After years of record-high fentanyl seizures at the US-Mexico border, US authorities are now seeing a noticeable and unexpected decline.
According to US Customs and Border Protection, average monthly fentanyl seizures have fallen from 1,700 pounds in 2024 to 746 pounds so far this year. The trend has left officials confounded, especially as overdose deaths have also plunged by nearly 27% compared to 2023, The Washington Post reported.
The Trump administration credits its tough border policies, saying the drop is “thanks to President Trump’s policies empowering law enforcement officials to dismantle drug trafficking networks.” However, The Washington Post reported that records show seizures were already decreasing before Trump took office.
Experts are exploring multiple possible explanations, from infighting within the Sinaloa cartel to shortages of chemical precursors from China. “One cannot deny there is a big drop,” said Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution to The Washington Post. “How long it’s going to last is the critical thing.”
Some researchers believe users may be consuming less fentanyl due to adulterants like xylazine. “They don’t want to conk out all the time,” said epidemiologist Nabarun Dasgupta. Others suggest smoking, rather than injecting, could be helping reduce overdoses, indicating that this shift in the opioid crisis in North America remains largely unexplained.
Residents of the Kings Park area in Belize City are being urged to stay indoors after a swarm of bees attacked and killed at least six dogs in the neighbourhood.
The incident occurred early this morning along Sixth Street in the Kings Park Area. Local resident Steve Mahler told News 5 that he woke up just after 8:00 a.m. to find all six of his dogs “dead and swell up.”
He said, “A young man who worked for me came, and he called me immediately and told me that when he entered the yard, he noticed my 6 dogs, and all of them were dead. He said that when he entered the yard, the bees attacked him. At the same time, a man who was working downstairs for me, the bees also attacked him.”
According to Mahler, the bees are coming from an abandoned house owned by the Anglican Church on that same street. The property has not been properly maintained and has become a public hazard.
“The last time I called the city council, they came and clean it out and chop it down and so, but nobody go in the house like that except for some people, like some guys who go there to smoke weed or something,” he said.
Mahler added that he made several attempts to get help from the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) and was told that officials were unavailable due to the annual National Agriculture and Trade Show happening this weekend in Belmopan.
“Then somebody else called back and said they could get a private exterminator to come and deal with it for me, but the person who he was going to send works at BAHA, but then he wanted me to pay around $1000 and more depending on what’s going on. But I said that this property belowngs to the Anglican church. The property is abandoned. There’s nobody there,” Mahler said. “They just tell me to stay in the house and no come out because the bees might rise up again since they rose up this morning.”
He added that other animals in the area were also affected. “My daughter passed by the house and saw other animals that died. A guy had a horse outside, but he managed to get him out.”
Mahler said that the city mayor, Bernard Wagner, confirmed that a private exterminator will be visiting the area to address the issue this afternoon. Meanwhile, residents are being advised to stay inside, especially children and pets, as the bees may become aggressive again.
Thirteen new weather stations are being installed across rural Belize to strengthen climate monitoring and improve support for the country’s agricultural resilience and emergency response capacity.
According to a statement by the Ministry of the Public Service, Governance and Disaster Risk Management, six stations have been installed and four upgraded. “Once completed by June 30, the 13 weather stations will provide detailed, real-time weather data from all 13 communities in the RRB project area, including San Carlos, Yo Chen, Libertad, Yo Creek, Santa Martha, Nago Bank, La Gracia, San Antonio, Red Bank, Barranco, San Jose, etc.,” the ministry said.
The sensors will help provide up-to-date weather information to farmers and improve the National Meteorological Service’s (NMS) ability to track weather and share useful forecasts with the “agriculture and other climate-sensitive sectors in key rural communities.”
The ministry also announced that the next step in the project will be upgrading and launching the NMS’s first mobile app, which would give farmers and the public access to real-time weather updates, climate information, and early warning alerts.
The initiative is being implemented by the Government of Belize through the Ministry of Economic Transformation and the Resilient Rural Belize (RRB) Programme, with funding from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
A family of five lost their home and all belongings after a bushfire destroyed their wooden house during a three-day blaze in Trio Village, Toledo, on Thursday. “This has hit the family members very hard… as they lost their house and everything that they had inside,” a local resident said on social media.
Footage shows neighbours using buckets and water pumps to prevent the fire from spreading further.
Residents are urging that villagers be mindful when burning close to homes. “Let’s try to keep our surroundings as clean as possible, especially during this dry season, as bushfires can spread easily,” the resident added. “For the past 3 days, bushfires have been affecting us.”
Anyone able to assist the affected family can contact Marivela Muku at 660-8038.
A couple from Ladyville was arrested on Friday night after they were caught transporting over eight kilograms of cannabis on a public bus.
The incident occurred during a routine bus trip from Orange Walk to Belize City. While the bus was refuelling at a 24-hour gas station on the Philip Goldson Highway, a police constable onboard noticed a strong smell of cannabis. His attention was drawn to a man and woman seated a few rows behind the driver, with two bags on them.
A search of the bags led to the discovery of eight transparent parcels containing suspected cannabis. The couple was immediately removed from the bus and taken to the nearest police station for processing.
Authorities confirmed that the suspects are residents of Ocean Drive in Ladyville. Police say the couple will be formally charged with Possession of Controlled Drugs with Intent to Supply.
The call for pensions is growing louder. Today, workers from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital took to the streets of Belize City, demanding the government honor their years of service with a proper retirement plan. The K.H.M.H. Workers Union says employees who served between 2000 and 2018, some for over two decades, are set to retire without a single cent in pension. That’s because no pension scheme was ever put in place when the hospital became a statutory body twenty-five years ago. Joined by members of the Belize National Teachers Union and the Public Service Union, the workers marched under one clear message: “Give Us Our Pension.” Here’s Paul Lopez with that story.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Hospital workers in Belize City marched in protest, calling for a long-overdue pension plan. Staff from Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital say it’s time their years of service are recognized with retirement benefits. Lydia Blake, who’s worked there since 1995, supports the cause wholeheartedly, she knows just how vital this fight is for her colleagues.
Lydia Blake
Lydia Blake, Employee, KHMH
“Despite no matter what, no matter, who we get the job done because the public nuh have no where else to go but Karl Heusner. We have been down this road. WE have been through different governments. We have been through different board and managements. Enough, we have proven ourselves through Covid. They brought the COVID unit to KHMH surpass that so that gives us the right to be entitled to our pension. Case closed.”
Paul Lopez
“Why you think this time will be different?”
Lydia Blake
“Because we are taking it to the very end. To the very end, because the staff are getting old, sick and they are dying.”
Frustration is boiling over at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where longtime employees say they’ve worked for decades without proper retirement security. With no pension plan in place, they’re left to rely only on severance pay. Union President Andrew Baird says that’s exactly why workers are demanding change.
Andrew Baird
Andrew Baird, President, KHMHA Workers Union
“For those who were working at the KHMH prior to 2000 when it the statutory body was formulated they were considered to be government workers. So when they retire the government will pay them a pension and KHMH should reimburse the government for he period they work at KHMH. Then you have those who came under the authority when the statutory body was formulated in 2000. At that time either the government or KHMH should have formulated a pension scheme or a provident fund. Neither was done at the time for he formation of the statutory body.”
This changed in 2017, when the hospital’s authority established a mandatory providence fund or a retirement saving plan for new workers. But according to President Baird this does not adequately serve workers employed between 2000 and 2017. And, after years of negotiation with the Government of Belize the issue is unresolved, and those employees are now on the edge.
Andrew Baird
“If there is no pension then all they take home is severance which is pittance of what they value. So we believe they deserve. We are the frontline workers for this nation when it comes to medical service. We are national referral hospital for the country of Belize.”
With chants of “Gimme mi pension,” hospital workers marched through Belize City, joined by members of the Public Service Union and the Belize National Teachers Union. Their route, from the hospital to the Mahogany Street roundabout and back, sent a strong, united message. But tensions rose after the Labour Department warned that any strike disrupting hospital services without notifying the Health Minister could lead to jail time. Union President Andrew Beard dismissed the warning, calling it misguided, while BNTU President Nadia Caliz boldly responded, “Bring it on.”
Andrew Baird
“I don’t see how a demonstration means to stop work. I don’t see how we say we go slow means we stop work completely. So, I beg to differ with the LCC and we are guided by our legal team as well.”
Nadia Caliz
Nadia Caliz, President, Belize National Teacher’s Union
“Too many government agencies are becoming statutory bodies and workers are losing their rights. They need to bring to the attention of statutory bodies that these are the things you are ging to lose so you remain if you want to or we pay off. But you don’t find that.”
The KHMH Workers Union are scheduled to return to the mediation table with the Government of Belize on June fifth. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
As the Belize National Teachers’ Union continues to push for an eight-point-five percent salary adjustment, the government is now facing added pressure from another front. The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority Workers’ Union is demanding that retiring staff receive pensions, a benefit they say is long overdue. The union criticized the government for stalling negotiations and announced plans to take industrial action. While some argue that KHMH workers may not qualify for pensions since the hospital isn’t fully government-run, the workers insist this fight is about more than money. They say it’s about fairness and recognizing their years of service to the nation. Today, we spoke with NTUCB Senator Glenfield Dennison, who expressed support for the workers and their call for justice.
Glenfield Dennison
Glenfield Dennison, N.T.U.C.B. Senator
“That’s a a difficult one. And I’ll tell you, I don’t, I don’t envy the position that the Prime Minister is in, but the people only clammer for what they think is just so, whether you don’t like it or not, whetherwe don’t like it or not, people have assessed. What they think is just, and the KHMHA Workers Union, they know and feel that getting the pension is something that they deserve. They’re comparing themselves to those in the government service. They’re the National Referral Hospital. Those people are working extremely hard doing work of several people in some serious conditions. You heard me say in the Senate that air conditionings are not working. They have cat scan machine, but no, contrast. And so, they’re trying to make, do. I don’t think those are the people that you want to pick a fight with.”
News Five has learned that the Public Service Union and the Association of Public Service Senior Managers have joined the Belize National Teachers Union in rejecting the government’s proposed three percent salary increase. Union leaders are expected to formally notify the government of their members’ decision tonight. Meanwhile, tensions are rising. When we spoke with BNTU President Nadia Caliz this afternoon, she didn’t hold back her frustration, especially over Prime Minister John Briceño’s recent comment accusing teachers of “holding students hostage.” Caliz called the remark offensive and out of line.
Nadia Caliz
Nadia Caliz, President, Belize National Teachers Union
“I must use this medium to respond to my P.M. According to you brother and I say that with respect, according to you my teachers are holding the students hostage. Honorable Briceno governments, both red and blue have been holding us hostage. You have been sending us into poverty. When we look at our classrooms, we finance those classrooms. We take care of those classrooms. A teacher with an associates degree cannot live a comfortable life here in Belize. I say that because we met on the sixteenth of May 2024. And when you are telling me that our teachers are holding the students hostage, you have been holding these students hostage, you are not providing what you should be providing for them. While we applaud the fact that some of them can now get a meal and my teachers no longer have to take out of their pockets to give them that, my teachers have been suffering because they have been doing a part of your responsibility as a government, providing those resources, repairing those schools. So we at the BNTU don’t take that light. I will say antiart thing, you were willing to give up millions with the Caye Chapel project, millions but holding the students hostage, that project is a part of the whole hostage movement we see going on right now.”
BNTU President Nadia Caliz is pushing back against the Briceño administration’s claim that teachers and public servants are already getting a fourteen percent raise over three years, more than the eight-and-a-half percent adjustment they requested. Caliz says that the argument misses the point. She believes the government should follow the example of the late Right Honorable George Price and treat workers with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Nadia Caliz, President, Belize National Teachers Union
“You all keep talking about a fourteen percent and giving the impression that we are dishonest with our membership. What is it that your letter is saying? Three percent, a reinstatement of the frozen increment come first of April 2026. So we have to go in and discuss the five percent, so there is no guarantee of the five percent. So please don’t come and talk about fourteen percent when your black and white is not even committing to fourteen percent. So I spent an entire day just thinking about all that was said. But I think you should listening to honorable Julious some more, because people are suffering out here. Everywhere I go somebody stop me and give their story, what is happening in the work place and I didn’t even realize so many people are suffering in this country. They need to do get it right, PUP government, I want to put that part out there for a reason, because you applaud yourselves for being a PUP. I am a history student, I studied George Cadle Price and the work he did and how the PUP came into existence. But right now you are not living up to his legacy. It is about time you take a page out of his book and treat workers with the respect they deserve.”
Union leaders are expected to officially notify the government’s negotiation team tonight that their members have rejected the proposed three percent raise. BNTU President Nadia Caliz confirmed the update and says the unions are ready to return to the table, ideally as soon as Monday, for a second round of talks. But there’s more stirring behind the scenes. Caliz also made a bold claim: she believes members of the current administration have infiltrated her union’s council and executive branch, raising concerns about internal trust and transparency as negotiations continue.
Nadia Caliz, President, Belize National Teachers Union
“They have already expressed through so many means that they don’t care what we have planned, they are going to do what they need to do, but they do care because they have infiltrated by council and branch executive and I know a lot of things going on right now. But I wont hide, when it is time for me to say what I need to say and do what I need to do for my membership it will happen. So they don’t have to be paying nobody no secret money for nothing to do nothing. When we are going to make that move we are going to tell you and everyone is going to know what is going to happen. What brought me out here today when I saw the press conference, it was sent to me, about you can go to jail with essential services. They know the consequences of actions, but they don’t know that they need to do something so that we don’t get there. Why do we always have to come blows and wars before we get what we want.”
Paul Lopez
“Do you go back to the negotiation table?”
Nadia Caliz
“We have to go back to the negotiation table but we couldn’t do it on our own. Our members had to give us their mandate which we now have, both BNTU and PSU and APSSM now have a mandate and we are going to communicate that to government today they are going to get that response.”
