October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and tonight we have a chilling report from Independence Village. According to the report, a woman was set on fire by her partner during a dispute on Thursday night. The details reveal that thirty-year-old Karima Logan and her common-law husband, twenty-four-year-old Travis Lopez, got into an argument inside their home. During the altercation, Lopez allegedly dragged Karima outside, doused her with gasoline, and set her ablaze. He then reportedly tried to extinguish the flames by placing her in the shower. Logan has since reported the incident to the police. She was initially taken to the Independence Polyclinic and later transferred to the Southern Regional Hospital, where she received treatment for severe burn injuries. News Five has learned that Logan described the incident to the police as an accident. This morning, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams addressed the incident.
Reporter
“Sir is there anything you can tell us about a domestic incident last night. I think a man might have lit his wife on fire.”
We also spoke with Home Affairs Minister Kareem Musa, who backed the stance taken by the Commissioner of Police concerning the drug bust on Minister Perez’s boat. Musa, who is also an attorney-at-law, asserted that there is no direct link between Perez and the narcotics discovered on his vessel. Here’s his explanation.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“It’s a very unfortunate situation that can happen to any citizen of Belize, regardless of the position that you hold. It could happen to members of the media and I am certain that you would likewise hope that the police investigate the matter the way that they did Minister Perez’s boat. From all the circumstances, all the facts of the case, it is clear that police received a tip based on suspicious individuals who had been traversing the area, and so it wouldn’t have been just a random search of Minister Perez’s boat. It was based on information provided by a member of the public, that police were able to go on the boat and locate the drugs. And so, it’s a good thing that it was located prior to Minister Perez even using the vessel because from all the information, it had been months that he had actually used the vessel. So it’s not a situation whereby police had pulled over Minister Perez in the course of using his vessel.”
Aside from murder and unlawful sexual intercourse, major crimes have decreased in 2024 compared to the same period from January to September last year. This morning, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Commissioner of Police, and the top brass of the Belize Police Department convened to review the latest crime statistics and develop strategies to further reduce these numbers. Since January, there have been seventy-one recorded murders and one hundred and eighteen reported robberies. Additionally, incidents of burglary, theft, and rape have also declined. Commissioner of Police Williams presented these encouraging figures to his colleagues in the department.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“I put together a presentation, an overall presentation where I outlined to the officers where we are so far for this year, where we have been at the end of each quarter, outline to them how we got to where we are, and I also told them in my presentation what I want us to do collectively, together for the rest of the year so that we would be able to defeat the numbers for last year. I am extremely passionate about what I do, saving the lives of Belizeans is important to me and as I said to them, we finished the month of September with three murders above last year’s figures around the same time. My objective is for us to work our butts off for the rest of this year to defeat the number for last year which was eighty-seven. So, in other words, we’re at seventy-one murders right now, that puts us at sixteen below last year’s figure and I am pleading to my commanders for us to work together in order for us to be able to defeat that sixteen so that we can end up with either eighty-seven or less murders. I also outlined to them the strategies that I want us to do to be able to ensure that we would be in a position to defeat the numbers.”
With the latest figures showing an uptick in murders compared to the same period in 2023, the Commissioner of Police is crafting a proactive crime-fighting strategy to prevent this year’s numbers from exceeding last year’s count. He is relying on the Leadership Intervention Unit to ensure that interventions and mediations occur whenever tensions flare between rival gangs.
Isani Cayetano
“You’re going into the fourth quarter of this year, what is the outlook? Is it that the police, in trying to keep these numbers down, will take on now a more proactive, as opposed to a more reactive approach to policing?”
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Certainly, and that’s my thing to them this morning, that we need to be more proactive in terms of our approach. We don’t want to respond. I even said to them, if it is that they hear that there is an issue brewing between two different gang groups, we must step in, do intervention, do mediation, get LIU involved, get Mr. Nuri involved. Let’s see how we can stem that before it reaches a stage where somebody’s getting killed because once somebody’s getting killed the problem becomes greater because then the other side wants to retaliate and so we need to do what we can to avoid getting to that stage.”
The extended State of Emergency, which saw dozens of young men from various neighborhoods in Belize City and Roaring Creek Village detained, has come to an end. Many of these individuals, including numerous gang members, were required to surrender their weapons, yet the department managed to retrieve only nineteen firearms. Earlier today, we spoke with the Commissioner of Police to get his insights now that these alleged troublemakers are back on the streets.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“We didn’t get as much as expected. We got a total of nineteen weapons, different calibers and a number of ammunitions. Those were collected and submitted as found property and will be sent to the National Forensics [Science] Service firearm or ballistics unit for testing.”
Isani Cayetano
“What has the observation been in the wake of that extended SOE, in terms of how the gangs interact with each other at this point?”
Chester Williams
“Well we do have follow-ups. Brother Nuri is tasked to ensure that he does followup with them to ensure that we have a system where they don’t just come out of SOE and we leave them right there. We want to do programs with them, so Brother Nuri and LIU are tasked in ensuring that we do follow-ups and different programs with them. We have a system where they were told that if it is that there is some issue is brewing between them and other groups, for them to come forward and let us know and then we’ll step in and do intervention, mediation. I think some of them are serious about trying to make a change and we must do what we can to help them make that change.”
The Ministry of Education has issued a press release emphasizing the importance of timely teacher payments. They acknowledged that the current salary processing system is outdated and prone to delays, often due to incomplete or late submissions. The ministry provided several clarifications in their statement. Firstly, they noted that one hundred and twenty-two teachers were scheduled for an off-cycle payment, which the Treasury Department confirmed would be deposited into their bank accounts by this evening. Additionally, the ministry pointed out that a few names on the B.N.T.U.’s list of ninety-nine teachers were duplicates. Of the remaining names, forty-four were already included in the off-cycle payment and should have received their payments by now. For the last batch of forty-three teachers, the ministry found that nine had already received their September salaries, three were secondary or tertiary-level teachers processed through a different system, and four were being finalized for the next payment cycle. The remaining twenty-seven teachers required further attention, and the ministry is working with school management to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. Today, B.N.T.U. President Nadia Caliz reiterated the union’s stance and explained what prompted them to address this matter.
Nadia Caliz, President, B.N.T.U.
“What really broke the camel’s back was when our teachers came forward and said there was an agreement with the ministry that we would not be kicked out of the system, but we were kicked out. We didn’t receive our salary. We were paid in the month of August and now in September no salary. What happened? And we started to query with the ministry what was actually going on. We did not get the kind of response that we wanted. We stand by our one-thirty [list]. We stand by our one-thirty. We went through our listing, cause they called us, we went through our listing, and we do have one-thirty. Three of those though, we will admit, were paid because those teachers actually were increments and we mistakenly submitted that. But if you look at the BNTU’s press release, it said one hundred and thirty plus teachers in this country. One hundred and twenty-two teachers are going to be paid today, but you still have like an outstanding thirty-five or so. And up to this morning, we have teachers calling and saying, “I did not fill out that form because I had no faith in the system. But now that we see so many persons being paid, could you please add my name onto that list?” So again, we’re receiving another list of persons. It’s not about the numbers. For us, our teachers are suffering. They have worked. They deserve to be paid. Teachers should not be going through this. There are things that I can’t even say publicly that teachers have shared with me that they’re doing so they can survive, and some of it is very unethical. I’ve visited teachers who called me, crying, asking for assistance. All I want to see come October, that our teachers don’t go through this.”
A month ago, several schools reported a shortage of teachers as the new school year began. Among them was Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Maskall Village, which faced a loss of three teachers across its pre-school, middle, and upper divisions. Fast forward a month, and the school has made significant progress, securing one teacher and on the verge of hiring a second. However, they are still searching for a teacher for their pre-school department. Today, Principal German Ramirez shared with News Five the strides the school has made towards full staffing and how they have been managing the ongoing shortage.
German Ramirez
German Ramirez, Principal, Our Lady of Lourdes School, Maskall Village
“We have managed to secure one teacher coming this way to help us with our teacher shortage. We have been doing everything we can from our end to ensure that he remains in the community. It’s not something easy for him, but he’s adapting and we’re lucky to have him here. We’re still short of two teachers. We’re working on one, trying to make sure that we get his license. The license application process goes through some bureaucracy, and I guess some vetting. And so that is probably what is keeping us back from getting the other replacement in this community. We’re still working to try and secure the replacement for the preschool as well. So I work along with the general manager of Catholic public schools to try and see if we can secure the replacements as early as possible.”
Marion Ali
Explain to me how it’s been over the past month in getting the curriculum delivered in an effective way to these students with the shortage of three teachers.
German Ramirez
“It’s not been easy, I mean, we tried to stay in alignment with what we have to be doing for the month of September but jumping out of a classroom and going into another, you don’t get to do what you need to do as effectively as possible. So, what we try to do is to ensure that our children are busy, getting their printed packages for them to be working on while I’m there. I can explain while I’m out, they work on their own with some limited supervision from the teacher nearby.”
Former Belmopan City Administrator Sherlene Julien has stepped forward to clear her name amidst controversy. Julien’s name appeared on a leaked list of Innovabel Estate land recipients from within the council, suggesting she acquired six parcels of land through two companies, Ajalon and Associates Limited and Almeya Consulting Limited. In her statement to the media, Julien firmly denied ever owning a company named Almeya Consulting Limited. The document also claimed that Julien’s son received two parcels, with all eight properties allegedly sold to her for a thousand dollars each. Julien refuted these claims, stating the document is intentionally misleading and full of errors. She clarified that she received four parcels of land, less than an acre, as part of a legally negotiated employment contract. The value of these parcels was deducted from what she was owed for nearly three years of service to a financially struggling city council. Julien contends that the accusations are baseless, aimed at tarnishing her professional reputation and undermining her contributions to the City of Belmopan. She also expressed that the situation has caused undue distress and reputational harm to her son and family.
A family is homeless tonight after a devastating lightning strike destroyed their house. Remarkably, lightning struck the property twice on Wednesday afternoon, tragically claiming the life of their pet in the first strike and igniting a fire in the second. This freak incident has left the family heartbroken and desperately seeking help from the community. News Five’s Paul Lopez brings us the story.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
A home in Georgeville went up in flames on Thursday afternoon. The victims of the fire, a young family, lost everything. We spoke with the owner of the destroyed wooden structure, Vannesa Guzman.
Voice of: Vannesa Guzman
Voice of: Vannesa Guzman, Fire Victim
“This dah mih something that we never expect because I was not at home at the moment. I was with my mom when my little brother called me and told me that my house was on fire. I didn’t believe him at first but then he video called me and showed me that the house was smoking out and when he came and checked the house it was already too late.”
The circumstances surrounding the fire are nothing short of shocking and are certainly not a common occurrence in Belize.
Vannesa Guzman
“When they told us who it happened, ih mih really shocking. I never believed lightening cause something like that. We pitbull get it first then he dead. Then we house get it next.”
Guzman’s brother lives on the adjacent property. He ran over to save some of the household items, including items purchased for her son’s birthday party that was to be held on Saturday.
Vannesa Guzman
“He mih the try get some stuff, but by the time he get up the step the house just explode. Then everything, we cant save anything. We lose everything, like nothing we stay. But I just, I try be strong. It hurts a lot. We wont say it does not hurt. These are things we can recover, but we had memories. I had memories from my baby and we were looking forward to his party. He was so excited. He did his countdown and when he see that his house was burning it hurt him a lot. Up to now, he still stay frightened.”
Guzman and her family lost everything to the freak fire. They are now seeking assistance from the public to get back on their feet.
Vannesa Guzman
“I just hope we could get the little help that everyone says they could help. I just pray that they do, cause we nuh got nothing. So, we really appreciate, with all my heart. Anything wah work for us.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez
You can reach the family at 608-1088 and 627-6361 if you wish to offer any assistance.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) serves as the regulatory and supervisory authority for Belize’s non-banking financial services. In 2021, the Government of Belize enacted the Securities Industries Act, which expanded the responsibilities of the former International Financial Services Commission, transforming it into the FSC. Now, the FSC oversees the securities sector and the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry. Although legislation to regulate the securities sector has been in place for the past four years, the FSC is actively working to raise awareness about the investment opportunities within this sector. Today, they hosted a press briefing to shed light on these opportunities and provide further information.
Claude Haylock, Director General, FSC
“You really should care because I mean we are starting the process of regulating the securities market in Belize. Securities have always been in Belize. It is there but it has never been in a regulated and formularized way. Basically securities are stocks, bonds, people buy shares in companies. People are able to invest in that way. As the company prosper the shares increase in value. Their little part in that company increase in value. There are some Belizeans who own shares in BTL. When those companies do well, they do well. It gives Belizean an opportunity to invest in other things, rather than having a bank account and lets be frank, we all know. You getting little or nothing in bank. It probably cost more to keep your money in the bank than what the bank gives you in interest rate. Securities gives Belizeans another opportunity for investment and to grow wealth. I think that is an important objective of government to broaden, democratize capital in Belize. Belize is a very bank centric economy. The introduction of securities will give Belizeans other ways to invest in the market.”
