Giovanni Ramirez, known as the whistleblower in the high-profile case that led to the conviction and imprisonment of attorney Oscar Selgado, is dead. Ramirez was gunned down this afternoon on Partridge Street in Belize City. The assailants, believed to be two men on a motorcycle, ambushed Ramirez while he was driving towards Mahogany Street, killing him on the spot. This shocking murder leaves a trail of questions about who was behind it and what it means for Selgado’s upcoming appeal. News Five’s Marion Ali has more on this developing story.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Residents near the intersection of Partridge and Mahogany Streets were left in shock just before 2 p.m. today when a barrage of gunshots rang out, followed by a loud crash. Rushing outside, they discovered a man in a red SUV had been shot and crashed into a cement fence. Police arrived quickly to find the driver’s window riddled with bullet holes and the driver dead inside. Shell casings were scattered across the street. The incident occurred alarmingly close to two schools and a construction site.
Oscar Selgado
The victim was identified as thirty-year-old Giovanni Ramirez, who made headlines in June 2024 for his role in the case against attorney Oscar Selgado. Ramirez had provided crucial information to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, accusing Selgado of trying to hire him to kill Marilyn Barnes, who had filed a complaint against Selgado. Ramirez’s audio recordings of their conversations mysteriously disappeared, and he never testified in court out of fear for his life. Instead, Commissioner Williams relayed Ramirez’s account, leading to Selgado’s conviction. Selgado remains in prison, awaiting an appeal.
Giovanni Ramirez
Ramirez also made news in May when he was arrested and charged with gang membership. He was detained while signing in at the police station, a condition of his High Court bail, pending an investigation into an attempted murder from two months earlier. Today, police recovered nearly a dozen shell casings and have begun their investigation into Ramirez’s murder.
Late this evening Police Commissioner Chester Williams told News 5 that investigators are looking at several possible motives related to the murder of underworld figure, Giovanni Ramirez. These possible motives include the fact that he was the key witness in the trial against convicted criminal Oscar Selgado and ongoing gang rivalry in the area. Williams also said that the department will be proactive in preventing any retaliation.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Sometime after 1.30 p. m. there about police received information of shots firedon Amandala Drive. That’s in the St. Martins area of Belize City. Upon arrival, they encountered a red Ford Explorer. And the Explorer exhibited bullet holes on the window inside that vehicle, police found the lifeless body of Giovanni Ramirez and his body exhibited multiple gunshot injuries. He was taken to the KHMH where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police are investigating the matter at this time as a case of murder. We have persons of interest that we are looking for, and we’re hoping that we will be able to get some tangible information that will be able to help us to solve in this latest murder.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Do investigators believe that he was parked there for a long while? “
Chester Williams
“No, he was not parked there. He had just left an area on Cemetery Road, and he was going to set site to see his family who live in set site when he was attacked by two men on a motorcycle.”
Reporter
“Do you believe he was followed and ambushed?”
Chester Williams
“Well, it would appear that they might have been monitoring him from some time because he had left home, where he lived in, on Levi Usher Street and from there he went to see an attorney. And from there he went to the tire shop on Cemetery Road and from there he was going to CET site when he was ambushed by the two persons on the motorcycle who fired the fatal shots at him. At this time, we don’t have a definitive motive. I know that there are several theories out there at this time, but we cannot affirm those theories at this.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Giovanni Ramirez was an underworld figure and he was one of the prime suspect for one of the murders that happened last year. And of course, the main witness for the trial against Oscar Salgado. Are those factors that investigators are looking at?”
Chester Williams
“Of course, we have a look at every possibility. We’re looking at every possibility.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Do you believe that he was a hit on the hitman?”
Chester Williams
“We don’t have anything to substantiate that. And again, I don’t want to say nothing that would lead back to Mr. Selgado because I don’t see why Selgado would want him dead at this time. Honestly, I don’t see why but like I said before, we’re looking at every possibility. We’re looking at people from PIV and other areas as suspects.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Specifically BLC.”
Chester Williams,
“We’re looking at people from PIV and different areas as suspects.”
Hipolito Novelo
“In terms of the weapon use, some neighbors or witnesses are saying that they heard what appeared, what sounded like automatic weapon.”
Chester Williams
“We can’t say without if the weapon use was automatic, but there are handguns.”
Reporter
“It happened near a school as well Are police. I mean, what are you thinking of in terms of strategy and to prevent retaliation?”
Chester Williams
“We do have a police patrol in that area a foot patrol. But apparently the foot patrol was on the back street. So they were not in the area where it actually took place. So, the St. Martins area do have a substantial amount of police presence. But again, we know that criminals do monitor the movements of the police in order for them to execute what they want to do. So, we have a look at it more closely to see what can be done to tweak our efforts in the area. I was on the grounds earlier and I am sure that LIU is going to get on the grounds. At this time, I have been given the assurance that there’s going to be no retaliation, but I’m not going to sleep on that. I will still do what needs to be done to ensure that we stem whatever possible retaliation there may be.”
Thirty-seven-year-old Steven Flores from Hopkins has been charged with the murder of eighteen-year-old George Brown. While this brings some relief to Brown’s family and friends, the public is buzzing with questions about how the Hopkins police handled Flores’ arrest. The incident allegedly began when Brown asked Flores to take off a jacket that belonged to him. Flores, who had been living with Brown’s sister, Evril Kelly, for the past eight years, refused. The two parted ways but soon crossed paths again, leading to a confrontation where Flores reportedly threw a bicycle at Brown. A fistfight ensued, and Flores allegedly pulled out a knife and fatally stabbed Brown. Evril Kelly is now speaking out, criticizing the police after an amateur video surfaced showing the arrest of her common-law husband. News Five’s Marion Ali has more on this story.
George Brown
On the Phone: Evril Kelly, Sister of Deceased
“ Ih nuh change the feeling that we lost, we leave BABY, you know, in a change offeeling, we still hurt, we still hurt, we hurt, very hurt.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
Evril Kelly, the sister of eighteen-year-old George Brown who was stabbed to death on Wednesday morning says the murder charge brought against her common-law-husband, Steven Flores does not ease the family’s pain. Kelly also slams the police for the way they handled Flores’ arrest.
On the Phone: Evril Kelly
“ After watching a video yesterday, with the police, ih look like the police di protect he. It’s even more hurt for my family, very hurt. Going to the station to identify the murder weapon and seing the murder weapon with no blood on it, like weh happen to the blood weh mi deh pahn the knife? The murder weapon da the only knife we have in the house. That da the knife he kill my bredda with. I just use a knife the night before fi cook. He kill my bredda with the knife.”
Kelly questions the officer’s handling of Flores’s arrest.
On the Phone: Evril Kelly
“ I think if a different police officer was on the scene other than Mr. Palacio, I know him as “Bling”, as one of Steven’s friends, I think if it was any other police officer, ih mi gwein completely different.”
Marion Ali
“You’re saying that the policeman who went to arrest your common-law-husband is his friend?”
On the Phone: Evril Kelly
“Yes, that is his friend. I know him as his friend.”
Marion Ali
“They hang out together?”
On the Phone: Evril Kelly
“They hang out together. The police drive up to our house, pay Steven regular visits, you know. It hurt me to see that they nuh respect my lee bredda death. He di protect this man after this man done kill my bredda. He have the murder weapon in his hand like da wa toy. What happened to the blood on the murder weapon? I gone identify the weapon this morning and there was no blood on it. Who wiped the blood?”
Jaden Rubio is the cousin of the deceased, George Brown. He was with Brown the night before.
Jaden Rubio
Jaden Rubio, Cousin of Deceased
“We were at Tandoori first, taking a couple drink and after that, he tell me let’s goh da Driftwood and have a nice burger because they sell nice burger deh. I tell ah “Real G, alright.” Cause I tell ah I tired ah eat at Tandoori. So we went to Driftwood last night, enjoy last night, not knowing that was the last night, I mi wa see my cousin. We ate burger together, drink a couple drink together. After that I tell ah G, mek wi goh home and chill out and watch a movie, you know. And after that we come and watch a movie, not knowing that was the last night I was gonna hang out with G.”
George Brown
Rubio said he saw Brown the same morning, but from a distance and had planned to go meet him later that morning.
Jaden Rubio
“I start up my motorbike and then I hear my cousin Ezekiel call me. “You going to the gym for a coffee?” I tell him yes. And I see G came out, and G was like watching me. And I tell G, wait here G, I’m coming back for you right now. I’m just going to get a coffee, me and Ezekiel. And he be like, alright. And I saw him lock back the door, but my intentions now was like, G went back and sleep, you know, not knowing when we went all the way to the gym someone came here and, I don’t know, maybe his cousin came here and call him. That’s when he get in the altercation with the guy from Dangriga. But the guy approach my cousin approach him nice and ask him for his jacket. And he didn’t want to give my cousin his own jacket. So my cousin get a little bit upset and he, not knowing the other guy has a knife on him, that’s when my cousin try to protect himself and my little brother try to protect two of them and he end up grabbing my cousin and it look like he end up stabbing my cousin.”
George Brown would have turned nineteen next week. Marion Ali for News Five.
According to Police Commissioner Chester Williams, investigators have an airtight case against Steven Flores. He has been charged with the murder of eighteen-year-old George Brown. However, the victim’s family has expressed concerns about the way that police officers on the ground handled the situation in Hopkins. They say that video clearly shows a police officer clearly contaminating the murder weapon. We asked Williams about it:
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Well, we believe that it’s a very good case. Again, the conduct of persons following the murder. I saw on the news yesterday, the video footage that was that were shared. It shows that there was absolutely no regards or respect given to the police. This accused person was already in police custody and here comes a group of persons showing missile at him. People have to understand when police have a prisoner in custody, the police have charge of that person security. So anything that happens to that person in the charge of the police, then the police becomes liable. And so the police have a duty to secure the safety of any prisoner in their care. So these people who stoned the man, whatever while he was in police custody, it was totally out of order. And the accused person, again, to have been armed with a machete, chasing behind these same people, again, that was also wrong. And that also showed poor judgment on the part of the police. So there’s some things that we need to look at in terms of training and sensitizing our officers in terms of how to react to situations like those. And I think for the most part, the officers were reluctant to use their weapons the way they could have because they feared that had they done so, they would be in trouble. But the young man with the machete chasing these people, certainly he presented a good opportunity for the police who have been able to shoot him. And likewise, those who are throwing missiles at the suspect. While he was in police custody. Police could have used force on them with their weapons, but the police did not. So on that respect, I do commend the police for exercising great restraint. But at the same time, I believe that they could have harmed the situation much differently.”
Hipolito Novelo
“The family sees it a different way. They told us that from what they saw on the ground was that police was basically protecting this individual because the accused person and the police officers are friends in the village.”
Chester Williams
“The police have a responsibility to protect every person in the police care. So if they’re saying that the police was protecting him, they are right. And that is a duty of the police. Can you imagine what would have happened if that prisoner was killed in care of the police? What the public would have said? What you the media would have also said, right? You would have chew the police and spit them out because the truth is that would have been unjustifiably. There’s nothing that the police would have been able to do or say to justify any such action and when it comes to compensation, we would have to pay, the state would have to pay because if a prisoner is even hurt in the care of the police unjustifiably so they can sue and collect compensation for it.”
Hipolito Novelo
“You spoke about treating fellow police officers reaction to a situation like that. What about handling what appeared to be evidence, the knife that was apparently used. The police officer did not wear any gloves, is concerned that he may have contaminated key evidence in that case.”
Chester Williams
“The would have been the ideal situation, yes, for the police to be wearing our gloves. But I don’t think that there’s any dispute to the effect that the young man had the knife and he stabbed the accused person. I think that is going to come clear, through evidence of the witnesses who were there. So I don’t see the actions of the police affecting the strength of the case any at all.”
The United Democratic Party faction, led by Albert Area Representative Tracy Taegar-Panton, has a fresh new secretariat on Euphrates Avenue. On Wednesday, the Alliance for Democracy, a movement within the divided UDP, welcomed party supporters to their new digs. Interestingly, the building is owned by businessman and former Senate President, Lee Mark Chang. We had a chat with Taegar-Panton earlier today, and she shared her vision and the necessity for a new headquarters under her leadership.
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“The UDP felt, the secretariat felt that we need to have a proper space for us to do our work. As you are aware, our campaign has been initiated, we are in active campaign mode and there has to be a space where we can do our business properly. The building that we now occupy is owned by the vice chairman of the party, Mr. Lee Mark Chang, and he made that resource available to us. We accepted it, of course, resources are limited, but we need to have a command center, if you will. As you know, there are eighteen standard bearers and twenty constituencies that align themselves with the work that we are doing and so we need to be able to, for those standard bearers and members of the executive committees to be able to come in and speak to us, or if there’s a list that needs to be printed. Whatever it is that is required for our readiness and for preparedness whenever the elections are called.”
Is Lee Mark Chang gearing up to challenge Shyne Barrow in Mesopotamia? That’s the burning question on everyone’s mind, but the Alliance for Democracy is keeping mum for now. Mesopotamia has been a UDP fortress since the late Seventies, a small but significant constituency. In 2020, the reins were handed over from veteran politician Michael Finnegan to his nephew, Shyne Barrow. We caught up with Tracy Taegar-Panton to find out if Lee Mark is ready to dive back into the political fray.
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“I think we have remained steadfast in our desire to defend our democracy internally, within the party, and externally and we will continue to do that. Whether we have leverage or we don’t have leverage will be determined by the people who will come out and vote on election day.”
Marion Ali
“Okay, and then the report that Mr. Chang is also running in Mesopotamia under your leadership, can you confirm?”
Tracy Taegar-Panton
“I can’t confirm at this time. There is a process outlined in the party’s constitution on how we address when standard bearers need to be removed or replaced. That’s usually initiated by the executive committee of that constituency. It’s not initiated by a party leader. What I will tell you is that we are following, as best as we can, the constitution of the party and we have always been very respectful of the processes outlined in the constitution and we will continue to do so.”
Who will United Democratic Party supporters back when they head to the polls on election day? Will it be the U.D.P. under Shyne Barrow’s leadership, or will Tracy Taegar-Panton take the helm? And perhaps the biggest question of all: can mediation resolve the leadership tussle before election day arrives? We posed these pressing questions to Taegar-Panton earlier today. Here’s what she had to say.
Marion Ali
“If I’m a UDP supporter but I’m a little confused as to who is the actual leader of the party and I see that on the ballot paper, when the election is called, there are two names under UDP, one under Mr. Barrow, and one under you. How do I decipher, as a UDP voter, who I vote for? Is one legitimate and the other not?”
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“I think that’s premature. I think that question is premature. We have agreed to a mediated process that will be facilitated by the court, and we do so with a very open mind as to how we are going to approach that mediation. We don’t know that we’re going to have more than thirty-one candidates running for the United Democratic Party. Certainly, as it relates to our movement, we maintain that the standard bearers of the party are the standard bearers of the party. They were either elected in a contested convention or they were approved or ratified in an endorsement convention, and you can’t just willy-nilly dismiss that. Like I said, the constitution outlines a process that needs to happen. And so, for us, there are thirty-one UDP candidates that will be running for the next elections.”
On Monday, Doctor Christopher Malcolm made an appearance on Open Your Eyes and later held a Zoom press conference with reporters. Representing Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow, the attorney claimed that Albert Area Rep Tracy Taegar-Panton, leader of the Alliance for Democracy, is in contempt of a High Court order regarding the disputed leadership of the United Democratic Party. Today, Taegar-Panton fired back, refuting Doctor Malcolm’s claims and clarifying that the interim injunction only pertained to access to the U.D.P. headquarters on Youth for the Future Drive.
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“The statement was made by the attorney, repeatedly. It is the attorney for Barrow’s view, I believe that it is Mr. Barrow’s view that I am in contempt of court. We don’t share that view. The interim injunction that was provided by Judge Hondura dealt with one issue and one issue only and that had to with the access and the use of the party’s headquarters, access to the headquarters and the use of the party’s organs which is the use of Wave and the Guardian by the movement. And the judge says that for now, until the substantive matters can be heard and this matter can be addressed legally, it reverts to the status quo. The judge said nothing about the leadership of the party. He spoke strictly to the use of the building and the use of the party organs, meaning Wave and the Guardian Newspaper.”
Farmers in San Carlos Village, Orange Walk, are feeling the frustration as they struggle to sell their produce at a fair price. Several farmers have planted thousands of dollars’ worth of carrots, ready for harvest and sale. However, they claim that competition from other carrots on the market and a lack of interested buyers have left their crops rotting in the ground. Today, News Five’s Britney Gordon visited some of these farmers to hear their pleas for government intervention.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
What you’re seeing is a carrot field on two hundred acres of farmland. It belongs to Ruben Perez, a farmer from San Carlos. In about two weeks, his carrots will start to rot. They’ve been ready for sale since December, but Perez says there haven’t been any buyers.
Ruben Perez
Ruben Perez, Carrot Farmer
“The problem we have right with carrots is that we cannot sell. We have problem with selling carrots. We don’t have buyers and we are ready from first week of December. That’s one month now. And the problem is that we call the buyers who import the Mexican carrots and now when we call them, some of them say, we can’t sell too much, we just could sell lee bit. And they are big importers of Mexican product and now when we have the local product, now they don’t want a lot and I don’t understand why.”
Farmers are saying their carrots aren’t selling because of competition from both imported and contraband carrots. However, Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai clarified that Belize doesn’t import carrots when there’s enough local supply to meet demand. He insists that this issue is just a political ploy, a tactic used by several political figures in the past.
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“Carrots is a bad topic to use for political mileage. That’s primary school politics. Tracy tried it, she failed. Shyne tried it, and he also failed. This is a matter of supply and demand. The Ministry if Agriculture has never and will never issue importation of carrot permits when we are harvesting carrots, when our farmers are. That is a fundamental rule in the Ministry of Agriculture. That will not happen. As to contraband. The Ministry of Agriculture does not control contraband. We try to work with customs, immigration, military customs, quarantine, Baha. But we have porous borders, but up to now, we haven’t seen enough evidence of illegal importation of carrots because the quality is known.”
He also pointed out that part of the problem is the short shelf life of carrots, which makes it even harder to sell them quickly.
Jose Abelardo Mai,
“What we have is a problem we have every year with carrots. We have ninety acres planted in the country right now. Fifty acres is planted in the Cayo District, and twenty-five in Orange Walk. Another five or six acres in Corozal, another six acres in Stann Creek. Alright? The problem is that the carrots seem to come into maturity all at one time. Why? Because it’s seasonal. So everybody brought it at the same time. Secondly, carrots have zero shelf life.”
Cornelius Schmidt shared that it takes about one hundred and twenty days for carrots to be ready for harvest. If they stay in the ground any longer, they risk rotting.
Cornelius Schmidt
Cornelius Schmidt, Farmer
“What we have here once its beginning to brown like we have no then its ready to harvest.”
Perez is puzzled about why importers are hesitant to buy local carrots. He suspects that the wax coating on imported carrots makes them more attractive to buyers. With about fifteen thousand dollars invested in this year’s carrot crop, Perez fears this challenge could spell trouble for the future of his farming career.
Ruben Perez
“They need the pressure of the Minister of Agriculture because I could see how if they buy forty thousand pounds when they are importing they buy that weekly. That amount. And now that we have they can’t buy the same amount and that’s why I call the news that they could help us and we are here to tell the Minster of Agriculture, the Prime Minister too to make them help us. Because this is our job that we do and we depend in totality in this work.”
This is an issue that the Ministry of Agriculture acknowledges and has been attempted to rectify.
Jose Abelardo Mai
“We encourage them to buy from the local producer. So we said to them, if you want to continue importing, if you want to continue benefiting from your farmers, you need to buy our local products. Okay? So right now, yesterday I sat down with the government, issues, governments, and we’re reviewing analysis. And if they can’t prove to us that they are supporting our farmers, we will have to put the brakes on them. And I said that to them in no way, we will allow them to continue importing if they do not buy from our local farmers. I’m sorry.”
Just a short distance from Perez’s farm, another farmer is anxiously waiting to harvest about eight million dollars’ worth of potatoes. He’s worried that he might face the same challenges when it comes time to sell. Minister Mai has tried to reassure farmers, stating that there are no active licenses for potato imports. However, despite the Ministry’s assurances, local farmers say they haven’t received any government assistance and are uncertain about their next steps. UDP Standard Bearer for Orange Walk South claims that several farmers are hesitant to speak out, fearing persecution.
German Tillett
German Tillett, U.D.P. Standard Bearer, Orange Walk South
“I was speaking and I was telling them, convincing then to come up. To step up and give their interview about what is really happening with their crops and everything but they always say that they are afraid, so that whenever help comes, the little help that comes, they will not be able to get that. Because they come out and say what is happening. But what I usually tell them is that should not be afard because the help comes to everyone, to every farmer and if you get victimized by this government that means that something is really wrong..”
Minister Mai is optimistic that the demand for carrots will pick up within the next two weeks. Looking ahead, he revealed that the ministry has big plans to industrialize the sector over the next five years by setting up an agro-processing facility in Orange Walk. This move aims to add value to Belize’s local crops and boost the agricultural industry. Britney Gordon for News Five.
Sugar cane farmers across Belize are still anxiously waiting for the sugar roads to be repaired. Earlier this week, we reported that sugar cane deliveries have been crawling due to the terrible condition of the roads, which has severely impacted sugar production in the north. On Wednesday, Prime Minister John Briceno acknowledged the farmers’ struggles and assured the public that the roads will be fixed eventually. He explained that funds have already been allocated for the repairs, but the heavy rains Belize has been experiencing have delayed the process. Today, we asked the Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai, if there’s any timeline for these much-needed repairs. Here’s what he had to say.
On the Phone: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“ I can’t give you a time frame of when the weather will fix right? Iit’s raining a lot. The Prime Minister this morning said, I think on a talk show, he said that he has okayed another million dollars for repair of sugar roads, but you cannot repair sugar roads when it’s raining. Right? We have done, we have given out contracts for contractors. If they continue work while it’s raining and roads are destroyed again, they will complain again. And if we do that, it is not wise for us to take taxpayer’s money, throw it on sugar roads, erase the following day and tax the taxpayer money gone. So we have to be timely. We have to choose the time when to do right for us to fix sugar roads.”
