A quiet Wednesday night in Punta Gorda was shattered by gunfire, as a man was shot right outside his home. Just before midnight on June eighteenth, forty-eight-year-old Danny Martinez was at his West Street residence when a gunman on a motorcycle rode by and fired a single shot, hitting him in the shoulder. Police say Martinez, who is known to them, was treated and released from the Southern Regional Hospital. Investigators recovered a single nine-millimeter shell from the scene, and tonight, they’re working to figure out what led to the shooting, and who pulled the trigger.
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“Police are investigating a shooting incident which occurred at approximately 11:48 on Wednesday, June eighteenth, on West Street, Punta Gorda Town. The information that police have gathered thus far is that on the aforementioned date and time, Danny Martinez, a forty-eight-year-old self-employed Belizean was at his residence when a male person, who was on a motorcycle, fired a single shot which wounded Martinez to his left shoulder. The scene was processed where one expended nine-millimeter shell was recovered. Martinez, who is known to the police, was treated and released from the Southern Regional Hospital. Police investigation continues.”
Reporter
“Was there any, do you all know if there was any rivalry between the men or had they been socializing or that type of thing?”
ASP Stacy Smith
“He was, Martinez was at his residence and the information that we gathered was that somebody passed the residence and from off the street they would have fired the shot.”
A tragic morning in Maskall Village has left a family grieving and a community in shock. Eighteen-year-old Triston Ortiz lost his life in a devastating road traffic accident on Sunday. Police say Ortiz was a passenger in a Toyota Hilux driven by thirty-four-year-old Gilbert Graham when the vehicle lost control and slammed into a bridge. Sadly, Ortiz didn’t survive the crash. Tonight, we take a closer look at what happened and what police are saying about the incident.
Stacy Smith
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“On Sunday twenty-second June 2025 at around five-thirty p.m. police responded to reports of a fatal road traffic accident that occurred at Old Belize River Bridge located in Maskall Village. In the course of responding, police met a pickup truck where Triston Ortiz, an eighteen-year-old Belizean of Maskall was observed with visible injuries to the body. Ortiz was ferried to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital; however, he later succumbed to the injuries sustained. Initial investigations reveal that at approximately five o’clock a.m. Oritz was in a Toyota Hilux which was being driven by Gilbert Graham, a thirty-four-year-old Belizean when upon approaching the Old Belize River Bridge the truck collided on the railing of that bridge causing the truck to fall about twenty-feet into the riverbank. Police has detained Graham and a urine sample has been taken from him.”
Sixteen-year-old Terrel Cardines was simply riding his bicycle to the store when his life was cut short—fatally struck by a Floralia bus. His death has left residents outraged and grieving, reigniting concerns about speeding drivers and the dangers of navigating areas near the highway. Today, we spoke with the Minister of Transport, Doctor Louis Zabaneh, about what’s being done to make these roads safer—and whether this tragedy could finally be the wake-up call for change.
Britney Gordon
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Last year, Belize saw an alarming spike in deadly road traffic accidents, more than ever before. That alarming trend sparked public outcry, with many calling for tougher traffic laws and better enforcement. And while the government has stepped up highway checkpoints, a recent crash along the George Price Highway is shining a light on another serious concern: road infrastructure. In places like Hattieville, where homes sit just off the highway, residents say simply getting around can feel like a life-or-death risk. Today, we spoke with the Minister of Transport, Dr. Louis Zabaneh, who says the government is now working on strategies to make roads safer, especially for cyclists.
Louis Zabaneh
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Ministry of Transport
“This is the tragedy of underdevelopment and that’s why we have to do things like we’re working on so that we can have more resources to do things better. I want to commend our Minister of Infrastructure Development, who in this project, going on the on the George Price Highway, they’re considering now the shoulders, you need to have shoulders so that you can have bicycles on the shoulders. We know that on the Western Highway, George Price Highway, we have cyclists, our cyclists who train right for all the races that occur throughout the year, Holy Saturday race, et cetera. And we know as drivers how it could be quite dangerous. You have to have a certain level of empathy to the rider so that you’re not blowing them and because they’re in front of you. So a number of things are needed. So you need to have those shoulders, those riding lanes in the villages. So that people can be safe.”
Tyrel Cardines
Britney Gordon
“On Thursday, just before eleven a.m., a young man lost his life on this very highway sixteen-year-old Tyrel Cardines was on his way to the store on his bicycle when he was suddenly struck by a floral bus. It is alleged that Cardines rode into the path of the bus and the driver was unable to avoid him. But what you may not know is that just up ahead, there are three rumble strips meant to slow drivers down before they arrive at the curve. But are drivers actually slowing down?”
When there’s no traffic officer in sight, what’s keeping drivers from speeding? According to Minister of Transport Dr. Louis Zabaneh, the answer is simple—speed bumps. He says these traffic-calming tools are a key part of the government’s road safety strategy, especially in areas where constant enforcement isn’t possible.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh
“It’s a highway and then have the appropriate speed bumps where they need to be once it’s within the village to make sure that you control the speed and then the enforcement, the enforcement that is, as I talked about earlier, that is lacking. And we have to accept that these are things that have to be improved. And I, again, as I said, I’m pleased that CEO Williams is there now working very hard on the side of enforcement, on the side of training. So that we could do these things.”
While Zabaneh acknowledges the need for more development, he is calling on all drivers to take responsibility and hold themselves and others accountable on the road.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh
“And then for the buses for the drivers to be better trained so that they know where speeding limits and we have to put up the signage, right. This is thirty miles an hour. And then as a country, we have to start obeying law. If you see thirty people just fly through. You have stop signs. People just fly through the light red sometimes and people just cut in front of you. These are things now that as a nation for this to work. And that’s why I appealed everywhere I go that for things like this to work, we have to come together and change the bad habits that we’ve developed over the years.”
He is appealing to the public to call out unsafe driving habits among family and friends. Britney Gordon for News Five.
A troubling case of cybercrime has stirred up concern in the Orange Walk community this week. A young woman’s lost cellphone turned into a nightmare when private photos were shared without her consent through her own social media accounts. But thanks to swift action by the Belize Police Department’s Cybercrime Unit, the device was recovered, and a fourteen-year-old male has been arrested and charged.
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“On Tuesday, June 16th, 2025, a twenty-year-old female visited the Orange Walk Police Station and reported that she had lost her cellphone on June 13th, which contained several nude photos of her. The female stated that someone had utilized her Facebook and Instagram accounts that were logged into on the lost cellphone to send several nude photos to her friends on those social media platforms. The police Information Technology and Cybercrime Unit of the Belize Police Department launched an investigation which resulted in the recovery of the lost cellphone and the arrest and charge of a fourteen-year-old male minor of that jurisdiction for the offence of using a computer system to publish images of a private area.”
It’s a stark reminder of how quickly technology can be misused—and how important digital safety really is.
A recent break-in at a primary school in Belmopan has left teachers and parents deeply concerned. Sometime between June thirteenth and fourteenth, thieves targeted United Evergreen Primary School, making off with seven Chromebooks from the principal’s office. Principal Rosalia Witty says she locked up the school around 4:30 p.m., only to be alerted the next evening by the school watchman that her office had been broken into. Police have since launched an investigation and detained one person in connection with the burglary.
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“Police are investigating a burglary incident which occurred between June 13th and fourteenth, in the city of Belmopan. Rosalia Witty, the principal of United Evergreen Primary School, located at the corner of Ambergris Avenue and Trinity Boulevard, reported that at approximately 4:30 p.m. on June thirteenth, she left the school compound after ensuring that it was properly secured. At approximately 6:20 p.m., on June fourteenth, she was informed by the school watchman that her office was broken into. Principal Witty inspected the office where she observed that a box containing seven Chromebooks were no longer present and she had summoned the police to the scene where statements were recorded and the scene was processed. Police detained one individual in connection with this ongoing investigation.”
Two separate burglaries, two men behind bars tonight. Police have charged Kevin Navarrete and Jafari Gonguez in connection with two unrelated break-ins—one in San Pedro, the other in Belize City. Navarrete is accused of sneaking into a San Pedro home and making off with two cell phones worth over seven hundred dollars. Meanwhile, twenty-four-year-old Jafari Gonguez allegedly broke into a woman’s home in the city and tried to steal her television, but she caught on just in time. ASP Stacy Smith has more on both cases and the charges these men now face.
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“Police have arrested and charged two male persons for the crime of burglary, which occurred in two separate stances. In separate parts of the country. On Tuesday sixteenth June, 2025, police formally arrested and charge Kevin Navarrete, twenty-eight-year-old Bel Reason of Boca del San Pedro for the crime of burglary. This arrest is as a consequence of. Police investigation into a report made by a female who stated that on fifteenth June, 2025 at approximately one thirty p.m. she left her apartment and visited another room on the apartment building, and her attention was drawn to some rattling sounds coming from the direction of her apartment. Upon making checks, she saw a male person exiting her apartment, and upon inspecting her room, she observed that two cell phones valuing a total of seven hundred and fifty dollars were missing. As it relates to the other arrest for burglary. On Friday, June twentieth, 2025, police formally arrested and charged Jafari Gonguez, twenty-four-year-old Belize of Pearl Thompson Street, for the crime of burglary. This arrest is of the consequence of police’s investigation into a report made by a female. Who stated that on twenty-fifth, May, 2025, she returned to her residence and observed that four of the louvers from one of the windows on her home were missing, and her television was placed near the window. Which was not where she had left it. The scene was processed by scenes of crime technicians, which yielded useful potential evidence. Nothing was stolen.”
A family in Benque Viejo is desperately searching for answers tonight after a fourteen-year-old girl vanished from her home. Aurora Gonzalez was last seen on Sunday morning, June twenty-second, when her stepmother discovered her missing from her bedroom. Since then, there’s been no sign of the teenager. Police are now looking to speak with Florentino Iglesias of Benque Viejo in connection with her disappearance. Gonzalez is described as fair-skinned, about five-foot-five, and weighing roughly a hundred and five pounds. Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward.
Stacy Smith
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“On Sunday, June 22nd, 2025, Dania Redondo, a Honduran housewife, visited the Benque Viejo Police Station and reported that she had made checks in her stepdaughter’s room, Aurora Gonzalez, at about nine o’clock a.m., where she discovered that Gonzalez was not there. Efforts to locate Gonzalez have proven fruitless and police seeking Florentino Iglesias of Benque Viejo for question in relation to this report. Gonzalez is of fair complexion, stands at approximately five foot, five inches in height, fourteen years old and weighs approximately one hundred and five pounds. Persons are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 922 or the nearest police station if Gonzalez or Iglesias are seen.”
Reporter
“Is he an adult?”
Stacy Smith
“Yes.”
Time is critical and your tip could help bring Aurora home.
A major step forward for Belize’s economic future—this past week, the Ministry of Economic Transformation wrapped up a high-level mission with the World Bank Group. Top officials from both the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation were in the country, exploring ways to boost Belize’s logistics and infrastructure. Their visit included a stop in San Pedro, where they got a firsthand look at local efforts to tackle sargassum using nature-based solutions. And the mission ended on a high note, with the signing of a new agreement aimed at unlocking investment opportunities through public-private partnerships.
Belize is taking a moment to say thank you to the thousands of men and women who keep our government running every single day. It’s Public Service Day, a time to recognize the dedication and hard work of those serving across ministries and departments. But the celebration doesn’t stop here, festivities will continue throughout the week, wrapping up with a big celebration. Minister of Public Service, Henry Charles Usher, shared a heartfelt message of gratitude for the people behind the public sector.
Henry Charles Usher
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service
“This is public service week. It runs the entire week. There is a series of activities countrywide. It started today with Ecumenical Services throughout the country. What they usually do on Tuesday is a public service march and then there are information sessions being set up in the different municipalities. On Thursday there is the award ceremony that we normally do for public officers who reach twenty-five years of service in the public service. But we also have certificates given out for our public officers who reach ten, fifteen twenty, twenty-five, thirty, up to thirty-five. I believe in September we are going to have the induction of those thirty-five year public service employee in the walk of fame that we have in Belmopan so that they can get their little space on that walk. Ti is certainly something I am honored to be a part of, because I recognize the work public servants have been doing, those who have been their for thirty years, thirty-five years giving up their entire working life to public service, we cant take that for granted and must acknowledge them. This is public service week and we want to have the public know what the public service is doing and what these officers are doing.”
Get ready, Belize—some serious volleyball action is coming your way. In less than a month, the country will play host to the Under-23 Women’s Central American Volleyball Championship, and it’s all happening right inside the Belize City Civic Center. So, if you’re a fan of fast serves, fierce spikes, and Team Belize pride, mark your calendars. We caught up with the President of the Belize Volleyball Association to hear how preparations are going and what fans can expect when the tournament kicks off.
Allan Sharp
Allan Sharp, President, Belize Volleyball Association
“As with the past few years we are hosting the U-23 Female Central American Championship. This is right next to the seniors, so we will have a lot of the big guns coming and a lot of the big guns we will have on our own. We have our own big guns. Five teams coming, but Nicaragua and Costa Rica says they cant make ti this time. So, in the case of Costa Rica, not a surprise we felt like they may not want to come again. But nevertheless, the other five countries will be here to battle. The teams arrive July eighteen and they depart on the twenty-fifth. That is a Friday to a Friday. The tournament will being on the twentieth, the Sunday the twentieth and it runs through Thursday. Two matches per day and you will see the information popping out because we are one month away. So that is what will happen.”
