Police continue to investigate the first murder of 2025. Over the weekend, it was reported that the lifeless body of a fisherman was found on Turneffe Atoll. The victim was identified as 59-year-old Belize City fisherman, Godfrey Hyde. Hyde was reportedly found face down on a veranda at a wooden fishing camp with gunshot wounds. Initial investigations revealed that a single expended shell was recovered from the crime scene. Hyde’s body was later transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
In an interview with the Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, Rear Admiral Elton Bennett said, “We were alerted by another fisherman, and our patrol secured the scene. Police and forensics were called to process the site.” The body was found by 52-year-old fisherman Fedrick Dougal, who had reportedly arrived around 6 a.m. to deliver supplies. Dougal quickly alerted the Belize Coast Guard personnel stationed nearby.
According to Bennett, the area where the murder happened had no prior reports or security concerns. He said, “We would transit this camp in order to get to that location, but we have never identified this as a target area for us. So we do not know at this time why any individual would go to that location and commit such a crime.”
While the area where the murder occurred is not typically a focus of patrols, Commandant Bennett stated that “Tuneffe itself has different characters with different groups that would normally fight over fishing turf.” He added that “it is possible that activities such as drug trafficking are present” in other parts of Turneffe.
The Coast Guard is working closely with the police to support the investigation and any further operations.
On Friday, the Alliance for Democracy faction of the United Democratic Party (UDP) held a late afternoon strategy meeting, announcing that eighteen candidates will be running in various constituencies for the UDP. During the meeting, Albert Area Representative Tracy Taegar-Panton referred to Moses “Shyne” Barrow as the former party leader. However, according to Barrow’s attorney, Dr. Christopher Malcolm, this statement contradicts a recent High Court decision that reinstated the UDP’s leadership structure to its pre-Unity Convention status. He said that ruling affirmed Barrow as the legitimate party leader.
Speaking to News Five via Zoom, Dr. Malcolm addressed the matter, stating that the court had been explicit in its orders.
“That court has made a number of orders, two in particular, so far in this matter, and in one of them, certainly, the court confirmed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that at present and until there was a contrary order of the court, the legitimate leader of the UDP is Moses “Shyne” Barrow, and the executive with him is what is appropriate,” said Dr. Malcolm.
He criticised any assertions to the contrary, suggesting they either stem from misunderstanding or an intention to mislead. “To conclude until the court determines otherwise that there is any question of Barrow being a former leader of the party and so on is plain wrong or a preparedness to be mischievous,” he said, adding that such actions could be viewed as contemptuous of the court.
Dr. Malcolm challenged Peter Knox, KC, to challenge his interpretation if they believed it was inaccurate. He also called attention to “mischievous videos and postings” that he claimed misrepresented the court’s ruling.
“It is in circumstance where I’m saying that the court should be respected and people must really measure in the scale the way the respective parties have been behaving and then determine for themselves who has been most respectful of the process and who it is that has shown some level of humility and balance, which is necessary in the circumstances,” he concluded.
A contingent of 150 Guatemalan soldiers has been deployed to Haiti as part of an international effort to restore order in the Caribbean nation plagued by violent gangs.
The first group of 75 soldiers, drawn from Guatemala’s military police, arrived on Friday, followed by another 75 on Saturday. They join a United Nations-backed security mission led by Kenya, which has faced challenges in curbing escalating violence.
Haiti has been under a state of emergency for months, as armed gangs have seized control of large portions of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Earlier this year, gangs stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing approximately 3,700 inmates and intensifying the crisis.
Kenya dispatched nearly 400 police officers in mid-2024 as the first wave of a UN-approved force expected to include 2,500 officers from multiple countries. Small contingents from Jamaica, Belize, and El Salvador have also joined the mission, with the United States serving as its primary financial backer.
Two Belize Defence Force (BDF) officers have already been deployed to Port-au-Prince, serving as part of the CARICOM Joint Task Force led by Jamaica. This initial deployment is laying the groundwork for a larger team of BDF personnel, though the exact timeline for their arrival remains uncertain.
Belize’s participation hinges on the procurement of necessary equipment and favourable conditions for the mission.
“When we are fully equipped and prepared, I will signal the Ministry of National Defence, and the minister will inform Cabinet that we are ready to deploy,” said Commander of the BDF, Brig. Gen. Azariel Loria.
Belize has introduced its first-ever Sentencing Guidelines as part of the ongoing reform of its criminal justice system. The announcement was made by Chief Justice Louise Esther Blenman on Thursday, calling it “a significant milestone in the ongoing transformation of the criminal justice system.”
In her statement, CJ Blenman said that the guidelines “when implemented will promote consistency, transparency, and fairness in sentencing practices across the criminal justice system.”
Developed through collaboration between the Senior Courts of Belize, legal professionals, and international jurists, the guideline is anticipated to reduce disparities in sentencing.
The initiative aligns with recommendations from the CCJ Academy for Law’s Needham’s Point Declaration on Criminal Justice Reform.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party, marking the end of his nine-year tenure. He will remain in office until a new leader is selected through a nationwide process. The announcement follows growing internal dissatisfaction within the Liberal Party, which has been trailing significantly behind the opposition Conservatives in polls.
Speaking from his residence at Rideau Cottage, Trudeau said, “I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process. This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I am having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.”
Trudeau also expressed regret over his inability to deliver on promises, including reforming Canada’s electoral system.
The resignation comes amid significant tension within the party, particularly after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump proposed a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods. This policy sparked debates over how the government should respond to protect Canada’s economy.
Canada is set to hold a general election by October 2025.
A local justice of the peace and community consultant was left shaken after his home in Corozal Town was targeted by gunmen in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Bradley was at his farm when the incident occurred. When he arrived home, he found his house riddled with bullet holes.
He told News 5, “When I opened the gate, I came into the yard, and I went straight to my office. I observed a hole in the glass door, and so I thought somebody probably passed and threw a stone… And that’s when I saw the walls filled with bullet holes.” About 12 to 14 rounds were fired.
Bradley said his daughter, who was at home with his two grandsons, initially thought the shots came from a nearby house.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the attack.
Having served his community for over 50 years, Bradley says he is baffled as to why his family was targeted. “I really don’t understand why I’ve been targeted and why my home has been targeted like that. I don’t owe anyone. I have no dealings with nobody who is doing any legal activities,” Bradley said.
“I don’t know if this is mistaken identity or I don’t know. I really don’t know. And I myself, we are bewildered by all this,” he added.
Dr. Xochitl Clare, a Belizean-American marine biologist, is on a mission to uncover how pollution affects one of Belize’s exports—sea cucumbers. Raised in California but deeply connected to her family’s Belize City origins, Dr. Clare returned to Belize last year to combine her academic expertise with her passion for marine biology.
Her research could redefine how communities and industries approach seafood safety and sustainability.
Sea cucumbers are a valuable export to markets in China, Japan, and other Asian countries. “So my work is looking at how pollution, specifically pollutants that are heavy metals like mercury, can impact our seafood, the seafood that we eat here and the seafood that we ship abroad,” Dr. Clare told News 5.
Belize’s sea cucumber fishery reopened on September 1 and will close in January 2025. Following a year-long closure in 2022, a stock assessment conducted by the Belize Fisheries Department and the University of Belize estimated over 249,800 lbs of sea cucumber. To ensure sustainability, the annual harvest quota is capped at 175,000 lbs, distributed among four approved exporters.
Dr. Clare’s work examines the impact of pollution, specifically heavy metals like mercury, on seafood consumed locally and exported abroad. While sea cucumbers are central to her study, her research also encompasses other fish species in the Placencia area.
“So, the reason why Placentia is a great place to do this research is because there is such a great opportunity to work with communities. So first off in doing this work, my first step was to find the communities that would really want to see this work happen. Plasencia is a place that is rapidly growing but is very small that faces a lot of different types of tourism pressures and pressure to deliver to the different tourism markets. So that’s why I’ve collaborated with communities. Here, specifically, non-profit organisations like the Crocodile Research Coalition, work with the Placencia Village Council to get this project off its feet. Aside from collecting actual fish and sea cucumbers to look at the heavy metals inside of the fish, I’m also going to be going and asking people in the community their perceptions on pollution here in Placencia as it pertains to seafood.”
According to Dr. Clare, her aim is to uncover where mercury appears in the environment and at what levels it may pose a risk. “So, mercury is present in our bodies, in our environment, everywhere; it’s just a question of how much and at what level it is safe for us to consume.”
Using a straightforward process of baking samples to identify metallic signatures, Dr. Clare will be able to determine mercury levels in the tissues of the collected animals. “So it’s a very simple process, but the information that we’ll get will be very valuable because it will help us understand where to fish, where to prioritise, and what species might be good.”
Dr. Clare says that the findings will be shared directly with community leaders, such as Placencia Village Chairman Warren Garbutt, to inform decision-making. “So it’s a very simple process, but the information that we’ll get will be very valuable because it will help us understand where to fish, where to prioritise, and what species might be good.”
For instance, if unsafe mercury levels are detected, the information can guide sustainable fishing practices, rather than halting fishing altogether. “It just means that we can start to see, oh, in this specific area, that’s where we might not want to fish so often. For perhaps the reefs or other areas are really great places. That’s what we want to hone in on. The success stories. Because if we find that certain areas are doing really well, we want to keep that going.”
Sea cucumbers are vital to marine ecosystems, often called the “vacuum cleaners of the ocean floor” for their role in consuming detritus, breaking down organic matter, and recycling nutrients. This activity improves sediment health, supports carbon cycling, and helps sustain the balance of coral reef and seagrass habitats.
Police are investigating the disappearance of 36-year-old Mason Patnett. He was reported missing by his partner, Shene Moody. According to Moody, she spoke with Patnett on Saturday night via phone after she had left their home in Vista Del Mar, Ladyville, the day before.
When she returned on Sunday, she found the door open and Patnett gone.
Police have canvassed the area and reviewed surveillance footage but have found no leads.
Patnett is described as a slim, 5’7″ Creole man with long, curly hair, a brown complexion, and tattoos on both hands. He was last seen wearing a green shirt and green camouflage cargo shorts. Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 922 or report to the nearest police station.
The National Students’ Union of Belize (NSUB) has elected a new Executive Council for the 2025-2027 term. The election was held virtually on Sunday.
Tomas Serrut was elected as the new president, with Darien Parham as first vice president and Yannika Dorado as second vice president.
Other key positions include Tristan Rodriguez as General Secretary, Andrea Neal as Director of Student Affairs, Jaleeza Roberts as Director of Events, and Cecilia Moreira as Director of Finance.
Outgoing President Ashley Longford congratulated the new team in an announcement statement, stating, “I am confident that under their leadership, the NSUB will continue to grow and champion the causes that matter most to our members.”
