprung into action and was able to catch up with the would-be kidnapper. When she did so, Hamilton reportedly refused to let go of the child, telling Pech that the little girl was his niece. That’s when the mother began screaming for assistance. Several neighbors responded and were able to take away the minor, while subduing Hamilton. Earlier today, Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero told reporters that thirty-three-year-old Kareem Hamilton had been arrested and charged for the crime of kidnapping.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“On Thursday, May sixteenth, 2024, Shandy Pech reported that she was at home when she was alerted that a male person had taken her daughter. She immediately responded and followed a male person who took her daughter. An investigation was carried out and persons assisted her in the area and a person was detained. After the investigation, one Kareem Hamilton was detained, thirty-three years [old] has been arrested and charged for the crime of kidnapping.”

Paul Lopez

“Sir, is this individual known by police for this type of behavior?”

Hilberto Romero

He’s known to police, yes.

Reporter

“Has he tried to kidnap a child before?”

Hilberto Romero

“No, he had an incident with a child before.”

Kareem Hamilton appeared unrepresented before the lower court this afternoon where he was charged with on count of kidnapping and has since been remanded to the Belize Central Prison until July twenty-third.

Police Investigate Disturbing Video of Child Being Physically Abused

Police are investigating a disturbing video that surfaced on social media of a male child being physically abused by an adult. The video captures the shocking moment a man on a motorbike throws the child off the bike unto the ground, before slapping the little boy in the head several times and kicking him in the stomach. The video also captures the moment a woman intervenes and begins asking the man why he is hitting the child, also letting him know that she saw him physical assault the child. A second incident is captured in the video with the same child being physically abused, though it is not clear if the same man was involved. In line with the horrifying video, UNICEF issued a press release calling for urgent action to end violence against children. The release says quote, “regrettably, since the beginning of the year, children between the tender ages of five and fifteen years have been experiencing violations of their right to be protected from neglect, harm, sexual abuse and assault and exploitation. Furthermore, these incidents are occurring in spaces where children should feel safe and protected”, unquote. The release goes on to say that as a society we cannot allow such heinous violations against children to become the norm. As we said, the police are investigating the matter.

Woman Faces Charges for Allegedly Selling Imaginary Land and House

A woman is tonight facing jailtime after allegedly selling a parcel of nonexistent land. The alleged perpetrator is Doris Grant, a name that came up back in April 2021, in a similar investigation. At the time, Grant was accused of receiving thousands of dollars from three individuals in exchange for lands she never had in her position to begin with. Police detained Grant last week after a woman filed a police report against her. The woman told investigators that she made fourteen monetary transactions to Grant who agreed to sell her a parcel of land and a house. But Grant has allegedly been unable to produce the land and house that the woman has paid for. Police told us more.

A.C.P Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“About a month ago a complainant reported that she met a female identified as Doris Grant which she had several monetary transactions over a property and a house. An investigation was carried out and since then Doris Grant has been charged with fourteen counts of theft and fourteen counts of obtaining property by deception.”

Reporter

“So, the woman was paying Ms. Grant for land that Ms. Grant didn’t own?”

A.C.P Hilberto Romero

“That is correct yeah?”

Reporter

“The fourteen counts has to do with she making fourteen payments?”

A.C.P Hilberto Romero

“Yes, fourteen different transactions, correct.”

Belize City Woman Allegedly Obtained $121,000 By Deception

Earlier today, Doris Grant was arraigned on forty counts of obtaining property by deception. The Reggae Street Resident appeared before Magistrate Lois Young along with her attorney, Richard “Dickie” Bradley. Grant was read fourteen counts of theft, fourteen counts of obtaining property by deception and twelve counts of obtaining money transfer by deception. Allegations are that between January first, 2022, and July 2022, she stole over one hundred and twenty-one thousand dollars by money transfer or obtaining property by deception or through theft. It is believed that on January tenth, 2022, she obtained twenty thousand dollars by deception through a bank transfer. Further allegations are that between January first, 2022, to November eight, 2022, she dishonestly appropriated thirty-one thousand dollars that was the property of a real estate company based in the U.S. Additionally, it is alleged that between January tenth and April first, 2022, she stole eighteen thousand dollars from the same company, along with another stolen nine thousand dollars. As we said, the amounts that Grant allegedly received adds up to more than one hundred and twenty-one thousand dollars. There was no objection to bail by the prosecution who simply asked for certain conditions to be placed on Grant. Magistrate Lois Young offered her bail in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, plus one surety of the same or two sureties of twenty-five thousand dollars each. No plea was taken from Grant, and she was also able to meet bail.

Kurtis Belisle is Charged for Manslaughter, 11 Months Later

Thirty-two-year-old Kurtis Belisle has been arraigned on three counts of manslaughter by negligence for killing three female passengers who were inside his vehicle when it collided into a tree. The charges come almost eleven months after the incident took place near mile ten on the Philip Goldson Highway that claimed the lives of twenty-seven-year-old Virginia Davis, seventeen-year-old Dorothy Davis, and seventeen-year-old Torrie Gentle. Belisle was driving a Ford Ranger pickup when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. Tonight, Belisle is out on bail after appearing before Magistrate Lois Young. Bail was offered in the sum of five thousand dollars.

Aspiring Area Representatives Promise to Pull Toledo East out of Poverty

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, 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, 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.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

UDP Standard Bearer Host Basketball competition in Toledo East

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.”

Belize Brings Home Gold at CADICA Games

Team Belize is back from the 2024 CADICA Games and the athletes did not return empty handed. On Friday, a delegation of eleven track and field athletes flew to Costa Rica to compete in the annual Central American and Caribbean Athletic Championships. Last year, the team brought home several medals and this year, was another success. With two gold, one silver, three bronze medals and several personal best records broken, Cojac Smith, President of the Belize Athletics Association, says that Belize should be feeling nothing but pride.

Cojac Smith, President, Belize Athletics Association

“The youths did very well in this CADICA games. We have two gold medals. Kali Magana, she got a gold in four hundred and a gold in eight hundred. Then we have a silver and three bronze. So the silver was Jouvann Morgan. He got a silver, was very close to gold in triple jump and he did a PR in triple jump as well. And he got a bronze in long jump. The other two bronze were Summer. She got a bronze in shot put and did a PR as well. And the next bronze was Dario Crunckshanck. He did the high jump. That’s the medal count that we have. So all of the eleven athletes that went, we did pretty good.It’s ecstatic. To be honest with you, we’re just trying our best to see how best we could move, track and field forward, and give these kids bigger opportunities for them to do well and be successful. So, while we at the association are doing our part, the highlight is really just the youths that did excellent and performed. Because without they performing, then the work that we did would have been for no reason. So, we have to give kudos to the youths that did excellent.”

Britney Gordon

“And what are the plans moving forward as you continue to work with these kids?”

Cojac Smith

“The plans moving forward is just continued development because while not everyone meddled, the other kids that went did very well as well. There were several personal bits in those as well and there’s a lot of potential in these youths, U18 and U20. You have standout in the other athletes like Nathan, Elvin, I don’t want to say the list because I might forget someone, but they are very. Very exceptional use and we just want to keep this score as well as others that were very close to the standard that did not able to make the trip and just continue pushing and developing sports. We have a lot of program that we want to put in place in terms of coaching development, officiating development and that will help holistically move track and feel forward and getting more youths and identifying more youths and recruiting. Recruiting because Belize has a lot of talent and a lot of times that we’re just not identifying these youths and even though we’re having these meets, we’re still not reaching everywhere that we could reach. So it’s just to continue identifying these youths and giving them positive opportunity for them to excel.”