After nearly three hours of legal summing-up, the jury in the William “Danny” Mason and Ryan Rhaburn trial delivered a dramatic verdict this afternoon. Mason was found guilty of kidnapping Mennonite couple Lloyd and Rosie Friessen, while Rhaburn was acquitted on all charges. The nine-member jury—five men and four women—deliberated for less than two hours before returning with their decision. Mason was convicted by a majority of eight to one, while all jurors agreed he was not guilty of blackmail. Rhaburn, meanwhile, was unanimously cleared of both kidnapping charges. Justice Nigel Pilgrim, who presided over the trial, reminded jurors that while he interprets the law, they are the judges of the facts. Mason’s sentencing has been set for June twentieth, 2025. Rhaburn, who had been remanded pending the verdict, walked out of court a free man. His attorney, Senior Counsel Simeon Sampson, praised the jury’s decision, calling the evidence against his client “so poor” that acquittal was the only outcome. Mason’s attorney, Peter Taylor, hinted at a possible appeal, calling the verdict “confusing.”
A bold move by Belize’s top cop is stirring up controversy. Commissioner of Police Doctor Richard Rosado is pushing for the current State of Emergency in Belize City to be extended for six months—a proposal that’s raising eyebrows and concerns. Critics argue that detaining individuals for such a long period without charge could violate basic human rights. But Rosado isn’t backing down. He says the priority is clear: restoring peace to the streets. The proposal has sparked a heated debate between public safety and civil liberties, with many now watching closely to see how the government responds.
Richard Rosado
Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police
“While I am lobbying for it to be for six months, it would allow us, and the main reason for that was based on the threat assessment. And the assessment went from high to critical, and there was a need for us to do something drastically. Hence the reason I was trying to see if we can put a six months in the first instance. But in any case, our strategies have always been threefold. The prevention, the intervention and enforcement strategies. So we are doing all applicant to ensure that we return normalcy to the streets in Belize City.”
Reporter
“Sir, why was Roaring Creek chosen, because no shootings or murders happened in Roaring Creek.”
Dr. Richard Rosado
“Like I mentioned, whenever we do the – or recommended the S.O.E, it’s based on a threat assessment, and the threat assessment in those areas that are affected was at a critical level, hence the reason they were included.”
Reporter
“So, do you believe it won’t go as long as six months, maybe three months would suffice?”
Dr. Richard Rosado
“Like I said, our strategies on the ground is based on the context on the ground. We have a wide continuum of producing strategies available to us. Where on the continuum we place the police department depends on what’s on the ground.”
Marion Ali
“Have you faced any backlash from human rights attorneys for what they would claim to be violating people’s constitutional rights?”
Dr. Richard Rosado
”For the most part, the public has been supportive of the state of emergency and they have applauded the police for the effort that we are doing on the grounds.”
Following the dramatic hijacking of a Tropic Air flight on April seventeenth, the government moved quickly to tighten airport security—but now, questions are being raised about how one key contract was awarded. A company was hired in the aftermath of the incident, but eyebrows went up today when it was revealed that there’s no public record of a tendering process. That sparked concerns about transparency and fairness in the awarding of government contracts. When pressed on the issue, Prime Minister John Briceño acknowledged that he knows the owner of the company but offered little else. “That’s as much as I can say,” he told reporters. The lack of clarity has fueled speculation and criticism, with some calling for a full explanation of how the contract was granted and whether proper procedures were followed.
Reporter
“Sir, who is I Security and what’s Ian Cal’s relationship to you and to other politicians in the north? He got the contract to provide airport security, no tender given.
Prime Minister John Briceno
“ Well, I think that’s something you need to go and talk to the people at the B.A.A.”
Reporter
“You appoint them, Sir.”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“But I can tell you, I do know Ian Cal and that’s as far as I can tell you.”
The Belize Civic Center buzzed with energy today as over three hundred marketing pros, content creators, and business leaders came together for the Belize Tourism Board’s 9th annual Digital Marketing Summit. The event, now a staple in the local marketing calendar, focused on the latest trends in digital strategy, social media, and content creation. With a fast-changing online world, the summit aimed to give attendees the tools and insights they need to keep their brands ahead of the curve. From cross-industry networking to expert-led sessions, the day was packed with innovation and inspiration. We stopped by to catch the action and hear how Belize’s digital storytellers are shaping the future of marketing.
Perry Bodden
Perry Bodden, Digital Marketing Specialist, B.T.B.
“So we have actually, three signature events for the Belize Tourism Board since yesterday. We had the BOOM forum is pretty much a wrap up of what we did this this last fiscal year and what we’re doing this fiscal year when it comes to other projects, other initiatives, We had our Airlift Conference as well. That is information that has to do with airline traffic to Belize. How we are getting butts in the seats to Belize and heads in beds at the end of the day. We have our Digital Marketing summit. So another signature event for the BTB. And this provides information for online marketing. And so we’re covering four different facets of online marketing, social media, digital marketing, content marketing and strategic marketing as well.”
Blair Cassuto
Blair Cassuto, Brand Manager, Bacardi
“Today’s event has been amazing. I did a presentation on content, social marketing and really figuring out how to emotionally connect with your consumers to drive conversion. And so I did like a few case studies on Nike and, the Faroh Islands did this amazing campaign on tourism and just talking about how, no matter what brand you represent, it’s really all about creating an authentic connection with your consumers. And so we did that and we just finished up a workshop where I had them re-write some Instagram, captions for a new Nike shoe that launched. Because I told them, you can sell a shoe, you can sell anything.”
Cashew lovers, get ready! The countdown is on for one of Belize’s most flavorful and festive traditions—the annual Cashew Festival and Agricultural Show. This Saturday, Crooked Tree Village will come alive as Belizeans from near and far gather for a day packed with food, fun, and family traditions. From cashew wine to roasted nuts and jams, the event celebrates the many creative ways this versatile fruit is enjoyed—and the hardworking farmers who make it all possible. Earlier this week, News Five caught up with residents as they put the finishing touches on preparations. Spirits are high, and the village is buzzing with excitement. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
It may not be December, but in Crooked Tree Village, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas—cashew-style. That’s the festive feeling in the air as residents gear up for the highly anticipated Cashew Festival and Agricultural Show. With farmers roasting, bakers prepping, and cashew lovers buzzing with excitement, the village is ready to roll out its signature celebration. From sweet treats to savory snacks, the festival promises a flavorful weekend full of tradition, talent, and togetherness.
George Tillett
George Tillett, Chairman, Crooked Tree Village
“It is that time year, for some people they call it, Crooked Tree Christmas in a month of. April and May, because you know, that is when a lot of cash is being generated through these famous cash products. And so, you know, it’s a tradition that goes on from year to year only getting better and better.”
Cashews aren’t just a snack, they’re a way of life in Crooked Tree, and Belizeans can’t get enough of them. Beloved for their rich wine and perfectly roasted nuts, cashews are the star of the show this weekend. But as local resident Verna Samuels explains, the fruit’s versatility goes far beyond the basics.
Verna Samuels
Verna Samuels, Crooked Tree Resident
“Lots of stuff going on in there because we are trying to make something. As many things as possible out of cashew, because it’s gonna be a cashew festival, and that’s what we mean. It is a cashew festival.”
Marion Ali
“So you’re sticking to the traditional jams, juices, jellies, deserts, pastries, bread and bone, even butter?”
Verna Samuels
“Yes, yes. We are doing that and we are, we are adding a little, a few more items such as, such as we wanna pickle the cashew for the first time. And we have, preserved some, um, in the past and we wanna do some more of that.”
While jams and wines are popular favorites, she has ventured into less traditional uses for the nuts as well.
Verna Samuels
“Cashew milk, we’ve only tried it once and we are going to do it again.”
Marion Ali
“What does it taste like?”
Verna Samuels
“It tastes pretty much like almond milk or something like that. It’s pretty tasty and people go for it.”
In the world of food innovation, Joan Arana is making waves with an unexpected star ingredient: the often-overlooked cashew fruit. While most people toss it aside, Arana saw potential—and now she’s turning what was once waste into mouthwatering meat substitutes.
Joan Arana
Joan Arana, Crooked Tree Resident
“So this is the cashew fruit with my garlic, onions, sweet pepper, cilantro, oregano, thyme. Because I am doing cashew panades, I use the seasonings that I normally would use for fish like when I’m doing a fish panades and CrookedTree People no eat it of it no have fish, We got fish in abundance, right?”
Marion Ali
“So that the fish with cashew.”
Joan Arana
“This is one hundred percent cashew.”
What started as a simple observation has turned into a culinary breakthrough for Joan Arana. After noticing how many cashew fruits were being thrown away each year, Arana decided to get creative—and the results are turning heads and tricking taste buds. She began experimenting with the often-wasted fruit, and before long, she was whipping up dishes that look, taste, and even feel like real meat.
Joan Arana
“Here you have the cashew meat already prepared that I use for like the patties that I will use for like the burgers. These are in one pong bags already in your freezer. So they have different tastes, different spices.”
Marion Ali
“So that taste like what?”
Joan Arana
“This is regular, like how you would stew. Your grind meat or brown chicken or something like that. This is this And say similar to gr meat.. I made patties from this and took it out when we had a ladies Baptist fond there and they did not realize the difference between the chicken the chicken patty and the cashew patty”
According to Ricky Burns, climate change has become a challenge for many farmers as unexpected floods and droughts ruin the trees’ yields.
Ricky Burns
Ricky Burns, Crooked Tree Resident
“The fruit is very important. Especially for people that make wines, jams, jellies any kind of cash preserve. So we years by years gone by, we used to get the root. The fruits are really amazing. Yeah. Now, because our whole hot and how dry it’s become we don’t have the amount of fruits. Like we used to get.”
Despite the challenges of climate change, which have stifled crops, cashews remain a staple in the village. Burns details how he makes the beloved classic of roasted cashews.
Ricky Burns
“I’m separating the cashew fruit. They’re a few days old, so that’s why they’re not yellow or anything like that, but we still gotta collect them because we want the nuts. The nuts is very valuable as everybody know. So I’m separating this, the nut from the whole fruit. And then and then there’s a process after that you wash them. I personally wash them and dry them because I am, they last forever if you do that to them. So I wash them and I dry them, and then after that we roast them.”
The two-day festival kicks off on May tenth in Crooked Tree. Britney Gordon for News Five.
For years, Carlos Lopez was a familiar sight on the streets of Belize City, known for his steady hands behind the wheel and his commitment to getting passengers where they needed to go. As a pioneer in the local bus industry, he built a reputation for affordable, reliable service — and earned the respect of an entire community. But life took a sharp turn when Carlos suffered not one, but two strokes. The road he once knew so well changed overnight. Now, instead of navigating city traffic, Carlos is navigating a new path — one defined by resilience, faith, and a deep sense of purpose. Though he’s no longer driving buses, he’s still moving forward, inspiring others with his strength and spirit. In tonight’s edition of The Bright Side, Sabreena Daly brings us the story of a man who, even in the face of loss, has found new meaning in the present.
Sabreena Daly, Reporting
If you’ve ever waited too long for a bus or squeezed into one that felt more like a sardine can, you’re not alone. Belize’s public transport system has long tested the patience of commuters, with aging buses, overcrowding, and unpredictable schedules becoming the norm. While some reforms are slowly rolling out, daily riders still face an uphill battle. But one man has been sounding the alarm, and offering solutions, for decades. Carlos Lopez, a veteran of the transport industry, is widely respected for his deep knowledge and unwavering commitment to better service. From behind the wheel to behind the scenes, Lopez has spent years pushing for change, earning him a reputation as both a pioneer and a people’s advocate.
Carlos Lopez
Carlos Lopez, Former Owner, Lopez Shuttle
“I love being in a bus. I love driving a bus, and all I knew at the time were buses, so that’s why I opened the company to provide service for people. My priority were the customers, more specifically, small children and elderly women. I made sure I took care of them and in turn, they took care of me.”
Lopez began in the 1980s as a conductor. His legacy rolls through the streets of Belize City every day — in the form of affordable, comfortable, and accessible city shuttles. Many of them still follow the very routes Carlos Lopez first mapped out years ago. His vision didn’t just move people — it moved an entire system forward.
Carlos Lopez
“ Well, one of the primary things I Initiated when I started the bus runs was a different service at the time. At the time there was just a regular bus and so I introduced what I called “Dalla Ice”. At the time the fuel prices were only $3, so I could actually offer a service, an extra service with air condition buses. I pioneered the West Landivar route. From West Landivar, Central American Boulevard, Yabourough and Downtown, I pioneered that bus run to get people to have a service available to go across the city. Instead of catching one bus at Faber’s road, and then going downtown, changing bus to Western River, I had one route across town.”
For years, Carlos Lopez was the driving force behind city transport, literally. Through his company, Lopez Shuttle, he set out to raise the bar offering Belizeans affordable, comfortable, and reliable rides across the city. But today, you won’t find Carlos behind the wheel. After surviving two strokes in 2023, Lopez now watches the very buses he once drove from a new vantage point, seated in his wheelchair along Princess Margaret Drive. It’s a quieter journey, but one filled with reflection and resilience.
Carlos Lopez
“ I cried many days because I was in bed and I couldn’t come out at all because I couldn’t move. My whole left side died, so I couldn’t move. And many days I cried in my bed, but when I got up, I told the Lord that he got me up and now. I now operate where I come and see buses run every day.”
Sabreena Daly
“While at the side of the road or the street?
Carlos Lopez
“What are you, what are you looking to see? Well, I’m making sure that headlights are working, I’m checking passengers in the bus, making sure that we’re operating positively.”
Grief doesn’t always come with goodbyes at a funeral. Sometimes, it’s the quiet ache of stepping away from a life you loved. Psychologist Nasima Reyes reminds us that grief can also mean losing a sense of purpose. For Carlos Lopez, that may be the hardest part, watching from the sidelines as the transport world he helped shape rolls on without him.
Nasima Reyes
Nasima Reyes, Psychologist
“ Grief is any sense of loss, not necessarily with a loved one or death. It’s a universal response, or a normal response to any sort of loss that is causing significant distress within a person.”
Carlos Lopez
“ I grieved that I couldn’t drive my buses, first of all, and second, this year, in January, I lost my mother, so I had extra grief in my heart. But everything, all the grief that I have. I took it to the Lord in prayer and he soothed my heart.”
After years of battling emotional and physical pain, Carlos Lopez has reached what psychologists call the final stage of grief: acceptance.
He no longer dreams of returning to the driver’s seat or reliving the fast-paced days of Belize’s transport hustle. Instead, Carlos is learning to embrace a quieter, more reflective life—one grounded in faith. That faith, he says, has become both his refuge and his compass, guiding him through the uncertainty of change and helping him find peace in the present.
Carlos Lopez
“The Lord has given me strength. As i said earlier, I couldn’t walk. I could only pray. It was so bad. But I thank God that God gave me the strength.”
Nasima Reyes
“ It all comes back down to coming to a place of acceptance and recognizing where you are, recognizing what did not work and how you can move forward, with the tools and with the resources that you have gained.”
Lopez Shuttle may have a new face at the helm, but its service is still near to the heart of the Lopez patriarch.
Sabreena Daly
“Do you feel fulfilled with the legacy that you’ve led and you’ve left.”
Carlos Lopez
“To be honest with you, my heart is a joy because I’m able to pass on something that I worked on for my family and my wife. My two daughters and my son have been behind me and I feel good that I can leave it.”
On Friday, May 9, 2025, at approximately 12:35 p.m., Belize City police responded to reports of gunfire on Hunters Lane.
Upon arrival, officers discovered the lifeless body of 26-year-old Zinedine Pinelo, a Belizean boat captain from San Pedro Town, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
According to initial investigations, Pinelo and another man had arrived in the area around 12:30 p.m. to meet a friend.
Several men reportedly approached the group. One of them produced a firearm and opened fire, striking Pinelo multiple times. The second man managed to escape the scene uninjured.
William “Danny” Mason was found guilty of kidnapping Mennonite couple Lloyd and Rosie Friessen, while his co-accused, Ryan Rhaburn, was acquitted of all charges. The verdict came this afternoon after nearly three hours of summation by the court and just under two hours of jury deliberation.
The nine-member jury—comprising five men and four women—delivered a majority verdict of eight to one in convicting Mason of kidnapping. However, the same jury unanimously found him not guilty of blackmail. Rhaburn was fully exonerated, with all jurors agreeing he was not guilty on both counts of kidnapping.
Justice Nigel Pilgrim, who presided over the trial, reminded the jury that while he is responsible for interpreting the law, they alone are the judges of the facts. Sentencing for Mason is scheduled for June 20, 2025.
Rhaburn, who had been held on remand throughout the trial, walked free from court following the verdict. His attorney, Senior Counsel Simeon Sampson, welcomed the decision, stating, “The evidence against my client was so poor that acquittal was the only outcome.”
Mason’s attorney, Peter Taylor, expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling, describing it as “confusing” and suggesting that an appeal may be forthcoming.
Commissioner of Police Dr. Richard Rosado praised the Belize National Teachers’ Union (BNTU), the Public Service Union (PSU), and the Association of Public Service Senior Managers (APSSM) for staging a peaceful demonstration in Belmopan on Friday. As thousands of teachers and public officers marched through the capital demanding better wages and benefits, Rosado confirmed that the event unfolded smoothly and without incident.
“From all I know, the unions have always done a peaceful demonstration, so they are within their rights.”
Rosado clarified that demonstrators were not in breach of any legal conditions: “The event has been concluded, so they are not in breach of any of the conditions of the bond, and the security threat is at a minimum at this point.”
“Honestly, we were anticipating a larger crowd,” he said. “Our police efforts are based on the threat assessment, and based on that, we post our officers to ensure they can protest—and do so peacefully.”
Dr Rosado also stressed the importance of diplomacy in managing large public gatherings: “Whenever we have a demonstration, our first approach—and I have emphasized this—is that they must approach whoever is protesting in a diplomatic manner.”
Mexico is taking legal action against Google for labeling the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” on its platform for U.S. users, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed this week. The dispute comes after repeated requests from the Mexican government to reverse the change were allegedly ignored.
“All we want is for the decree issued by the U.S. government to be complied with,” President Sheinbaum said, emphasizing that Washington has no authority to rename the entire gulf, which borders Mexico, the United States, and Cuba.
Sheinbaum said she had sent a formal letter to Google in January asking the tech giant to reconsider the renaming. In February, she warned that legal action could follow if the company did not reverse course.
Google has not commented publicly on the lawsuit. However, the company previously said the change followed “a longstanding practice” of adopting names updated by official government sources. Google clarified that users in Mexico would continue to see “Gulf of Mexico,” while those in the U.S. would see “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”
The controversy escalated after the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Republicans, voted on Thursday to officially adopt the “Gulf of America” designation for federal agencies. Former President Donald Trump had signed an executive order on his first day back in office in January, asserting the change was warranted because the U.S. “do most of the work there, and it’s ours.”
Despite the U.S. move, Sheinbaum’s government insists Trump’s executive order only applies to the U.S. portion of the continental shelf and does not grant authority to rename the entire body of water.
