And, if there were any doubts about the status of Patrick Faber, John Saldivar, Tracy Panton and Beverly Williams in the United Democratic Party, today the party leader confirmed that they have been expelled. It is a much more rigid position than what the party initially took when they declared the four “constructively resigned”. Barrow says, Faber is facing karma.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“One of the things that I just take whatever affliction of pain the media decides to give to me, but let us deal with the facts. Patrick Faber created constructive resignation. He created it. It is not in the national constitution, granted, and the speaker made her decision. But in the U.D.P., he removed a sitting member from the party and all that is happening now is karma. He can’t undo the precedent he set as party chairman. Our party chairman has been in the party just as long as him, has sacrificed just as long as him, served as senator, served as speaker, served as minister. That is the problem. In a democracy we are all equal. The people is equal to the prime minister.”
Last week, we told you about the faceoff between members of the Belize Territorial Volunteers and the Guatemalan Armed Forces in Belizean territory on the Sarstoon River. Over the years, there have been numerous reports of these confrontations with no solution in sight, except for a ruling from the International Court of Justice. It is an issue that the Leader of the Opposition raised in his State of the Nation address. But how would he resolve tension on the Sarstoon?
Moses “Shyne” Barrow
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“Being candid and taking principled positions, to me and being consistent is what we would hope from the government. I can assure you that when the prime minister met with the president of Guatemala, Sarstoon was not on the agenda. The continued aggression in our waters was not on the agenda. They are more concerned with being friends and being polite and exchanging niceties. When you don’t have to be rude, you don’t have to go to Guatemala and declare war. But you have to say, listen, this is what we need. I promised Belizeans that I would have a Sarstoon Protocol, let’s work this out. Let’s come to a solution. I need to deliver this for my people. I need to protect my BDF. I need to protect my Coast Guard. I need to protect civilians that want to traverse our waters. Let’s figure this out. But we have not seen any deliverables. Again, the Prime Minister went to Mexico begging the outgoing Mexican president and said that he agreed to give us the twenty-five megawatts. That has not happened yet. So what the prime minister knows how to do is to try to shape narratives and deceive the people. So, he will have the drums playing, the marching band, the BDF marching, all of this pomp and circumstance. But what is the reality? I actually wanted to do my speech from Pound Yard, right at the bridge. In a rubber boot, because that is the reality. That is where the reality is, putting forward this theater, when the reality for Belizeans is far from what he’s saying. And it’s not me just making it up.”
We begin the news tonight with a report of a shooting incident in Orange Walk that has left a security guard severely injured. It happened while Tyron Moralez was on duty in Tower Hill Village on Saturday night. He was walking on the street leading to his jobsite when three people in a pickup truck, whom he recognized, engaged him in a verbal exchange. It ended in Moralez being shot. The bullet struck him in the stomach where it is still lodged. News Five spoke with his brother, Eric Martinez, who said that Moralez will need at least one surgery. While the victim recuperates, the police shared what they have so far on the incident. Here’s News Five’s Marion Ali with that report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Thirty-five-year-old Tyron Moralez was reportedly walking here along this stretch of road in Tower Hill Village, Orange Walk sometime after ten p.m. on Saturday night when he got into a verbal exchange with the occupants of a vehicle. In the process, he was shot. He relayed the incident to his brother, Eric Martinez.
Voice of: Eric Martinez
Voice of: Eric Martinez, Brother of Shooting Victim
“He personally call me and tell me I get shot and the man said in him that who shoot and cause he see them got a one person. Several of them. I know like it happened in the dark and somebody come out of a bush or a drive by, in a vehicle that drive by, but the man see and recognize her.”
Marion Ali
“So they had beef or something?”
Voice of: Eric Martinez, Brother of Shooting Victim
“No, no type of beef. No type of beef. Probably. probably it happened fast that some words happen.”
A.C.P. Hilberto Romero says when police arrived at the scene, they found a wounded Moralez suffering from a gunshot to his abdomen.
“Upon arrival, they found Tyron Morales with a gunshot injury to the abdomen. He was taken for treatment. He reported he was walking when a pickup came along and stop near him. He saw three male persons, one who pulled out a firearm and fired a single shot at him.”
Romero says the police are seeking three suspects in connection with the shooting. While they close in on them, the family of Tyron Moralez says he has a long to go before recovery.
Voice of: Eric Martinez, Brother of Shooting Victim
“The man have a big surgery, you know, because they shoot him by abdomen and the man – seems the bullet never pass. So it seems it’s not a big gun, you know, it seems it’s a small gun.”
An elderly man was killed when his motorcycle crashed into another bike on Saturday morning. It happened on the Otro Benque Road in Orange Walk Town and claimed the life of sixty-seven-year-old Honduran, Fermin Lobo. Lobo’s motorcycle crashed into a delivery bike driven by twenty-six-year-old Hugo Vasquez, a delivery man who was reportedly heading in the opposite direction. While Vasquez survived, Lobo was flung to the pavement and died of severe injuries. Today, A.C.P. Hilberto Romero told reporters what they had gathered so far.
“On Saturday, 17th of August, 2024, police responded to a fatal road traffic accident at Otro Benque Road in Orange Walk. Upon arrival, they received information that a male person had been taken for medical treatment. They proceeded to the hospital where they found Fermin Lobo, sixty-seven years, with severe injuries, and he succumbed to his injuries. Investigation reveals he was riding a motorcycle and he collided with a tricycle, causing his fatal injuries. An investigation is being carried out. The other driver of the tricycle has been served with an NIP and thereafter, the file will be forwarded to the D.P.P. for directives.”
Two Belize City residents pleaded guilty for handling stolen goods after police caught them with several items that were stolen during a burglary at Courts Belmopan branch just over a week ago. Police conducted a search at the home of thirty-four-year-old Randy Slusher’s girlfriend in Belize City. There they found an Orange Radio Shack bag pack valued at one hundred and twenty-nine dollars, as well as a Samsung cellphone valued at seventeen hundred dollars. Both Slusher and his girlfriend were taken to the Belize City Magistrates Court where Slusher pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods.
He explained that the only reason his girlfriend was caught up in the investigation was because he was at her home with the stolen items. As a result, she was set free. A search at the home of a second individual, twenty-six-year-old Roy Alvarez, led to the discovery of a Dell laptop valued at twenty-five hundred dollars. Alvarez, like Slusher, pleaded guilty. He explained that he bought the item for two hundred dollars knowing that it was stolen. The magistrate fined Slusher five hundred dollars for the backpack and seven hundred and fifty dollars for the cellphone. Alvarez was fined seven hundred and fifty dollars for the laptop. And while Slusher and Alvarez pleaded guilty and were fined, both were escorted back into custody today. They will be transferred to Belmopan and handed over to police in that jurisdiction, as they are expected to face other charges in connection with the Courts Belmopan burglary.
“Reference the aggravated burglary at Courts in Belmopan, police conducted several searches which led to the recovery of some cellphones and laptops and have since arrested and charged Randy Slusher, Tyra Diaz and Roy Alvarez for the crime of handling stolen good. They are all from Belize City. Further investigations are being conducted and other charges are expected to be levied. The items were recovered in Belize City. Yes, at their residents yes.”
Two women had a traumatic experience on Sunday night inside their home in Burrel Boom Village. According to police, two armed men entered the residence, held them up and stole an assortment of items. They made good their escape. Police have no suspects.
“On Sunday the eighteenth day of August 2024 police responded to reports of an aggravated burglary in Burrel Boom Village. Upon their arrival they met a complainant who reported that she was at home along with her mother when they were approached by two make persons who were in camouflage clothing. The two people took out a knife and a machete and held them up. They then searched the house and stole three watches, cell phones and some cash. Thereafter they fled from the area. We are conducting an investigation into this report and so far, there are no suspects detained.”
There is a situation that’s brewing in Indian Creek Village where there is confusion among members of that southern community regarding the alcalde who is in charge. The chaos over who has control of that jurisdiction which falls under the Inferior Courts Act has resulted in letters being issued by the Attorney General, as well as the law office of Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith on behalf of the government and the Toledo Alcaldes Association, respectively. A letter from Attorney General Anthony Sylvestre was sent to Superintendent Brent Hamilton on August fifteenth, informing the Officer Commanding the Toledo District police formation that three individuals representing the Toledo Alcaldes Association are challenging his decision to remove Jose Choc and Felipe Sam as Alcalde and Deputy Alcalde of Indian Creek Village. They are also challenging the A.G.’s decision to appoint in their place Manuel Ack and Nicolas Choc as Alcalde and Deputy Alcalde. Earlier today, we spoke by phone with Ancelmo Cholom, a member of the Indian Creek Village Council.
On the phone: Ancelmo Cholom
On the phone: Ancelmo Cholom, Member, Indian Creek Village Council
“The matter is before the court and it’s a challenging and confusing situation that is happening in our community since there was an alcalde that was being removed and there is a new alcalde that is elected by the community of Indian Creek. The Toledo Alcaldes Association took the government [to court] to challenge the decision made by the community to the High Court. That is affecting our residents now because it is confusing and letters are flying around and they are trying to reinstate back this ousted alcalde while there is a split in duties, but then we are getting to understand that the attorney general, for the applicants, is not satisfied with the decision of the government or the decision of the court.”
Isani Cayetano
“So what is the actual effect of that on the ground?”
Ancelmo Cholom
“The effect of it is because the people that elected the new alcalde, there’s an old alcalde and if the old alcalde gets back into power then there will be a lot of confusion and chaos within our community. The community is divided at this point, they don’t know who is their alcalde now. They believe that they elected a new one and it’s causing a confusion within our community.”
In the Attorney General’s letter to Superintendent Hamilton, he wrote, quote, I have asked the new alcaldes to deliver the ceremonial staff to the Old Alcaldes and to have a new one made with the name of the Alcalde Jurisdiction Court clearly marked there for use in court proceedings only. While I do not believe that your intervention will be necessary to compel compliance with these requests, in compliance with the Court Order, I nonetheless hereby formally request your assistance in facilitating the return of the above-described items for use by the old alcaldes in their customary roles as alcalde and deputy alcalde, end quote.
Isani Cayetano
“I understand that several items were taken into custody by the police department down there in Toledo. Is that to your knowledge and can you speak on that?”
On the phone: Ancelmo Cholom
On the phone: Ancelmo Cholom, Member, Indian Creek Village Council
“The new alcalde was elected, the letters were sent to the attorney general. The Attorney General’s Ministry approved those signatures from the election process that took place on the sixth of November and after it was approved, there was a handing over that took place at the Punta Gorda Police Station. The items that the old alcalde was using were handed over to the new alcalde for them to perform their duties. So then, after that, there was an interim injunction, they are trying to claim back everything and those are some of the things that the community, or the residents of Indian Creek are now arguing that as much as we understand that there are items that are probably purchased by the Toledo Alcaldes Association, we also believe that not every item that they are claiming back is purchase by them because we know in our village what we purchase or what we give the alcaldes to use. For example, the key. Definitely we do know that the T.A.A. did not purchase those keys. We purchased it under the village council.”
Isani Cayetano
“Talk to us about what’s to happen tomorrow. You guys have called a press conference to bring awareness to this issue at hand.”
Ancelmo Cholom
“The reason why we are calling a press conference tomorrow is for the country or the people to understand what is affecting the community of Indian Creek. We are a Maya community and it looks like the Maya leaders who are representing the community of Indian Creek are not respecting the decision of the Maya people. Why are we fighting among the Maya people. We must respect a decision, I mean they are appealing to the government that the government does not care to understand or see what is happening in Indian Creek. Likewise with the Toledo Alcaldes Association, they are not here, they are not seeing what is happening in our community. They only took the matter from one or two individuals or from the ousted alcaldes and then say, okay they went to their attorney and took it to court. They were not here to even analyze or see, or, you know what, trying to mediate with both parties what is happening, they just took the matter to court.”
It’s a zoonotic disease, which means it can spread from animals to humans and from human to human when bodily droplets from an infected person are transmitted through open wounds, injuries and lesions. The World Health Organization has announced that a new variant of Monkey Pox has been identified, however, none of its variants have been detected in Belize. Today, Director of Public Health and Wellness, Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa said the advisory was given because of an upsurge of cases in the African region. Even though we are literally halfway around the world from each other, since air travel puts us one flight away, Belize’s health officials are on the alert at the points of entry.
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Director, Public Health & Wellness
“We ensure that our surveillance team and border teams are aware of this increase in cases of monkeypox. So the difference this time around is that monkeypox, they have identified a subvariant or a clad as we call it, subvariant 1-B. So this is the new subvariant that was identified in 2024, and this is the subvariant that’s spreading in the African regions. And for that reason, the notification to the public and the information is now being shared that there is a new subvariant, but you mentioned that in Mexico there is an issue, but official reports from Mexico shows that none of this new subvariant has been diagnosed in Quintana Roo or in any part of Mexico. Of course, Mexico has the original Mpox. They have forty-nine confirmed cases of the original variant, but none of this new subvariant.”
On the rise in Belize are cases of gastroenteritis, also spread through bodily droplets. Musa explained that while cases of dengue rise and fall from week to week, gastrointestinal cases are among the most common of the communicable diseases that are on the increase. If you happen to be experiencing belly or stomach pain, cramping, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, chances are you have gastroenteritis and should visit your doctor.
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Director, Public Health & Wellness
“Gastroenteritis is in the alert zone for most of the country, and that’s in over five and under five as an issue. Dengue and upper respiratory tract infections and acute respiratory tract infections fluctuate over the week. So those are better controlled at this point, but gastroenteritis, we’re still reporting and seeing increased cases of this. Gastroenteritis most commonly is caused by viruses, again, spread through droplets, and respiratory droplets. So this is just something for the community to be aware that there is a slight increase of gastroenteritis.”
