Belize recently participated in two significant regional meetings focused on addressing labour issues across the Caribbean. The meetings were held in Georgetown, Guyana, from April 6 to 8, 2025. The discussions were hosted by the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the CARICOM Secretariat.
On April 6, a Senior Officials Meeting set the stage for the ministerial session, finalising key documents. The Caribbean Ministers of Labour then gathered on April 7 to tackle emerging labour market challenges, explore regional cooperation, and assess progress on promoting decent work. The discussions also aimed to align labour policies with evolving economic and environmental conditions.
The final session on April 8, was the Thirty-Fourth Special Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD).
Minister of Labour & Local Government, Florencio Marin Jr, reaffirmed Belize’s commitment to regional cooperation and social protection.
Two American fugitives have been deported from Belize to the United States to face serious criminal charges, including weapons trafficking and rape, according to a statement from the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).
The return of the suspects was announced on social media by the DSS, which praised the coordinated international effort behind the operation. The arrests and deportations were carried out in partnership with multiple agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Belize Police Department, Tennessee law enforcement and other law enforcement entities.
The fugitives were tracked down and returned with assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Belize.
The identities of the individuals and specific case details have not yet been released.
“Onny”, the horse that was viciously attacked by three teenagers, is now under the care of veterinarians from the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA).
A video that circulated on social media showed the three teenagers, aged 16, 17, and 19, viciously attacking the defenceless animal on Pitter Street in Belize City.
Another video of the animal after the attack showed maggots already infesting the wounds.
The three teenagers were detained today by police. According to the police, they are believed to be members of the Bone Yard Crips.
President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for over 75 countries negotiating on trade and refraining from retaliation. This temporarily eased global trade tensions but kept pressure on key rivals like China.
The decision caused a short-lived rally on Wall Street on Wednesday, with stocks showing an upward trend. Major indices posted historic gains before stocks resumed their downward trend this morning.
Under the new policy, the U.S. will suspend most of its recent tariff increases, though a 10% base tariff remains on nearly all global imports. China is an exception, where tariffs on its goods will rise dramatically to 125%, with some items facing a total of 145% in levies.
This has escalated the ongoing trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies.
The European Union welcomed the pause, suspending its own retaliatory measures in a bid to restart dialogue with Washington. Meanwhile, Beijing doubled down on its stance and issued more aggressive rhetoric and maintained its retaliatory tariffs.
Analysts continue to warn the trade war is far from over, and with rising U.S. Treasury yields hinting at investor unease, volatility is likely to persist.
One week after removing the carcass of a dead horse, a concerned Belize City resident is now dealing with a new, troubling situation—an injured horse found in their yard, accompanied by another healthy one. The resident says they have no idea how the animals ended up on their property or who owns them.
“All I want is the authority to look to things like these these animals are been use and abuse,” the resident pleaded.
The incident has raised alarm over the ongoing mistreatment of horses in the area and calls for stronger enforcement of animal welfare laws.
At the start of this month, a Facebook plea to help a starving horse abandoned in a drain on Kraal Road reignited calls for stronger animal welfare enforcement in Belize, after rescue efforts failed and the horse died from neglect.
Residents of Maris Deena Street in Southside Belize City are facing costs they did not anticipate after their licence plates were stolen earlier this week.
Early Tuesday morning, thieves targeted at least nine vehicles in the area, stealing license plates and two car batteries. Some plates were left damaged beyond use.
Victims now face the inconvenience of filing police reports and making multiple trips to the Traffic Department to replace their stolen plates — a process residents say is both time-consuming and expensive.
Police have not yet determined a motive, but the department issued a bulletin for the missing plates. Residents are concerned that the stolen plates could be used on other vehicles to commit crimes or traffic offences, wrongly implicating the original owners.
Police are urging anyone with information to come forward.
Belize took centre stage at a high-level CARICOM consultation today, warning of the economic fallout from the United States’ newly announced 10% reciprocal tariff under its “America First” trade policy.
At the regional meeting, Director General of Foreign Trade Andy Sutherland presented Belize’s case, stating that over US$45 million in national exports, especially sugar, marine products, and pepper sauces, are at immediate risk. He stressed the potential impact on livelihoods, calling for urgent and united CARICOM action.
Belize proposed the creation of a Regional Emergency Competitiveness Fund, to be managed through the Caribbean Development Bank and national development banks. The fund would provide low-cost credit to help MSMEs and vulnerable sectors offset rising costs and navigate shifting trade dynamics.
The Government has also instructed its embassy in Washington to engage U.S. officials directly, seeking clarity, advocating for exemptions, and reaffirming Belize’s commitment to rules-based trade under the Caribbean Basin Initiative.
Belize underscored the need to protect the CARICOM Common External Tariff, speed up the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, and pursue new markets to build long-term resilience.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on all “reciprocal” tariffs on over 70 countries, except those imposed on China.
Three teenagers have been detained in connection with a video that surfaced showing a defenceless horse being viciously chopped in the head on Pitter Street in Belize City. The group of teenagers aged 19, 17, and 16, are also accused of stealing 15 horses from a farm near Ladyville, owned by local tour operator Joshua Trapp.
The viral video shows a group of young men attacking one of the horses with a machete. Trapp stated that it was one of his animals and said the assault happened not far from his property.
The act shown in the viral video left many Belizeans outraged.
Police Commissioner Chester Williams condemned the attack as “inhumane and senseless,” and said the Belize Police Department is taking the matter seriously.
Williams added, “We will do everything in our power to ensure those responsible face justice.”
Several concerned groups in San Pedro are rallying against the Cayo Rosario project and have devised a plan to halt its progress. At a public meeting on Tuesday night, the groups, united under the San Pedro Citizens for Sustainable Development, announced their intention to lawyer up and prevent Cayo Rosario from disrupting the seabed around the island. While the six-acre island is private property, the surrounding sea is part of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. The citizens are firm that, regardless of any approval the developer has from the Department of Environment, they do not want the project to impact on the sea. Here’s News Five’s Marion Ali with more on what the islanders had to say about Cayo Rosario.
Concerned Citizen #1
“Our home is your home but we have rules if you come here. You cannot destroy it.”
Concerned Citizen #2
“No structure over the water. They started at a hundred and ten approved, they went down to forty, my brother, they’re not going to get even one.”
Concerned Citizen #3
“Don’t destroy the islands; don’t destroy for development. Build your development around what exists.”
Wally Nunez
Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro
“This is not about colours and this is not about pointing fingers to who approved or who didn’t approve. We need to fight so that in the future these things don’t happen but we need to fight so that this one doesn’t happen.”
Concerned Citizen #4
“We need to fight; we need to go to Belmopan and do a demonstration. Don’t be afraid.”
Concerned Citizen #5
“Yes, I’m emotional because I love that Belize is ours and I’m going to fight teeth, hands and feet to show that this is what we want.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
Tuesday night at the San Pedro Lion’s Den was heated, with tempers flaring and emotions running high. The crowd gathered to voice their strong objections to the Cayo Rosario development. According to a revised Environmental Compliance Plan signed by the Department of the Environment and the developer in 2020, the project can move forward if it meets the environmental requirements. Just last week, government agencies reviewed the project again and gave it the green light. Right now, Cayo Rosario has an unfinished cement structure standing over the sea, connected to the island by a pier. This is the model for the other thirty-nine structures they plan to build, which means driving hundreds of piles into the seabed to support the buildings and piers. San Pedro Mayor Wally Nunez, who is also a licensed tour operator, attended the meeting. He understands the residents’ concerns and says he’s standing with them in this cause.
Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro
“Even though Cayo Rosario doesn’t fall under the Town Council’s jurisdiction, and we have expanded our municipal boundaries, and it still doesn’t include Cayo Rosario, even though it’s that part of our jurisdiction, it directly affects our people. It’s the livelihood of our fishermen, of our tour guides that visit these islands, and so we have to be concerned. So, I came here today not only as a mayor, but also as a tour guide; also as a resident to listen out and to be informed more than anything else about what is the situation with Cayo Rosario. I’m here to stand with my people and we will fight the fight if that’s the case.”
We tried to get a comment from Belize Rural South Area Representative and Blue Economy Minister, Andre Perez, but had no luck. So, we asked Mayor Nunez about their discussions on the topic to find out where the minister stands.
Wally Nunez
“I have reached out to him and I know that himself as well as Hol Chan were trying to fight this not to happen. However, there are permits already issued and if that is the case, then there are some legalities when it comes to these things. So, we’re just looking at different options and partnering with the San Pedro Citizens for Sustainable Development.”
Oceana, represented by Alyssa Noble, as well as the World Wildlife Fund, represented by Nadia Bood, were on hand to lend their support to the fight against the project.
Nadia Bood
Nadia Bood, Senior Program Officer, W.W.F.
“Only through your voices can there be changes. When communities are effectively engaged, change will happen. So I commend you guys and we will be there to support you along the way.”
Alyssa Noble
Alyssa Noble, Communications Director, Oceana
“There are Belizeans everywhere who are fighting this fight, and we’re going to continue fighting this fight, if we don’t take a stand now. So we’re here to show support, we’re here to support; we’re here to lend experience, expertise, because this is not new.”
The Hol Chan Marine Reserve, established in 1987, aims to protect marine areas where endangered species thrive. Interestingly, no one from Hol Chan attended the meeting, but former Director Miguel Alamilla, a trained marine biologist, is fully backing the groups opposing the project. He mentioned that during his time leading the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, he fought hard to keep the sea around Cayo Rosario untouched.
Miguel Alamilla
Miguel Alamilla, Marine Biologist
“The whole idea was to keep it pristine, natural for the fishermen to maintain their livelihoods for maybe perpetuity. Bonefish feed on those sandy flats and those researchers – that’s why I question the validity of that research because if you go there, you see white sand, but within that sand there’s a lot of organisms and crustaceans living within that eco-system and that’s where the bonefish go and feed.”
When the developers of Cayo Rosario purchased the six-acre island in 2008, the Hol Chan Marine Reserve did not include the sea around the island. The reserve was expanded in 2015 and that was when the sea around the island became a part of the reserve. Despite everything, the groups firmly believe that private property doesn’t extend to the surrounding sea and that no development should interfere with it. The public meeting was led by the San Pedro Citizens for Sustainable Development. The organization has over a dozen group members comprising tour operators, environmentalists and concerned residents. The San Pedro Tour Operators Association, chaired by Roberto Canul, is one of its members.
Roberto Canul
Roberto Canul, Chairman, San Pedro Tour Operators Association
“If they destroy those flats, you will never see the marine life, the fishes, the bonefish, the tarpon, the permits that visit those areas. You will never see that again. We just saw a video the other day of people being chased from the area because of the development that is happening there, and we don’t stand for those type of things.”
The Environmental Compliance Plan states in Point One that clearance is given to Cayo Rosario Development Limited for the construction of, among other things, overwater bungalows, an arrival dock, an outdoor pool, an island villa, island cottages, a beach club and an education center. Dr. Abdiel Perez, another marine biologist, explained that the activities in the sea have already had a negative impact on the seabed.
Abdiel Perez
Dr. Abdiel Perez, Marine Biologist
“Just that area in the south, where they are already putting a lot of the materialhosted at least eight hundred to a thousand bonefish easily at any time. Because of all of the development, there’s nothing there now. All the dredging, all the noise, all the material that they’re dumping is changing the entire bottom.”
The concerned groups are planning to hire a legal expert to help them navigate the situation. They’re also setting up a GoFundMe account to cover their expenses. In the coming weeks, they plan to create videos showing the damage that’s already occurred and seek international support to halt the project’s progress. Marion Ali for News Five.
The concerned groups had also rejected the Blackadore Development Project several years ago, which had a similar plan to build overwater structures. That project did not materialize as a result. News Five has tried to get a comment from the representatives of the Cayo Rosario project, but our efforts have been futile.
Today, a family is heartbroken after twenty-four-year-old Luis Marin was tragically shot and killed in his home in Majestic Alley. According to the police, around ten p.m., Marin was hanging out with a family member in his apartment when a man approached and opened fire, fatally wounding Marin. The police arrived at the scene around a few minutes later and found Marin’s lifeless body. He was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, but sadly, he was pronounced dead on arrival. There are whispers that this murder might be connected to the weekend shooting of Jamal Hyde in Belmopan, which has already led to several arrests. However, the police have yet to confirm the speculation.
