The Office of the Prime Minister informs that Prime Minister Hon. John Briceño has departed the country on personal leave.
The Prime Minister returns on Sunday, September 8, 2024. During his absence, Hon. Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources, Petroleum and Mining, will hold over as Prime Minister.
News Five has confirmed that C.E.O. in the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Transport, Dr. Gilroy Middleton, has resigned. Minister Rodwell Ferguson told News Five via phone, “My C.E.O. and myself had a very good relationship.”
According to Minister Ferguson, Dr. Middleton was offered a position at the University of Belize. “He believes that the package was extremely excellent, especially with whatever comes with the package.” Dr. Middleton will be working in Belize City, where he lives. While as C.E.O., Dr. Middleton commuted daily to Belmopan.
His resignation becomes effective on Monday, August 19.
“Normally, once a CEO leaves then another CEO holds over temporarily,” Ferguson said. His replacement has not been named.
“If you can’t catch Harry, catch his sleeve.” It’s an old saying used to describe a scenario where a killer is unable to locate his target and takes aim at someone else. Oftentimes, that individual is a victim of circumstance. That’s what happened this morning when an unsuspecting fisherman was pounced upon by a gunman who was pursuing someone else. Frustrated by not being able to catch up with his quarry, the lone assailant turned his weapon on Mark Francisco and fired a single shot, mortally wounding him as he stood near his vehicle. News Five’s Isani Cayetano begins our newscast this evening with the following story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
This morning in Belize City, a retiree turned fisherman was gunned down not far from the Yabra Bridge. Mark Francisco was getting ready to head out to sea when he was approached by a gunman and fatally shot. According to his sibling, a pair of men set out in pursuit of an unnamed individual. When they could not catch up with him, they turned their attention to Francisco who was near his vehicle.
David Francisco, Brother of Deceased
“The guys chased after another guy, he escaped over two fence. The other guy came to my brother, right by his vehicle, right there, and told him lift up his head. When he lifted up his head, he shot him in the head.”
It is not clear why the men targeted Francisco who, by his family’s account, was not a troublesome person. Earlier today, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams echoed a similar sentiment.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“At this time, we are not aware of a motive. We are still puzzled with this one. Mr. Francisco is not known to police, he is not in the underworld, he was not a gang member. He was a productive Belizean and we are still trying to figure out why he was killed. Nonetheless, investigators are still busy, they were out up to late last night trying to gather evidence and we were hoping that we would be able to make some progress. We have people who are saying things to us but are reluctant to give statements, so it’s a matter of trying to convince them to reduce what they know to the police in writing so that we can make an arrest.”
For many years, Mark Francisco was an employee of Benny’s. When he retired, he picked up fishing as a livelihood. He was going about his preparation for another fishing trip when he was pounced upon by his killer.
“This guy had no right to come and just shoot my brother just like that. This is insane.”
Isani Cayetano
“I understand that your brother was getting ready to go to sea this morning when this happened.”
“Yes, he was getting ready to go to sea. He was right there by his vehicle, cleaning up to put his stuff in and take off to go to the boat and put on his machine and put in his gas and food and stuff when this guy came and shoot my brother.”
“Why do you believe that either your brother or the other person they were pursuing would be attacked in this manner?”
David Francisco
“Well I guess because you can’t catch the guy you came for, you made an example out of a senior man, not a young guy, a senior man and shoot him in his head, chance him out of his life.”
Chester Williams
“We’re looking for someone of interest, we do not have that person in custody as yet. No.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
Former City Councilor Deannie Requena is recovering from stab wounds and other injuries she suffered when she was attacked on Sunday. The incident happened sometime before two in the afternoon near Hattieville and Requena was found by another motorist who helped her to the Hattieville Police Station. She was observed with stab wounds to her face and neck and with a damaged vehicle on the roadside near mile fifteen on the George Price Highway. It Is reported that Requena knew her attacker and within a few hours, police had already apprehended the individual and charged him. In a Facebook post, Requena wrote that she’s doing okay physically. She informed that there were two attackers, both of whom she knew. She said one stabbed and punched her, while the other robbed her of her iPhone and the money that was in her purse, cut all the tires on her vehicle, and broke up the glass on her vehicle. Requena said that she’s grateful to be alive, but that the attack has left her mentally damaged. Today, Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams told the media what they have on the incident so far.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Miss Requena visited a friend in the central prison yesterday and while she was leaving, the relative of that same friend that she visited attacked and stabbed her, robbed her of three thousand dollars and damaged the four tires for her vehicle. She was taken to the hospital, treated, released, and she gave a report to the police. The suspect is in custody and should be charged by now.”
Reporter
“Was she receiving any threats prior to this incident?”
Chester Williams
“Not to our knowledge, no.”
Reporter
“And did Miss Requena ever mention to you that she had interacted with this individual before?”
Chester Williams
“No.”
Reporter
“Is it true that they rammed her off the road while she was leaving the prison?”
Chester Williams
“I know the vehicle is damaged. The four tires were also stabbed and perhaps that could be the case. But like I said, the vehicle got damaged. She got stabbed and the matter is now with the police.”
Last week, self-styled journalist, Joseph Budna was taken to court after he was charged for abetment to murder. He was arraigned in connection to a murder that occurred three years ago which resulted in the death of fifty-year-old Guatemalan national Armando Cacao. Upon leaving court, Budna told the media that he was being wrongly accused and maintains that the police department did not have sufficient evidence to charge him. Today, we spoke with Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, who refuted those claims.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“I don’t know if he has met bail, but as I had said to the media before, we had an investigation involving him. Witnesses came forward, provided statements to the police, which was sufficient for us to be able to get sufficient evidence to charge him, and he was charged.”
On Friday, Joseph Budna was granted High Court bail after being remanded to the Belize Central Prison for abetment to commit murder. The charge stems from the 2021 murder of fifty-one-year-old Armando Coy Cacao in Belmopan. Budna was represented by attorney Arthur Saldivar. One of the conditions of his bail is that he cannot speak publicly about his arrest or any matter surrounding the arrest. So, when Budna spoke with the media today, he simply thanked the justice system. He also wanted us to know that he is being cyberbullied. He claims that a prison guard took a picture of him while he was on remand as part of security procedure. But, that photo of a shirtless Budna has since been leaked on social media. And, though he did not shy away from showing the image to our cameras, he is questioning the credibility of the prison guards who took the picture.
Joseph Budna, On Bail for Abetment to Murder
“Thank God I am out. Gid is great and he will stand by those who is doing what is right. So, I got my bail, thank God for that, the justice system was at least fair to grant me bail. Each and every one is innocent until proven otherwise. That is the bail for the abetment to murder.”
Reporter
“So your attorney had to file for that?”
Joseph Budna
“Yes my attorney had to file for bail application and it was granted by the Court, nonetheless I will not go into any details on the matter because it has been restricted by the court to make comments publicly concerning the case itself.”
Paul Lopez
“You are taking offense to an image that seems to have been taken behind bars of you, can you give us some details about that image?”
Joseph Budna
“In regards of the picture that was taken of me inside the Kolbe Foundation facility while I was in isolation, restricted from phone calls, restricted from communicating with anyone, I believe they would have allowed me to communicate with an attorney. This was done in the name of having me on observation; the observation they had me on was unnecessary, but that was according to the prison authorities. Now, you come to my cell and take photographs of authority dressed in black and say Mr. Budna we need a photo of you so that we can send to our chief executive officer who command us to take the photo sot hey can know you was alive. No problem, I will comply. I never knew that that photograph was taken for other activity. I know it is being circulated on other social media pages and it is causing quite a bit of distress on my behalf.”
Budna claims that he is being targeted by those in authority because he works as an activist. He says the Belize Police Department has him fearing for his life. When asked why he decided to become an activist, he says that he did some introspection after escaping Guatemala.
Joseph Budna, On Bail for Abetment to Murder
“And I am hoping the police department, the commissioner of police, Mr. Chester Williams, I still call you Chester Williams, Mr., maybe I should take that off and just call you Chester, maybe by this afternoon I will have the police at my house and maybe they might done have a gun plant on me or something. I just say maybe, I don’t know. But that is just the way the police department has me feeling.”
Reporter
“So, do you believe your life is in danger?”
Joseph Budna
“It is in danger, it is in danger, it is evident. The Belizean people are watching what is being playing. They are watching what is being playing.”
Paul Lopez
“Where did this passion derive, this passion for this sort of national issues and advocacy?”
Joseph Budna
“It arise because I took a deep analysis of myself and said God has freed me from Guatemala prison, let me do something for my country, let me do the best I can do for my country. Let me give my life for my country Belize, and that is where it grows.”
The thirteen-year-old who was taken to the Wagner’s Youth Facility during the State of Emergency was transferred to the New Beginnings Youth Centre on the George Price Highway. It is where many people feel he should have been taken in the first place. Today, the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams and the Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa, gave their perspectives on the matter.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“The fact that he had been shot on the ninth of March this year after eight p.m., at night, one would then wonder what was a thirteen-year-old doing on the street around nine at night to have been shot? Where was the parent? There is still the curfew law that prohibits any child under the age of sixteen to be out in public after eight p.m., absent any parent or guardian. So in that particular instance, the mother could have been held accountable for what happened to the child. Subsequent to that, we had two other reports of the child being involved in gunplay going after people with intent to shoot them. And so there was sufficient for us to have been able to take him under the S.O.E. And I still believe it was the right thing to do. Now, when we look at this whole situation, the child is now at the New Beginnings. I believe that sending him there is a good thing, but we have to look at it more broadly. What else can be done? The mother is fighting for the child to be released, but does she have the capacity to take care of that child? If you look at the history, the child’s father was a street figure. He was killed. The child’s stepfather is a street figure. The mother is absent. So if the child is released back to her how can she act in the best interest of that child, as stated by the Families and Children Act? I don’t think she has the capacity. So if it is that something can be done where the child can be taken in as a ward of the state and kept at New Beginnings until he attains the age of eighteen, I think that would be the best thing for that child in this particular instance because at New Beginnings, he’ll be able to get the mentorship that he needs the guidance that he needs to be able to transform him and become a more productive young person. If he’s let back on the streets in the hands of the mother, we might report of him being killed or him killing somebody. So as a society, we need to look at it holistically and not just try to demonize the system for what was being done.”
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“While at Wagner’s Youth Facility, he was in protective custody, as were the other minors. I believe there are eight total, two of them under the age of sixteen. The others I believe are seventern, seven of them. And so having them in protective custody in the first instance was important because when you put him automatically at new beginnings, you’re not taking into consideration the best interests of the children who are new beginnings because we’re dealing here with an individual who it is alleged is dangerous. And so you have to look at whether he’s a danger to himself, whether he’s a danger to others. And it is in conjunction with the Ministry of Human Development and UNICEF that we took a visit, myself, Ms. Alison Parker from UNICEF, the CEO from the Ministry of Human Development and Home Affairs visited the Wagner Youth Facility and had an opportunity to speak with these young men.”
Last week, attorney Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley poured out frustration and disappointment at the system for the manner in which individuals’ rights are being violated, primarily when they are picked up as part of the state of emergency. Today, the Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa responded to Bradley, saying that the attorney was speaking to his audience, but that there has been significant improvement in the crime wave since the S.O.E. took effect.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“We have to understand the context. Dickey Bradley, as is a defense attorney. He is paid well. He is paid handsomely. to defend criminals. And so he’s speaking to a very specific audience when he’s giving his interviews. And as the key is well known, not just for his courtroom performances, but his media performances. And so I chalk it up to that. Dickie Bradley is speaking to his specific audience. But when you look at the state of emergency, and I always say it is not a tool that we often use. And it is one of last resort, but it has yielded significant results over the last month. We’re talking 25 or so weapons, in some instances, very high powered weapons removed from the streets making our communities safer. We’re talking about several charges, not just for murder, but for instances of robbery individuals being charged after the commissioner set up this specialized team. To investigate all of the offenses over the last five months. And when you look at it from that lens, and the lens of the safety and security of the law abiding citizens over the last month, I’m sure that you’ll have to agree with me. I think if we had one murder during the first month of the S.O.E. that’s a lot. And from various fronts, you can see the success of it.”
Last week, Doris Grant was taken to the court and charged for murder. While she and her attorney, Richard Dickie Bradley expressed surprise at the charge, today the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams explained why the police looked at Grant as a suspect in the murder of Jaheim Fitzgibbon. He said Fitzgibbon was murdered soon after Grant and her common-law husband were shot at.
Chester Willams, Commissioner of Police
“We have given intensive interviews where we had stated that the murder of the guy who was killed in the St. Martin’s area just before the SOE. I think Fitzgibbon. I don’t remember the name. Information suggests that his murder came after as a result of the concert they had at Tavern where Doris Grant and her common-law were shot. It was believed that the persons who did that shooting were from the Supal Street area. And in particular, that young man’s name was called. So it is believed that his shooting was a retaliation of the shooting of Doris Grant. So most naturally, the police will bring her in and her common law for questioning as well as other persons who are around them. So that is the reason why she was detained.”
