2025-04-09 - Channel 5 Belize

San Pedro Poised to Gain Big through Sister-City Ties

The San Pedro Town Council is making some big environmental waves by establishing sister-city relations with Clearwater City in Florida. Mayor Wally Nunez just returned from a visit to Clearwater and shared with News Five that they’re looking to partner with their U.S. sister city for help with turtle nesting, conservation practices, and even cultural tourism exchanges.

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“They are big with conservation. They have a marine aquarium that – I look at it more like a rehabilitation center than an aquarium because when you talk about aquarium, everybody thinks that they’re just gonna go and look at the animals and they’re in captivity. But these animals that they have there are in rehabilitation or they have been taken there because they cannot be released in the wild. So, they’re big with dolphin conservation. They have turtles. They have already started with manatees. They have partnered in Gales Point here whereby they have a place that they are assisting with the manatee conservation. We are looking at different ways that they can assist us here in San Pedro, maybe later on open a rehabilitation center here for turtles because we have certain issues with turtles here. Who knows, probably later on a movie which would showcase our beautiful island and of course the culture of Belize. And these are things that we are looking at as partnerships with different or other municipalities, other towns and countries that we can benefit and they can benefit from an exchange like this. I met with the mayor of Clearwater. I had the privilege of meeting him in his office. We had a very good conversation and he is very excited about it. He actually made a post about it on his Facebook page. So it looks very promising and the marine aquarium is fully on board with us. This trip wasn’t only about the marine conservation and the aquarium and the sister city relationship, but also, we took the opportunity to go to the eastern part of Florida to see where they’re doing beach restoration, more on a nature-based solutions. We are looking at the different ways that they have been working on the beach, how they have been creating their dunes, how it protects them from different elements with respect to the storms, beach erosions, how they’re tackling all of that because we need to work on our beach solution as well.”

Study Needed on San Pedro Traffic Situation

Traffic on La Isla Bonita has been a real headache over the past couple of years, mainly because of two big issues: the island has been flooded with imported golf carts, and there’s been a surge in trucks dumping fill for development projects. The San Pedro Town Council has been working hard to tackle these problems by implementing strict measures. Mayor Wally Nunez told News Five that a comprehensive study on their traffic situation is essential. In the meantime, they’ve put limits on heavy-duty trucks and the importation of golf carts to San Pedro.

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“We have not been issuing any more permits for golf cart rentals. If you are aware, the council is not the one who directly gives the permits. There is a traffic control committee who does the permits and then it is passed on to the council. When it comes to these permits, we have asked the Ambergris Caye Traffic Control Committee, and of course, part of the council is part of that committee. We do not want anymore golf cart rentals. We’re not issuing trade license for new go cart rentals so that we can have more control of what is going on on the island. Until we do a proper study of the traffic flow and the amount of vehicles necessary and apart from that, we know that we have an issue with the trucks bringing down material to fill different areas. We do use these trucks as well as part of the council works in the different areas. However, we’re going to limit them on how they come into town. We’re going to be – I don’t want to use the word ban, but it’ll be restricted in the sense that they will no longer be allowed to come into town without a proper permit and escort. The trucks will have to barge their material from the north side to the south side of the island. If there is a need to bring any trucks for material for the council, we will try to do it as least as possible. We’ll try to get them to the barge as well, but if we need to bring them somewhere within the town area where they’re restricted, it would have to be at certain hours, probably at four in the morning or five in the morning where there’s less traffic. They’ll only allow one or two trucks to deliver per day.”

Ambergris Hope Hospital Inaugurates Blood Reserve

On Saturday, April fifth, Ambergris Hope Hospital celebrated a major milestone with the launch of a blood and blood products storage reserve on Ambergris Caye. The event was a big deal, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony, free blood typing for the first twenty guests, vitals checks, voluntary blood donor sign-ups, public education, and even a pharmacy sale. This marks a huge leap forward for the island’s ability to handle medical emergencies and planned surgeries. The hospital brought together the Island Donors Squad and medical students from Washington University of Health Sciences to celebrate this game-changing improvement in lifesaving capabilities. Having a local reserve of blood and blood products means faster access to critical care. In emergencies, every second counts, and being able to start transfusions without waiting for transport to the mainland can be lifesaving. This new reserve will also cut down on the need for expensive late-night emergency flights. Beyond accident-related emergencies, Ambergris Hope frequently uses blood for cesarean deliveries, childbirth, laparotomies, and appendectomies. This new reserve is set to make a big difference in all these areas.

The Sargassum Scourge Returns in San Pedro

As the Caribbean braces for another busy hurricane season, there’s something else we need to get ready for: the invasion of sargassum mats drifting in from the Atlantic Ocean. Early signs suggest that we’ll be seeing a lot of sargassum on our shores this year, with the first batch already making an appearance. News Five caught up with San Pedro Mayor, Wally Nunez, to find out how his council plans to tackle this unwelcome and costly problem.

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“We try to take it out from the ocean as soon as possible, because once it stays on the shoreline, it starts to decay, decompose, and then it’s, it smelts. But if you take it out from the water, it dries out with the sun and it doesn’t sink as much. What we do with the sargassum is we’re taking it to an area by San Pedrito, where we are filling up an area for recreational purpose. So that way we are showing that we are using sargassum for another purpose. Yes, it is landfill, but then we also put material on top of it so that it doesn’t smell and it settles. We have filled an area where you can see kids using it as a little park to play football. So we want to increase on that and expand on that area so that it turns like into an entire recreational area for something different for the entire town. But our main issue is not what we do with the sargassum afterwards. Our issue is taking it out from the water in the quantities that are coming in. It’s very difficult. Luckily, we have some resorts that are doing their part. B.T.B. is also helping us financially to be able to put more manpower out there to assist in the cleanup. However, it is mother nature and it’s difficult to keep up.”

San Pedro’s Way of Minimizing Traffic Licensing Fraud

When Mayor Nunez took office in 2021, he had to tackle a major issue: corruption in the traffic department of the San Pedro Town Council. There were shady dealings with fake license stickers being sold, and the money never made it to the council’s funds. But Nunez says that’s all been sorted out now. They’ve upgraded their software, and the council has had to get pretty inventive with the licenses to keep things running smoothly.

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“We have implemented different measures when it comes to the licenses. Every year we change the design of the stickers. We have different measures that are in effect so that we can know if they are doing something wrong with respect to the licensing or the registration of the vehicles.”

Belize City Man Charged with Shooting Death of Coby Ledlon

Belize City police arrested and charged 20-year-old Duane Wite with the murder of Coby Ledlon. The incident occurred on Monday, March 31, when Ledlon was shot around 10:30 a.m. on Iguana Street Extension. Witnesses reported that Ledlon was standing in front of a gate when he was approached by an assailant who shot him twice, including a shot to the head. He was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries the following day.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero indicated that the shooting may have been linked to an internal feud within the area. Ledlon’s family expressed shock over his death, describing him as not being a troublemaker.

Belize Participates in CENTSEC 2025 Regional Defence Conference

Belize is actively participating in this year’s Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC 2025), with Minister of National Defence and Border Security Oscar Mira currently in Panama representing the country.

The high-level forum runs from April 8 to 10 and brings together defence and security leaders from across Central America and the United States.

CENTSEC has become a key platform for advancing regional cooperation and addressing mutual security concerns. The 2025 conference, co-hosted by the Republic of Panama and the United States, is focused on enhancing joint defence operations and strengthening cybersecurity efforts across the region.

The annual gathering encourages open dialogue among partner nations, allowing for the exchange of best practices and the development of coordinated strategies aimed at promoting peace, stability, and resilience.

PSU’s Dean Flowers Calls for Thorough Audits with New Auditor General

President of the Public Service Union, Dean Flowers, criticised the government’s budget preparation process. On Tuesday, the union issued a statement questioning the fiscal management and potential corruption within the Sports Council. The union demanded an independent audit to verify budget figures and investigate corruption allegations.

Minister of State, Devin Daly, stated on Tuesday that $7.5 million has been allocated between youth and sports, with $7 million going towards staff salaries, leaving just $500,000 for actual programming and facility maintenance.

Flowers told News 5, “I think that the public service union has consistently stated that there is little seriousness given to the preparation of these budgets.” Flowers added that, despite the shift to performance-based budgeting, the approach has not changed significantly. “If you look at all the budgets of the last twenty or ten years, not much has changed in terms of the programme budgeting,” he added.

Flowers also pointed out the inefficiency in the youth and sports budget, calling it “just numbers thrown out there” without proper analysis or justification for the expenditures.

He linked the issue to the failure of the previous auditor general to conduct thorough audits of ministries. He said, “I am hoping that with the appointment of a new auditor general, that for once, all government ministries will be audited to ensure that whatever allocation is being made for them is being spent on what is aimed for.”

Taxi Driver Charged with Rape of a Child

Police have apprehended and charged an 18-year-old taxi driver with the offense of “Rape of a Child.” The arrest follows a report made on Sunday, April 6, around 10:00 p.m., when a woman brought her underage daughter to the Caye Caulker Police Station.

She stated that earlier that day, around 5:00 p.m., her daughter had been with a male individual who gave her a drink and subsequently took her to a beachside location, where he engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with her.

A medical examination performed by a medical officer confirmed that the minor had been sexually assaulted.

Belize Police Department Receives New Patrol Vehicle

A new fully equipped patrol vehicle was handed over to the Belize Police Department today. The keys to the vehicle were presented by the Chief Operations Officer of Innovative Development (INNODEP), Joseph Lee.

INNODEP is a renowned international firm that specialises in expandable security solutions.

Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa, received the keys of one of two vehicles designated for the “rapid response in coordination with the advanced camera system and the 911 emergency response framework being implemented.”

The vehicle is part of the BZ$60 million Belize Integral Security Programme funded by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).

This project includes the installation of a state-of-the-art camera system and emergency response framework in Belize City. It is expected to be completed by July 2025, and it will deploy AI-powered cameras to improve crime prevention and strengthen emergency responses across the city.