2025 - Greater Belize Media

Tiroteo a Plena Luz del Día Cerca del Bulevar Central Americano Involucra Vehículo Gubernamental

Un vehículo oficial del gobierno fue impactado por múltiples disparos en un audaz tiroteo en pleno día cerca del Bulevar Central Américan en la Ciudad de Belize.

El incidente ocurrió cuando tres hombres se enfrentaron en una violenta confrontación, en el que un sospechoso sacó un arma de fuego oculta y comenzó a disparar.

El superintendente adjunto Francis Williams se encontró en la línea de fuego, pero escapó ileso. Los investigadores han recolectado evidencias balísticas que incluye casquillos y una pistola de 9 mm, de la escena mientras trabajan para esclarecer las circunstancias de este impactante ataque público. La policía continúa siguiendo pistas en la investigación en curso.

Tensions Rise as Elmer Nah’s Trial Moves Forward

The high-profile case against Elmer Nah is moving forward, but not without tension inside the courtroom. At today’s continuation of the case management conference, Nah’s sole defense attorney, Doctor Lynden Jones, requested that the court be closed during the upcoming voir dire hearings, citing safety concerns—including death threats he says he received during earlier proceedings. But Justice Nigel Pilgrim denied the request, stating that the court has adequate security measures in place and emphasized the importance of open court proceedings, especially in a case of this magnitude. The trial is set to begin Monday, May twenty-sixth, starting with a voir dire into the statement of Vivian Ramnarace, followed by another on the video evidence of the shooting. Doctor Jones also raised concerns about late disclosures from the prosecution, including access to video metadata that the defense had requested for over two years. Despite his objections, the judge ruled against delaying the process. Both the prosecutor and Elmer Nah appeared virtually today, while Doctor Jones was present in court. Nah is expected to appear in person for Monday’s proceedings. We’ll continue to follow this developing story as the trial gets underway.

Murder Case Moves Forward as Accused Awaits Next Court Date

Tonight, a murder case from 2024 continues to unfold in the courts. David Friesen, a Mennonite man accused of murder, has been further remanded to the Belize Central Prison as he awaits his next court date on June sixth, 2025, for a case management conference. Friesen, who turns thirty on May twenty-sixth, is charged with the murder of Alexander Villamil, which took place on February seventeenth, 2024, in Corozalito Village. He has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Lynden Jones, told the court he plans to request a voir dire—a special hearing to challenge the admissibility of a statement Friesen gave to police. Jones argues that the statement was coerced and possibly tampered with. We’ll continue to follow this case and bring you updates as it develops.

Shaking the Salt out of the Belizean Diet

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is turning up the volume on a quiet but serious health threat—too much salt in our diets. With the launch of its “Shake the Salt Habit” campaign, the ministry is encouraging Belizeans to cut back on sodium under the theme “Less Salt, Better Health.” The goal? To reduce the rising number of deaths linked to noncommunicable diseases like hypertension and diabetes. As part of the campaign, the ministry hosted the Shake the Salt Forum at Old Belize, where they also unveiled a new educational video aimed at food vendors, a key step in changing how salt is used in everyday meals. We spoke with Robyn Daly, Technical Advisor for Nutrition at the Ministry of Health and Wellness, who shared more about this important initiative.

Robyn Daly, Technical Advisor for Nutrition, MOHW

“One of the main strategies is to use less. So we highlighted the excessive use of salt because many times they do bottled seasonings and you don’t see herbal based seasonings. So that’s one strategy that we are enforcing and encouraging, which would be to use more onion and garlic, cilantro, that kind of thing. Refrain from using a lot of bottled seasonings. Also, make sure that your food isn’t cooked with a lot of fat as well. We highlighted fat today as well. In terms of food preparation, making food prepared in a healthier way. So the type of fat used. We also discussed individual portions as well, and we also touch sugar. But salt is an important part of the entire campaign because of the fact of heart disease. Heart disease is the number one cause of mortality in the country. So we share statistics on that. And we also highlighted that when we look at what causes heart disease, hypertension is a major risk factor. What causes hypertension? There is a major risk factor, again with the diet, having high sodium or high salt diets. So there is a link overall looking at NCDs and looking at how we can use nutrition to help manage NCDs in terms of less salt, less sugar, less fat, better food preparation.”

Louis Wade Jr. Comes Out Swinging at Dissenting PCC Commissioners

Earlier this week, we reported that eight former commissioners of the People’s Constitution Commission voiced strong objections to the final draft of the P.C.C. report submitted to Prime Minister John Briceño. But tonight, a new voice is entering the conversation, and he’s pushing back. Former commissioner and current Church Senator Louis Wade Junior is challenging the narrative put forward by his former colleagues. In an exclusive interview this afternoon, Wade described their claims as a “misrepresentation” of what actually took place during P.C.C. meetings. Wade emphasized that none of the eight dissenting commissioners were part of the Thematic Chair Committee, the group responsible for shaping key sections of the report. As such, he argues, they lack firsthand knowledge of the discussions and decisions made within those sessions. He also revealed that the P.C.C. chairman and deputy chairs are currently unable to speak publicly, pending the creation of a formal mechanism that would allow them to share their perspectives. Until then, Wade says he’s stepping up to clarify the record and represent the church’s position.

Louis Wade Jr., Former Commissioner, P.C.C.

“It is very interesting that this is the frame that the former commissioners chose to put forward this attack at what I consider to be an attack on the report itself and against the chairman who in our opinion, the vast majority of commissioners, have done an excellent job at being able to put twenty-one different organizations, twenty-one different backgrounds together, and with limited funding, because we needed about seven million dollars, we received about one to two million, yet within the two year period a lot of work was done to bring to the fore what the wishes of the mases of Belizeans wanted as it relates to the constitution. Now to have an attack from within that seeks to give the impression that millions of dollars were wasted and two years were wasted because some commissioners were disgruntled, it is an unfortunate situation that I cannot remain silent about.”

Former PCC Member Backs Chanona, Urges PM to Take Criticism Seriously

George Myvett, a former Alternate Commissioner for Third Parties, has stepped forward to support former P.C.C. Chairman Anthony Chanona. In a message to the media, Myvett expressed hope that Prime Minister John Briceño will take the recent criticisms seriously and not dismiss or derail the process. He emphasized that the final draft report submitted to the Prime Minister is both meaningful and valuable. We also asked Wade for his thoughts on concerns raised by former Commissioner Caleb Orosco, who believes the final recommendations may have been compromised during the process. Here’s what Wade had to say.

Louis Wade Jr., Former Commissioner, P.C.C.

“The P.C.C. process started out with consultation and education and over forty thousand people showed up, over a hundred and fifty thousand were on the stream, almost half a million different accounts interacted over the two-year process. So, this P.C.C. consultation is probably the largest in Belize’s history, the only thing closest to it I could think about is yes to No to the I.C.J., which is seven million. And I am going to say that in the future I am going to release in emails to show that there has been a constant attack from certain commissioners, not on the process but on the integrity of the chairman himself and that the individual also leaked the entire report. So, they write in the letter they did not have the report in their hand. They mean literally, because they had the report, they had all the drafts. They chose to leak the report to frustrate the process, but the thematic chairperson found a way to let the process move forward. So, the last report just before it went to the prime minister, it is true that it did not get into their hands. But it simply means they could not hold it. But this is modern era where it was shown electronically and we went through the entire document and agreed this is what would be presented to the prime minister. So why did they not write why they could not hold it in their hands, it is because we were afraid they were going to leak it again, before it gets to the prime minister.”

New Terminals Will Come with National Bus Company

As calls grow louder for better public transportation across Belize, the Ministry of Transport is offering a bold new vision for the future of commuting. Earlier this week, we spoke with Transport Minister Doctor Louis Zabaneh, who shared an alternate perspective on how the ministry plans to meet the rising demands of commuters. According to Doctor Zabaneh, meaningful upgrades, like improved bus terminals and better buses, can only happen if bus operators unite under a single national bus company. He explained that while commuters deserve better services, achieving those improvements is nearly impossible with thirty-one separate operators running across the country.

Doctor Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport

“Many of the larger countries, our neighbors have much fewer bus lines that are able to achieve the economies of scale. That is critical to the formula for us to attain sustainability and be able to achieve those types of services we want in 2025, quality terminals, buses, a schedule that works for the people according to the demand we have. Those things will not be resolved if we continue to have numerous bus lines on the road. And, giving them subsidies is no guarantee that they are going to be improving the quality of service that people deserve.”

Improving Working Conditions for Department Transport Employees

There’s more change on the horizon for Belize’s public transport system—this time, it’s the infrastructure getting a closer look. On Wednesday, Transport C.E.O. Chester Williams and a team of officials toured the Belize City bus terminal, identifying key areas in need of renovation. Top of the list? The bathroom facilities and the drainage system on the compound. But the upgrades won’t stop there. Williams says the Ministry of Transport is committed to improving all transport department facilities across the country, ensuring safe, clean, and functional spaces for both commuters and employees.

Chester Williams, CEO, Ministry of Transport

“Basically we’re going around myself and the management team at the ministry to look at the different infrastructure that the ministry has across the country. We have been to the southern part of the country and the western part of the country, and still nowhere in the eastern part. Belize district in particular, looking at the terminal infrastructure to see what is there to be done, to uplift the terminal. The terminals are places where our commuters travels through every day as they commute to and from work. And so we need to make sure that this is a state of good repairs. So that when our commuters do use the facility, they are comfortable using it. Again, we are also looking at the traffic department to see what, if anything can be done to upgrade the working environment of the traffic officers. Again, if we want people to be able to perform at optimal level, we have to ensure that we provide necessary resources for them to be able to do and so the main objective of our tour is twofold, looking at the terminals infrastructure and looking at the traffic department infrastructure.”

Public Outrage After ‘Boots’ Martinez Fences Off Former Beach Spot

Former Area Representative Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez is under fire after fencing off a piece of land that many Belize City residents once considered part of their public beachfront. The two-and-a-half-acre property, located near what was once known as Belizean Beach, has sparked public outrage. For decades, this stretch of coastline offered a rare escape for families in the Old Capital, until the Belize Coast Guard established its headquarters nearby. Even then, a portion of the beach remained open to the public—until now. Martinez’s move to enclose the land has reignited long-standing concerns about public access to coastal spaces and the privatization of once-shared community areas.

Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez, Contractor

“You couldn’t, eena di last month and change, you couldn’t access here so easy. Thick with swamp and so, and been coast guard mi put up da fence, di people dehn use to come eena da next property deh and walk een through some picado road. Soh I don’t know… but in real truth, here was never a beach environment. This spot here was never a beach environment. You could see it fi yohself, if yoh look over deh yoh wah sih weh paat deh da mi beach environment. I noh have wahn difficulty with it, but I have problem when, eena my view, I guess because I da former politician or whatsoever, but I da Belizean. I da wahn investor, I da contractor, I do all kinda thing. I da noh no big name, soh I have a difficulty with it. Dah noh like nothing ya di destroy di environment, di destroy nothing. We noh di encroach on nobody land, yoh noh di encroach pan no private property. That is… da noh like if it’s an issue environmentally, right here is environmentally sound.”

Martinez Says Beachfront Project Will Welcome Locals and Tourists

According to Martinez, the two-and-a-half-acre property, in which he is also an investor, is being developed into a tourist destination, one that he says will cater to both Belizeans and international visitors. While many residents are upset about losing access to a space they’ve enjoyed for decades, Martinez insists that the sixty-six-foot beachfront reserve remains open to the public, by boat.

Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez, Contractor

“There will be a masterplan for here and we will follow all the processes in terms of the masterplan, for tourism.”

Isani Cayetano

“So you’re developing this piece of land for a tourism activity, a tourism business?”

Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez

“Tourism activity, both locally and internationally. And, apart from that, da something weh wahn benefit the locals because the investors, some ah mi partners di she, da only like, ih wah be like five to eight dollars fi Belizean adults fi come een ya. Ih wahn got like a bouncy house water slide, everything. Children da dollar or soh, a dollar or two or sohting like that. They take into consideration also, too, that part of the property, access… you have access to the sea which belongs to government, which we believe that people have the right to use. Like, for example, this is a private property. You have the right to use the reserve, but the only thing is that you have to come by boat, nothing wrong with that.”