July, 2025 - Greater Belize Media

Rodents Destroy Crops in Toledo

A San Miguel Village resident in the Toledo District took to Facebook to say that rodents have been destroying his crop.

Ray Cal said that “RODENTS…small brown rats are just everywhere!”

He described the situation as a “strange and sad scenario” and added that “if they do not dig the fresh corn seeds, they uproot the young corn shoots to consume the seeds.”

He said that the infestation has destroyed both planted seeds and young corn shoots. Even pumpkin plants are being chewed at the stems.

“The weather pattern has definitely changed. Farmers are very cautious utilising fire to burn their fields, so most of us planted in the chopped vegetation debris. This particular season, though, is unlike what we have ever seen,” Cal added.

Meanwhile, in the north, cane farmers are battling a fast-spreading fungus that has infected vast acres of sugarcane, pushing the industry into what stakeholders are now calling a full-blown agricultural crisis.

UDP Rift Continues as Faber “Disrupts” NPC Meeting

The United Democratic Party’s (UDP) internal rift continues after another attempt to have a National Party Council. The meeting was held today at the UDP Secretariat on the Youth for the Future Drive in Belize City.

The meeting was aimed at reinstating members previously expelled or out of good standing and addressing other party issues.

According to party chairman Mike Peyrefitte, the meeting was disrupted when Faber entered the room uninvited. “Our meeting to vote back in members in the party who were not in good standing or who were expelled; we set our convention date. We are ready, set to go. But Patrick Faber somehow got into the meeting and tried to create a disruption.”

Peyrefitte said this caused the group to switch to a virtual meeting where members would lock in their votes for motions to be passed via WhatsApp.

The main resolution calls for reinstating all affected members except Faber, whose behaviour today Peyrefitte labelled as “disrespectful.” He said, “We are putting forth to the NPC to not have him return to the United Democratic Party, and I was the first one to vote to not bring him back to the UDP.”

Faber defended his presence, saying, “I am the former leader of the UDP and current senator for the party and the caretaker for the Collet constituency; therefore, no invitation is needed.”

He added, “Judgement said ‘the expulsion of Honourable Tracy Panton and, by extension, the other three persons’, myself included, was illegal, void; it never happened.”

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition Tracy Panton had also rejected the meeting’s legitimacy and cited exclusion from key decisions. “They are preparing the party for Tracy Panton, they say, but yet Tracy Panton cannot give her input on what is right for the party in terms of the list, and all we are asking is for them to do what they ought to do by the constitution of the party,” Faber said.

Despite recent talks of reconciliation, the party remains divided.

Belizean Hit by Vehicle in Melchor

A man identified as Adrián Cruz, believed to be from Belize, was involved in an accident in Melchor de Mencos. He was urgently taken to the local hospital by a nearby resident who assisted at the scene.

Authorities are asking the community to share this information to help identify him and contact his family. Cruz is currently under medical care following the incident.

We are told that his family has been notified.

UBFSU President: Faculty Ready to Take Action

President of the University of Belize Faculty and Staff Union (UBFSU), Juliane Pasos, says that after years of waiting, UB’s faculty and staff are prepared to do whatever it takes to secure the long-promised salary adjustment.

Pasos explained that the current nine percent salary increase has been overdue for a decade. “In 2015, when we got our five percent, we were actually negotiating for 14 percent. We only received five, and the additional nine percent never came,” she said. “This has been long in the making, and our faculty and staff are demoralised. They want what is owed to them, and they will fight for it.”

Pasos did not rule out the possibility of industrial action, stating that staff are prepared for “whatever it takes,” which could even mean a shutdown of classes if necessary.

The UBFSU president also extended an invitation to students and the wider public to join the union during an upcoming Cabinet meeting. “It doesn’t only impact faculty and staff; it impacts students and the country as a whole. What affects our national university affects the entire country of Belize,” she said.

Pasos noted that the union continues to receive strong support from other unions, including the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB). “There is so much solidarity. The NTUCB and other unions have done so much, pushing for the OSH bill, being part of the tripartite body, but there is still more to do. We must keep working for good governance, democracy, respect for unions, and systematic change,” she said.

She said that the union has requested meetings with the Minister of Education and the Minister of Finance to resolve the matter. Those meetings are expected to take place after Cabinet meets next week.

UBFSU members joined the NTUCB in its rally today in Belize City.

Mother and Son Under Investigation After Guns and Ammo Bust at Northern Border

A Belizean public officer and her son, a U.S. Army veteran, are under investigation after customs officers discovered high-powered weapons and ammunition at the Santa Elena border in Corozal District.

The two were present during a routine inspection of loose cargo arriving from the United States. Customs officers, expecting personal items, instead found ammunition concealed in one of the boxes.

All items were handed over to police. An investigation is now underway into the failed smuggling attempt.

The bust comes as regional authorities intensify efforts to crack down on illegal firearms. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), with support from the European Union and France, recently launched a joint firearms training programme in Trinidad and Tobago to combat arms trafficking and organised crime.

CARICOM IMPACS Executive Director Lt. Col. Michael Jones said illicit guns fuel violence and destabilise the region. He stated that over 22,000 illegal firearms and 300,000 rounds of ammunition were seized in CARICOM countries between 2009 and 2018. U.S. tracing data also revealed that 73 percent of recovered firearms in the Caribbean from 2018 to 2022 originated in the United States.

Tracy Panton Rejects NPC Meeting as Unconstitutional, Again

Leader of the Opposition Tracy Panton has distanced herself from today’s planned UDP National Party Council meeting and claimed it is unconstitutional and lacks transparency.

This is despite last week’s Wednesday meeting, which recently reinstated Party Chairman Mike Peyrefitte described as a “sober conversation” between both factions, those aligned with Shyne and those backing Tracy Panton.

Panton raised objections over the delegate list in a letter addressed to Peyrefitte on Friday. She said it sidelines her as an elected Member of Parliament while including unelected figures like Jose Espat.

Though this is not the first time Panton has rejected a scheduled NPC, this time she argues the current setup violates the UDP’s constitution and principles of natural justice and warns that the meeting does not reflect genuine efforts to unify or reform the party.

Panton is calling for caretaker conventions in all 26 divisions without elected UDP representatives. She insists that party leadership must be chosen through fair and accountable processes.

The agenda for today’s NPC meeting included a motion to immediately reinstate Tracy Taegar-Panton and all expelled members, including those banned for running on her “Tracy Ticket” a move that would fully restore their status within the party.

Stay tuned to News 5; our team will be on the ground, bringing you live updates throughout the day.

Free to Move: Belize Joins CARICOM Integration Push

Earlier this week, Belize joined three other CARICOM nations in committing to full free movement of people under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. What does that mean? Well, starting October first, 2025, citizens from participating countries will be able to live and work freely across borders, no special permits needed. The announcement came at the close of the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica. So, what does this historic step mean for Belizeans? We asked Prime Minister John Briceño for his take.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“As to the free movement of skilled people in CARICOM, we signed on to it but what he said let us have a three year period as we work out the kinks to make people move in and out more freely. If you were to talk to the private sector they would tell you we need more people, we need more workers, not only at the lower level, but middle management and upper management. So, we are hoping that by doing that, maybe instead of bringing people from England or anywhere in the world, our CARICOM brothers and sisters can come to Belize to help with the development of this country. We asked for a three-year period to work that out. We signed on to it.”

Reporter

“We have people here already.”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“This is where now it is being signed through treaty, through CARICOM and so we are saying that we will work it through over the course of the next three years. Look at the attorneys, the local attorneys were saying oh the attorneys from the Caribbean will flood Belize. That did not happen. In every aspect there has never been flood in Belize, but the truth we need more workers, we need skilled laborers in Belize, more skilled laborers. That is no offense to Belizean laborers, cause we have very good laborers. So I don’t want you to go twist my words, because we have very good skilled laborers in Belize. But, we need more. The economy has been growing fast and we cant keep up. The only way we can continue the growth and meet these needs is by having the proper laborers, the one that works form the bottom to the top to maintain a minimum of five percent GDP growth.”

Will CARICOM Free Movement Strain Belize/U.S. Relations?

Even as Belize takes a significant move toward regional unity with the new CARICOM free movement agreement, there’s a growing concern that’s hard to ignore. Could this open-door policy make Belize a hotspot for illegal migration into the U.S.? Immigration officials have already turned away several Jamaican nationals over suspicions about their real intentions. So, with borders set to open wider, is Belize at risk of becoming a regional transit point? Prime Minister John Briceño says the country must stay vigilant and protect its national interest.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Unfortunately the United States Government holds us responsible when anybody comes here and they try to get across the U.S., which is unfair and unfortunate. We have seen a number of Jamaicans, who have every right to come and visit Belize, every single right and they can stay in Belize if they wish, as a CARICOM national. Unfortunately, many of them come to Belize and disappear and there are many instances you find out that they are across the U.S. or arrested. So we have to protect our interest and do everything possible to discourage that type of illegal migration into the United States. So that is the only reason we do that.”

FOIA Requests Filed, PM Briceño Responds Briefly

It’s been three days since News Five knocked on Belmopan’s door with two Freedom of Information requests. One was sent to Public Service Minister Henry Charles Usher, asking for full transparency on government rental deals with private landlords. The other? Directed to Home Affairs Minister Kareem Musa, requesting details on an advisory contract with former Deputy Commissioner of Police Aaron Guzman. Prime Minister John Briceño was also looped in on both requests. So, what’s the response from the top? We caught up with the PM on Thursday—and here’s what he had to say.

Britney Gordon

“Have you received News 5 Freedom of Information Act Request. WE sent two regarding rent and contracts being issued?”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“It is with the Attorney General.”

UBFSU Still Waiting for Subvention and Salary Increases

Frustration is bubbling over at UB, where faculty and staff say they’ve waited long enough, ten years, to be exact, for a long-promised salary adjustment. Now, they’re calling for a nine percent raise, and they’re pointing fingers at the government for not following through on its pledge to boost the university’s subvention. Prime Minister John Briceño says he’s watching the situation closely, but will that translate into action? We put that question directly to him.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I have to wait. On Tuesday the minister of education will give us a report and then we will see what is their recommendation.”