A woman from San Pedro might be looking at jail time if she’s found guilty of theft. Police investigations revealed that thefts happened over several years. The charge against Bethsa Ramirez came after businesswoman Lisa Guerrero reported her in January. Guerrero had hired Ramirez as her personal assistant and bookkeeper but soon discovered alarming issues with her finances. She reported it to the police, and an investigation confirmed several irregularities. Today, A.C.P. Hilberto Romero shared the details with the media.
“On Tuesday, the 21st day of January 2025, Lisa Guerrero, business owner of El Diamante Limited in San Pedro, made a report to police. She stated that she hired an accountant, one Bethsa Ramirez from 2019 to do work for their business. Thereafter, information was received that some funds were missing. An investigation was carried out. Several checks were obtained, and as a result, Bethsa Ramirez has since been arrested and charged with a crime of theft for the amount of 516, 000 Belize currency. When it was identified then the report was made to us, so that is when the arrest was made. So, it took some time before they found out, but this person had been hired from 2019.”
Today, thirty-four-year-old Bethsa Ramirez appeared in court in San Pedro to face theft charges but was denied bail. Her attorney, Audrey Matura, argued that Ramirez isn’t a flight risk since she’s a naturalized Belizean. Matura will now have to seek bail through the High Court. Meanwhile, Ramirez is spending her first night behind bars. No plea was taken from her, and she was remanded to prison until April twenty-third. Matura has stated that she will apply for bail and that Ramirez will have the opportunity to clear her name.
Audrey Matura, Attorney-at-Law
“Miss Lisa Guerrero, the owner of Le Diamante is claiming that from 2019 to 2023, her employee, which was just an accounts clerk but whom she clearly wants to give the responsibility of an accountant, she’s claiming that this employee took money from her and she’s claiming that there are checks made out to the employee that amounted to some sums more than checks, but there’s this overall discrepancy. A key thing with this: according to my client, definitely this happens in many workplaces, too many times your employer says, let me put a check in your name so you can cash it for me because I need cash for X, Y, and Z. A lot of that happens. But we need for the evidence to come out and we will know what actually transpired. It’s one thing to say you have these charges against a person. It’s not a thing to prove it. Based on the information we got from police, there is not an audited financial statement. And clearly, my client will be able to clear up her name. But in the meantime, of course, it will be all over the place. It might affect her job, we don’t know, but it might affect her reputation, but the thing is, she’s innocent until proven guilty. And if Le Diamante is a properly operating business, you would have been doing your financial audits annually. You would have caught up on something if there’s such a thing that’s happening. But sometimes it’s not about whether you get to prove the case or not. It’s that you go after someone, and you damage their reputation before you have a chance to even defend yourself.”
What started as a regular Valentine’s Day turned into a nightmare for employees at the Oil and Energy Gas Station on Lindo’s Alley in Belize City. Around one PM on Friday, three masked men targeted the station. One of them approached the pump attendant and placed an order. Just as the attendant was about to serve him, a second man came up from behind and threatened him with a gun, demanding money. The thieves made off with cash and the pump attendant’s gold chain. Meanwhile, the third accomplice kept watch. Today, police announced they are on the hunt for the three culprits.
“On Friday, the 14th day of February 2025, police responded to a robbery report at Oil and Energy Gas Station at Lindo’s Alley in Belize City. Upon arrival, one of the attendants reported that three male persons arrived at the gas station, one of which ordered some gas. The attendant went to serve the gas, at which point one of them pulled out the FIM and stole from him a amount of cash and a gold chain. Three male persons thereafter fled from the area. We’re looking for three suspects in regards to this robbery.”
This morning, Prime Minister John Briceño was questioned by Channel Seven news about a letter he received from the Belize Port Authority in December. The letter asked for his approval on a contract that the board claimed was unanimously approved. However, the Prime Minister clarified that no contract had been signed yet and reprimanded the media house for even bringing up the question.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Why are you beating a dead horse? Actually, this is ridiculous. Honestly, when I saw that letter and I spoke with the financial secretary, we decided that we needed more information before it could be approved. That’s why it was never approved and there was no contract was signed. End of story. Next question.”
On Friday, Marconi Leal Junior, the standard bearer for Belize Rural North, hosted a land distribution clinic. However, Leal Junior mentioned that the clinic was only for registered voters in Burrell Boom Village. When asked why the clinic wasn’t open to all Belizeans, Prime Minister John Briceño seemed to lose his temper. Here’s what he had to say.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Again there goes Channel Seven twisting things man. Sometimes you need to be a journalist, man, and that don’t be anyway. Let me answer your question. Basically, when you have these clinics, the area representatives have to pay for the, to move all these people. The ministry does not have the funding. So the area representative, or in this case Marconi Leal Sr., and his son of extension, now the candidate, they pay thousands of dollars to have employees who come to work, because they work late at night, and they have to host them in hotels. So what is it that you want to do? You want to make sure that you can take care of the people that you want to serve. In this instance, it was the people of Belize Rural North. When you look back, you all have the 2020 vision. Maybe you should have used the word, registered voters, and probably just would have said the people living in the boom area. Because what has been happening is that the people here, People from all over the country go in there and then they’re not looking after the needs of the people that they’re going there for. So it has nothing to do with who’s registered or nothing. It’s simply because they pay for this and so they want to make sure that they can give service to the people that they’re servicing. very much. Okay, That’s it.”
Today, the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) launched its ninth consolidated line of credit. This initiative is part of an ongoing partnership between the DFC and the Caribbean Development Bank. It’s the third line of credit the DFC has introduced in the past two years, aimed at helping Belizeans secure loans for education, renewable energy projects, and small to medium-sized businesses. Here’s more on that.
Henry Anderson
Henry Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, D.F.C.
“This is significant is a significant milestone for CDB and for DFC. As was said in the presentations, this is the third line of credit that DFC is getting in the past two years. How do we decide what we need? We have a pipeline, right? We have people and businesses coming to us, seeing, the kind of opportunities they need. And so we sit with CDB and then we construct a consolidated line. The reason we call it consolidated is because of the different parts that it has, right? In this case Porsche eighteen of the forty million goes to private sector. In form of MSMEs, which means firms up to thirty million believes in sales. Nine million goes to mortgage lending homes, financing homes. Nine million goes for student loans for tertiary education. And four million for renewable energy and energy efficiency. We have those. Basically, we intend to implement this loan in about two years in terms of disbursement. Or maybe a little bit over that. But the economy is performing, and when the economy is performing, the demand is there.”
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“At one time, you think it’s only the commercial banks you can go to, but because they have the funding, no small businesses can come to the DFC to get. Women, you have different special programs designed for women. They can come to the DFC. Students, DFC is probably the only institution that have special loans for students. I remember helping a young man earlier this last month actually. In January, who was studying in Barbados. And what the bank does is that they have a loan, of course they have to have a sponsor, they pay only interest while they’re studying. And then when they come back, they pay the interest and the capital. These programs create real opportunities for people.”
Today, two students from Saint Ignatius High School in Belize set off on an exciting journey to North Carolina. Seventeen-year-old Flevian Strand and eighteen-year-old Silsa Perez were awarded this trip by the STEM U Foundation of the USA for being the top fourth-form students in welding and non-destructive testing. We caught up with them at the Philip Goldson International Airport this afternoon to hear their thoughts on this amazing opportunity.
Jeaneane Neal
Jeaneane Neal, Principal, St. Ignatius High School
“STEMU Foundation is an NPO organization in the United States that offers support to STEM studies, anything that has to do with the STEM. St. Ignatius High School developed and keep developing, changing its curriculum. Fortunately, the Ministry of Education gives us that opportunity. It’s that leverage for us to be able to develop curriculums as it pertains to the abilities of our students. At St. Ignatius High School, yes, where we have students who are academically inclined, those who can build themselves in terms of spirituality. However, we decided to work on the STEM studies. We have students who want to venture into engineering architecture. And of course, we have the welding and nondestructive testing, which the students are able to tell you about.”
Silsa Perez
Silsa Perez, Student, St. Ignatius High School
“ Taking this advantage means so much to me because I have the opportunity to find more experience outside and not only here. My studies here are only general in home economics, which is cooking the primary, agriculture, which is my primary one, and welding and non-dt.”
Flevian Strand
Flevian Strand, Student, St. Ignatius High School
“ At first, when I heard it, it caught my attention. So I decided to try it. It’s really helped me a lot throughout the years. I’ve learned a lot actually and I hope in the future I learn more because I’m really interested in the program.”
Seventeen-year-old Nyasha Harris is not only pursuing a degree in Business Entrepreneurship but also making waves on the running track. When she’s not hitting the books, she’s out there conquering the world with her speed. Her dream is to represent Belize at the 2028 Olympics in the United States, and she’s well on her way. News Five’s Paul Lopez caught up with Harris after school at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex to learn more about this young athlete blazing a trail in track and field.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Seventeen-year-old Nyasha Harris is making waves in track and field on the regional stage. Her best events are the one hundred and two-hundred-meter races. Last year, Harris made history as the first Belizean female to win gold in the hundred-meter race at the Under Eighteen CODICADER Games in El Salvador. She then went to Playa de Carmen, Mexico, and brought home two more gold medals. In February, she dominated the ATLIB Track and Field Championships, winning gold in the hundred and two-hundred-meter races, the relay race, and the high jump. Just two weeks ago, Harris added two more gold medals to her collection in those races at a World Athletics event in Mexico.
Nyasha Harris
Nyasha Harris, Track and Field Athlete
“It started from my parents, I got it in the genes. My mom uses to do track. She went to Guatemala and won silver. My aunts did track and field as well. I was born; I went to preschool where I started running for Sports Days. Then we moved on to primary school where I was running for sports day, and I got into the track meet for the CSSSA.”
The Central Secondary Schools Sporting Association (CSSSA) gave Harris an early taste of high-level competition while she was still in primary school. When she moved on to high school, she continued to compete in the CSSSA and kept her gold medal streak alive.
Nyasha Harris
“I want to be just like my mom and even better than her. I want to continue her dream because she did want to finish track and field because she I am doing that for her too.”
Paul Lopez
“Is there a race that solidified this journey for you to say this is the route I want to take?”
Nayasha Harris
“It would be the one in October where I ran and came in first for the one hundred.”
Despite the worn-out tracks at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex, Harris continues her training there. Over the past two years, her hundred-meter dash times have improved dramatically. Her coach, Fred Evans, a seasoned track and field expert, may have lost his hearing, but that hasn’t stopped him from giving Harris the guidance she needs to keep excelling.
Fred Evans
Fred Evans, Coach
“I was hoping she would be good enough to get into the Olympics last year, but she has an accident, I will call it an accident because it was PE at school and she tore the muscles in her calf. So that just set her back. We want to get her in a system where the environment, the culture is track and field and books and then she can really excel. I think she can be good enough to have the national record for the one hundred meters and represent us at the 2028 Olympics.”
Nyasha Harris
“My vision will definitely be 2028 Olympics. I am really trying to make it there in the next four years.”
Balancing her studies as a Business Entrepreneurship major with her track and field training, this teenage athlete has a full schedule. Despite the challenges, she deeply appreciates the support from Belizeans cheering her on in her races.
Nyasha Harris
“I really want to say thank you guys, all the messages and comment is have been receiving makes me really grateful and more confident in my races ahead of me. I realty want to make Belize proud and put you on the map, so I am trying my hardest. I want to say to you guys thanks for all the support as well.”
Good evening and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I’m Paul Lopez. You might be wondering if the Belize District Football Association plans to finish its first division tournament. The tragic murder of Brandon Baptist during the semifinals at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex a few weeks ago is still fresh in everyone’s minds. The final showdown between Survivors F.C. and Tut Bay F.C. is now set for March 1st. We spoke with Ian Gaynair, an Executive Member of the football association, about the upcoming match and the security measures in place.
Ian Gaynair
Ian Gaynair, Executive Member, BDFA
“I like that both sides have a lot of big fan base. I think the energy is high and everybody is looking to the finals. They are asking me when is the finals, when is the finals. And now, we had to set the final game for, we want to play it last Saturday, but because players from Survivors said they are not fully recovered, so we had to give everyone a fair chance. We cant play it this Saturday due to some players from Tutbay about five of their platers are still high school students and they are going to the nations. Being very considerate, we will push it until next week so that nobody has any issue and everybody is ready. The team that win the champion will go and represent in interdistrict. We went to police station to have a discussion with some of the higher-ranking police for the safety of everyone that will attend he game. It will play four-thirty on Saturday March first. We will safeguard everyone from the parking lot the bears and the field, officials everybody will be safe. We will bring out a lot more police.”
So, that tournament is set to conclude on March first. As Gaynair mentioned, the Secondary School Football Nationals are set for this coming weekend. Pallotti and Gwen Lizarraga High Schools will proudly represent Belize Central in the tournament. This decision was made over the weekend at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex. Pallotti High School took on Saint Catherine’s Academy for the spot. The rain that came down the night before left the football field wet and muddy.
The first goal of the match came from SCA’s Maliyah Garcia. She sent the ball flaying towards the goal and got the bounce over the goal keeper’s head. A foul on SCA’s number nine sends her plunging into mud and water and a read card for Pallotti’s Arriyannie Hernandez. Early in the second half, Pallotti’s Jasha Bernardez gained control from midfield, sprinted towards goal and gently tapped the ball over the goal keeper’s head to put her team on the score board. Five minutes later, SCA’s Maliya Garcia once again from out of nowhere sends the ball into the goal and regains the lead for SCA. Bernardez scored again in the sixty-second minute of the game with a corner shot that bounced off the keeper and went into the goal, tying the game at two apiece.Bernardez later scored a penalty shot awarded to her team from a foul inside the penalty box. She scored and completed a hat trick. Her team took the lead with three goals. The match finished with that score, sending Pallotti High School to the national tournament. We heard from Bernardez.
Jasha Bernardez
Jasha Bernardez, Captain, Pallotti High School.
“I saw my team struggling a little bit. So, during the second half I told my coach that I think we should make a change which is putting me at the top and put two other persons where I was defending before, so that we could score and when we are finished scoring defend. So, I guess that is how the game ended in our favor.”
The boys’ game was a whole different story. Gwen Lizarraga’s team absolutely crushed Wesley’s boys, ending the match with a staggering ten-zero score. From the very start, it was clear which team was superior, and Gwen Lizarraga dominated the field. Wesley opened the game with possession of the ball. It is cleared with Gwen Liz Calvin Thurton hot on its heels. A clean tackle leads to a turnover and a goal for Thurton six seconds after the starting whistle was blown. Thurton went on to score an addition three goals for four at the end of the game. The remaining goals came from five other Gwen Lizarraga players.
Now, let’s paddle away from football and dive into some thrilling canoe racing action. The La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge is upon us. The last race ahead of that grand slam event was held on Sunday. Paddlers raced from Burrell Boom to Belize City. We’re now at the final stretch of the La Ruta Maya competition, with a total of eighteen canoes racing to the finish line. And, the paddlers are off. Early in the race there was at least one spill in the river. Just outside of Ladyville, heading into Belize City, three teams are in the lead, stern to stern, Guava Limb, Memory Lane Global Missions and Team Lucas Oil Mixed. Heading into Belize City at the Haulover Creek Bridge, Global Missions gained a slight edge over Guava Limb as they pressed on to the finish line.
From the Riverside Tavern, where the finish line was set, spectators watched as Global Missions paddled ahead with a commanding lead over Guava Limb. They crossed the finish line in first place, leaving Guava Limb to take second. Team Lucas Oil, featuring one female paddler, secured third place. We caught up with the victorious team for their thoughts.
Amado Cruz
Amado Cruz, Memory Lane Global
“I want to say thanks to my two teammates, Christian and Carlos, they are good paddlers. I mean, training is everything and once you put in the work you get good results.”
Paul Lopez
“Talk about when you all let go of Guava Limb, because going into the channel you are were neck and neck, and what is the competition like with Guava Limb.”
Amado Cruz
“You cannot underestimate anybody right now and Guava Limb is the defending champions of La Ruta Maya. We got a break in the channel, and we did a move, got an advantage over them and kept that pace and ended up holding that first place.”
Finally for tonight, Well folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.
Prime Minister John Briceño has weighed in on a recent land distribution hosted on Friday in the Belize Rural North area.
The event raised questions about whether applicants were required to be registered voters or if Belizean citizenship alone should qualify individuals for land ownership.
PM Briceño explained that land distribution clinics require significant financial resources that the government does not always have available. As a result, Leal Jr. and his father, Marconi Leal Sr.—often cover the costs themselves, including lodging and expenses for ministry employees who facilitate the process.
“Now the candidate, they pay thousands of dollars to have employees who come to work, because they work late at night, and they have to host them in hotels. So what is it that you want to do? You want to make sure that you can take care of the people that you want to serve,” the Prime Minister explained.
Briceño suggested that the wording of the public notice might have been clearer, saying that instead of specifying “registered voters,” it might have been better to refer more broadly to residents of the area. He pointed out that in past land clinics, individuals from outside the constituency had taken advantage of the process, potentially limiting opportunities for those actually living in Belize Rural North.
