Chester Williams, Belize’s longest-serving Commissioner of Police, is gearing up to become the C.E.O. of the Ministry of Transport. While Williams is excited about this new chapter in his career, a recent letter from Sharole Saldivar, the C.E.O. of Home Affairs, hints at some underlying tension. In the letter, Saldivar told Williams to stop acting as commissioner and only serve as a caretaker during his transition. This means he can’t make any major policy decisions or structural changes in the department. We asked Williams and Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa if this suggests he was being pushed out. Here’s what they had to say.
Kareem Musa
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“His record speaks for itself. I think you can look at his entire tenure in office. It has been an accomplished record. He has done so much, not just in terms of reducing crime, but for the welfare of the police officers in our department. And so it’s a difficult thing because. I know the commissioner still has a lot of life left in him. He’s only fifty-one years old. But the Prime Minister and myself discussed the future because we certainly would never want to lose our commissioner and his capabilities, his capacity. As last year we had the most traffic fatalities probably in the history of the country. Commissioner can back me up on that. And we can see where even while he was commissioner, sharing with us at the cabinet level, a lot of strategies that can be put in place to make our highways a lot safer. During this transition period, while it is that we would hope for a seamless, smooth transition, there are certain actions and certain decisions that can be made that can affect the department moving forward. And so it was just a reminder in terms of the transition, It has cost implications for transfers. It has cost implications for promotions. Let us try to make the transition as smooth as possible because not necessarily the new commissioner of police would agree to these transfers, and so we have to make sure that we preserve the status quo as best as possible. And so that’s how I see the letter just saying, let us preserve the status quo as we transition.”
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“ I’m not a person that likes adversities like other adversities in terms of executing my duties and getting into conflict with persons who are not complying with the law or even with the media. I could deal with that. But when it comes to having conflict within the workplace I don’t like that at all. As much as I enjoyed and loved being a police officer, and believe you me this has been my career. I worked thirty-three years to be where I am, and I was extremely unpleased with the letter. And like you rightly said, the CEO has no legal authority to have wrote the letter that she did. I had already explained to our minister Kareem what I intend to do before leaving. We discussed and we agreed on certain things. And so I was surprised by the letter nonetheless to be able to avoid any. Fighting in-house fighting I decided that you know what, it’s best I pack up and leave and move over to my new era of responsibility.”
In an interview today, Williams confirmed that this might be his last week as Commissioner of Police. He shared his plans to revamp the Transport Department and enforce stricter road safety laws in Belize. Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa also weighed in, noting that Williams’ departure might temporarily affect the department’s media relations.
Reporter
“So Friday will be your last day in the Commissioner’s office?”
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“ I’m hoping that it is going to be my last day. I’m excited about moving over to the Ministry of Transport, Constitutional Reform, indigenous People Affairs, and Religion of Affairs. It is going to be a new challenge for me and I’m the type of person from the time I know myself growing up, I have always embraced challenges and I always ensure that whatever task is given to me, that I do it to the best of my ability that I develop a passion and love for it. And I do believe that once that is done, then you are going to be successful at whatever task. And so I am grateful to the Prime Minister for the opportunity being given to me to move over to that ministry and I assure him that I will do my utmost best, making sure that we improve road safety in particular in this country.”
Kareem Musa
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“I work very closely with the commissioner, with the deputies of our department, with the assistant commissioners of our department. I have a good relationship with all of them. In my opinion, it’s going to be a smooth transition. Yes. You might say to yourself that you will not have the level of relationship that the media has with the Commissioner of Police because I think that the future commissioner is a lot more reserved, so to speak. And so perhaps we would need to fill the void because this is by far the most transparent commissioner. But we need to continue to fill that void to make sure the media gets the information that it needs each and every day. And so filling that void perhaps with a public relations officer, I don’t think anybody could have done a better job than the commissioner in terms of representing what is taking place within our department and the crime statistics. And so moving forward you could see greater. Involvement of other personnel an academic, as you said, Dr. Rosado and greater strategy. Not that this commissioner didn’t have great strategy. We have everything. Yes, we have all the results to prove it, so it’ll be a continuation of the good strategy that our commissioner has put in place.“
Thirty-one-year-old Kenroy Kelvin Smith has been arrested and charged with the murder of 20-year-old Santiago Garcia. Smith is accused of fatally stabbing Garcia on Sunday night in Pomona Village, Toledo. On Monday, Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero explained, ‘Santiago Garcia and Jason Sharp went to Smith’s residence to buy cannabis. An altercation broke out, leading to a fight. Smith then pulled out a knife and inflicted injuries on both men.’ Garcia’s sister, Melissa Lemus, revealed that Smith had been threatening her brother for about a year. ‘We know it was a threat from years ago… he was telling other people that he would do something to my brother,’ she said. Both Sharp and Garcia were taken to the hospital with stab wounds. While Sharp received treatment, Garcia was sadly pronounced dead.
Mellissa Lemus
Mellissa Lemus, Sister of Deceased
“We believe that what happened, we just want justice because he was a kind person. If you would maybe ask friends out there, coworkers, ageable people, they will tell you he was respectful. He was honest and he was very, very kind to people. I don’t understand why they would have done that to him. It just hurts us because my grandfather has already passed March twelfth, and we received bad news end of month, nearly end of month. It was March thirtieth which was my birthday. It was a very big shock, like I told you.”
Twenty-year-old Coby Ledlon was shot and killed on Iguana Street Extension on Monday morning. His family was shocked by his murder, as they never knew him to be a troublemaker. His stepmother, Kenisha Holland, told News Five that she last saw him on Saturday. The family had already planned a candlelight vigil for him before he died, and they decided to go ahead with the event on Tuesday night to honor his memory.
Kenisha Holland
Kenisha Holland, Stepmother of Deceased
“The last time I talked to Coby was Saturday when deh mi di have a barbecue sale fi ih cousin, Shajida. I give ah twenty-five dollars and he tell me “Stepmother, I wa see you later,” and I mi work late that night, so I mi tired and I never actually get fi see ah. Coby da wa very nice person, anybody weh know Coby know Coby willing fi do anything – willing fi help out anybody, willing fi run a mile and come back and give you that. Anybody know Coby know Coby da wa respectable person.”
Marion Ali
“You guys still went ahead and had the vigil for him, even though he had passed by then.”
Kenisha Holland
“Yes, we did because. Coby da wa respectable person. Everybody know Coby da,wa kind person. So we just honor her and do that in memory ah he.”
It’s been almost a month since Joseph Garcia was shot while driving on the Philip Goldson Highway and later crashed into the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital while trying to get medical help. Garcia was one of three men in the car during the attack; passengers Ronlee Petillo and Shamar Faber were also shot. Recently, there have been reports that Petillo, who was paralyzed from his injuries, was being investigated by police for allegedly planning to retaliate against the shooters. We asked Commissioner of Police Chester Williams about these reports and why no arrests have been made in the case. Here’s what he had to say.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“You would know that you could be in Timbuktu and commit a crime in Belize, right? I am not aware of the incident where the police had gone to his home, but I’m certain that if the police went there, it’s because they had some credible information that they need to go and check. It does not mean that because he’s paralyzed means that he’s unable to commit a crime. The police, once they receive information, they’re going to act, and I would just hope that if, for when that time come, that they’re going to cooperate with the investigators. If there’s nothing to indicate that they were involved, then the police will is going to leave them alone. But you would know that once police get information, especially in relation to gang activity, we cannot take it lightly. Because if you ignore it, then it blows up in your face. People will say oh you had received this information and you did nothing about it. We must always be proactive in terms of what we do in order to safeguard the lives of people. The issue with that is the fact that they’re not cooperating. I am sure that they know who were in that vehicle, but they’re not saying to the police. And, we believe that the reason they’re not saying so is because they have intent to intention of retaliating. Maybe not Joseph Garcia family because they’re not known to be gang members per se. but certainly knowing how the street operates, once they refuse to give statements because they intend to take their own action.”
Reporter
“I spoke to Ronlee Petillo and he told me that he told you. Who was in that vehicle that he knows was in that vehicle, but that you are protecting certain players from a certain gun for reasons unknown to him.”
Chester Williams
“I don’t think you would, you would buy that, saying to me, who was in the vehicle, and indeed, yes, he did pull me and I said to him, you cannot tell me you have to gimme a statement. And he said to me, sir, well boss, you know how the street work. I can’t give you a statement. I can’t force it. I wish he would give a statement. So that we can deal with the person or persons who are not vehicle, but if he refuse to, then I cannot force it.”
This morning, the Belize Police Department shared the crime stats for the first quarter of 2025. Using data from the CompStat report, they compared this year’s criminal activity to the same period last year. The good news? Major crime is down by seven percent, and homicides have dropped by four percent. Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa and Commissioner of Police Chester Williams gave more details on these encouraging findings.
Kareem Musa
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“My message this morning while it is that we can see a decrease in major crimes for the first quarter as compared to the first quarter of 2024, is that we cannot get disillusioned by the good numbers. We cannot get complacent by the good numbers, but rather we have to step up our efforts because last year, I can recall, the first quarter being a very difficult and challenging year for the police as was this year. And in similar fashion as we did last year, we will have to increase our efforts and certainly try to make better in the second quarter.”
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“This morning looking at the first quarter of 2025, I must say it looks good. It’s not what I would want it to be. Certainly. You would know that I am very big in terms of preserving life. Those type of crimes that affects life like murders and attempted murders and so forth, are the ones that I would normally do my best to guard against. And again, for the simple fact that they do affect the livelihoods of others. Nonetheless, the murders are down compared to last year. We are four below last year’s figure and overall major crime is done by seven percent compared to the same period last year. So I am happy that I am handing over to the incoming commissioner with a crime rate below last year’s figure. And that, for me is good. So moving forward I just hope that the police department is going to be able to continue to function the way we have functioned over the past six plus years. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and the public depends heavily on the effectiveness of the police. And so making sure that the police remain effective is important.”
While the good news is that major crimes and homicides are on the decline, there’s been a worrying spike in gang activity recently. Last year, several states of emergency were declared to curb gang-related crimes. We asked Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa if he plans to issue another SOE soon. Here’s what he had to say.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“That was on the table, and I can say here, know that it still is on the table. We were monitoring it closer to the election where it was extremely heightened. And I think we came fairly close, commissioner to declaring a state of emergency. But it was never done. It was quelled for a bit, but again, now we see other areas are sparking. I know at the time of the election we were specifically looking at six different gangs in Belize City that were going to be a part of the SOE. We’re still monitoring those six gangs. And then there are a couple others now as well. And so that is still on the table. I’m not saying that we’re going to declare one this week or next. But it certainly is on the table. We are in discussions not just with the commissioner and the police department, but also with the Leadership Intervention Unit to get their feedback because it is that we would want to have a targeted SOE as opposed to a blanket net cast over everybody.”
The two officers from the Anti-Narcotics and Special Patrol Units who were detained over the recent drug plane landing near Graham Creek, Toledo, have been released. Reports say their names were on a list of people who allegedly received fifty thousand dollars for helping with the landing. However, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams stated that no other evidence has been found to link them to the crime. We asked Williams for an update on the investigation today.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“We put together an investigative team of senior investigators to investigate that matter to see if there was anything credible to the information. And so far we have not been able to unearth anything to indicate that those officers were involved in a plane landing. Of course, the investigation remains active. They have also agreed for the devices to be searched. That is going to be done by the DEA agents. And again, the fact that they agreed to that shows how transparent they want to be with the investigation. In terms of cooperating, I’m not going to put the cart ahead of the horse at this time. I believe that we can be judged in terms of what we did when we, once we received information, they were brought in, they were interviewed and they remaining custody for fourty-eight hours was like, we’d have done any person. So there was no special treatment given to them. But at the end of the day, we have to be fair to people. If there’s nothing to indicate anything further of their involvement, then they had to be released, some custody while the investigation continues.”
Reporter
”Should these officers be placed on administrative leave also can the ANU be trusted to handle this investigation. Because one of their members not charged, one of their members was implicated by something that you have seen evidence of?”
Chester Williams
“The ANU is not in charge of the investigation. The investigation has been done by senior investigator, some major crime headed by Superintendent Gonzalez. And the DEA agent or attache is also a part of overseen investigation. So they’re they’re getting information as well. And, at the end of the day, if it is that the investigation not showing anything to the effect that they are involved, then we will have to move on. It’s as simple as that.”
Reporter
“Can you speak about the detention of the Graham Creek?”
Chester Williams
“We had received a number of information and based on that, again the police, the investigative team again, had moved into that area and they had detained two individuals from there. What we were getting was that they were involved in some respect or some aspect of the plane landing. They were brought in, they were interviewed. I think there was information on one cell phone showing the tree that was cut to the entrance of where the plane had landed, which would show that he knew of it. Again, our interviews, in respect of that matter, is ongoing. The investigators are still out trying to collect as much as they can to see if we will be able to gather little bit more so that we’ll be able to charge these people if they need, if the evidence should surface.”
A police corporal was shot and injured outside Fire Nightclub, while three other officers were held at gunpoint and two police vehicles, worth over twenty thousand dollars, were damaged. Following the incident, police charged Stanley Flowers, a thirty-six-year-old from Crooked Tree, with eight criminal counts. This morning at 9:30, Flowers appeared in Court #3 before a Senior Magistrate. He was initially charged with keeping a firearm without a license. The proceedings were briefly paused so Flowers could consult with his attorney, Ian Gray. After being informed of his rights, Flowers pleaded not guilty to the charge of possessing an unlicensed firearm. He was denied bail under Section Sixteen of the Crimes Control and Criminal Justice Act and was remanded to Belize Central Prison until June second, 2025. Shortly after this arraignment, Flowers was hit with additional charges. By 10:30, he was back in Court #3 facing seven more charges. These included attempted murder, use of deadly means of harm, and dangerous harm against Corporal Manuel Chub. He also faced three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm against police constables Valentine Young, Sebastian Sho, and Joel Chi. Additionally, Flowers was charged with damaging two police vehicles: a white 2023 Isuzu D-Max pickup valued at twenty thousand dollars and a white JAC-T6 pickup truck, both belonging to the Government of Belize. The incident took place outside Fire Nightclub on the Philip Goldson Highway. Flowers, armed with a firearm and a knife, allegedly opened fire on Corporal Manuel Chub. According to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, officers were responding to reports of an armed individual when they approached Flowers. He reportedly took out a firearm and fired multiple shots at the vehicle. Chub was hit four times but was later treated and released from the hospital. Flowers fled on a motorcycle, leading police on a high-speed chase during which he fired at officers and damaged their vehicle. He was eventually apprehended when officers knocked him off his bike.
Belize has always been known for having a trade deficit because we import far more than we export. This means our spending on imports consistently outpaced our earnings from exports. February was no different, with total imports valued at two hundred and eighteen point four million dollars and domestic exports at twenty-three point three million. Interestingly, these figures show a decrease in imports and an increase in exports compared to February 2024. In this edition of Five Point Breakdown, News Five’s Marion Ali takes a closer look at the factors behind these shifts, highlighting which import categories saw a decline and which industries performed better.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Our country’s imports and exports can be compared to how well we manage a business. Balancing how much profits we make and how much we spend can be a challenge if our personal expenses outweigh our gains. Similarly, a country’s imports and exports tell a story on how it is performing on the global scale. While we are a far cry from being self-sufficient, in February, Belize managed its imports and exports a little better than February of 2024. We imported four percent fewer goods, a difference of nine point one million dollars, bringing the total down from two hundred and twenty-seven point five million. However, Diana Castillo, the Director General of the Statistical Institute of Belize, pointed out that this doesn’t necessarily mean imports were lower this February. Instead, last year’s figures were unusually high due to significant purchases of large industrial equipment and electric buses.
(Factors that Could Have Contributed to Low Imports)
Diana Castillo
Diana Castillo, Director General, S.I.B.
“What we saw last year in the earlier months of last year was the importation of some major equipment, some of the industrial equipment. So, these are for major industries. And other types of vehicles, including electric buses which is something that was newly introduced to the city last year.”
This chart provided by the S.I.B compares the gross imports and exports for the month of February over the past five years. For imports, the figures have steadily been increasing. Hugh O’Brien, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture pointed out that regardless of how imports perform in a month, our growing population will drive the figures up.
(Why Imports Will Continue to Grow)
Hugh O’Brien
Hugh O’Brien, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture
“In terms of trying to reduce our – or let me not even say the word reduce because as our population grows, we will find that our importation will continue to grow because, as a country, we buy more things from abroad and we don’t produce these things here.”
O’Brien went on to explain that Belize uses a lot of the items that we do not produce locally, such as vehicle parts and cell phones.
Hugh O’Brien
“We are not producing vehicle parts. We are not producing cars; we’re not producing electronic equipment. We’re not producing lots of the stuff that we consume in the country. When I say consume, not consume from a food perspective, but that we use – your watches, your cell phones, your clothing, your chain, your footwear.”
Belize’s exports for February reached twenty-three point three million dollars, marking a twelve point three percent increase compared to February 2024. Diana Castillo highlighted the factors that contributed to this spike.
Diana Castillo
“We saw earnings doubling from three million or so to over six million dollars in the first two months of this year. This is an increase in exports of things like lobsters, conch, lobster tails. We also saw a notable increase in exports of sugar.”
Reyhan Rosado, a policy analyst with the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, spends his days analyzing trade data from the S.I.B. He noted that sometimes the higher revenues we see aren’t just from exporting more goods, but also from fetching better prices on the global market.
(Factors that Could Have Driven Revenues Up)
Reyhan Rosado
Reyhan Rosado, Policy Analyst, B.C.C.I.
“Citrus exports from 2023 to 2024 were at point four, four million gallon in 2023, when I think the total export value of that was sixteen million. But in 2024, the total export value was point four, five million gallons and total export value was thirty million for the entire year. So that just goes to show how much commodity prices can affect the value of imports, even though production hasn’t really gone up or gone down.”
Rosado explained that similarly, Belize’s import bill is largely impacted by external markets.
Reyhan Rosado
“When the global food prices are skyrocketing, a great example, like during the Ukraine war, when prices just saw a huge increase – our food bill – the food prices that we were paying also went up significantly just across the board.”
Belize’s economy is rooted in agriculture, with most of our exports being farm produce. Despite this, we still bring in a lot of processed meats from abroad. But there’s good news. Thanks to recent investments in two major poultry processing plants, Belizeans can now buy locally produced poultry. Plus, we’ve achieved self-sufficiency in soybean concentrate, which is a key ingredient in animal feed. It’s a great step forward for our local agriculture.
(Belize Self-Sufficient in Processed Meats & Soybean Production)
Hugh O’Brien
“The two main poultry processing plants in Belize have both made significant investments, both of them in 2024 and they have moved towards producing now poultry – chicken bologna, chicken ham, turkey ham, and so you’ll have different types of chicken sausages that they have on the market. And for the last three years, Belize has been self-sufficient in the soybean that we no longer import soybean concentrate from abroad and that is now being processed locally into animal feed.”
While these investments are not expected to make a significant dent in our overall imports bill, they are expected to show reductions in these categories. For Belize to transition from a country with a trade deficit to a country with a trade surplus, we need a complete shift of our mindset. O’Brien believes it has to do with how we are educated.
(Shifting from Trade Deficit Country Requires a Mindset Shift)
Hugh O’Brien
“We are not cultured, educated, or trained even to be scientists. We are trained to be employees. We are trained to be tour guides and so forth now, and yes, we are trained to do some farming, but we do not have any institution in Belize – we do not have any polytechnic institution, not even helping in terms of how best to make concrete better, in terms of building homes. So, with that kind of background, there has to be a major mindset shift that begins with creating an institution within Belize, a model institution that starts to produce.”
Diana Castillo said that the S.I.B. will begin to do more in-depth analysis this year, particularly on what drives consumer confidence, which is an indicator of how people feel about their spending power. Notably, on a scale of one to a hundred, in February, consumer confidence was below fifty. Marion Ali for News Five.
