Tonight, a twenty-one-year-old man from Belize City is behind bars at the Belize Central Prison, following a disturbing allegation that has shocked the Saint Martin de Porres community. Antwan Petillo, a bodyworks technician of Jasmine Street, was arraigned this morning on a single charge of rape. The charge stems from an incident that allegedly took place early Saturday morning, when a woman claimed that she was forced to have sex inside a parked car near Newtown Barracks after leaving a nightclub. Petillo appeared unrepresented before Magistrate Ludlow Black and was denied bail due to the seriousness of the offense. He’s been remanded until September second, as police continue their investigation.
Tonight, five young men, including three minors, have learned their fate in a case that sparked national outrage. It all stems from a disturbing viral video showing a group of teens brutally attacking a horse with machetes. The footage shocked the country, and today, the courtroom was packed as sentencing was handed down. The Senior Magistrate described the act as “an unprovoked attack on a helpless animal.” While the three minors received a one-year suspended sentence, one sixteen-year-old was ordered to complete a series of strict conditions, including community service, counseling, and anger management. The two adults, both nineteen, were fined. The court heard emotional pleas from family members who described the boys as lifelong animal lovers, a stark contrast to the violence captured on video.
Last night, we told you about our visit to the Ministry of Public Service in Belmopan to hand-deliver a Freedom of Information request. But that wasn’t our only stop. While in Belmopan, we also made our way to the Ministry of Home Affairs headquarters on Constitution Drive. Why? Because we’re still waiting on a promise made by Minister Kareem Musa, a promise to provide a copy of the contract for retired police officer Aaron Guzman, who’s now serving as an advisor to the ministry. Guzman reportedly earns a seventy-thousand-dollar annual salary and has been assigned a government vehicle. But the exact terms of that contract? Still a mystery. And the specifications of that vehicle? Also unknown. Let’s be clear, this isn’t about Aaron Guzman. It’s about transparency. It’s about accountability. And it’s about your right to know how public funds are being spent. Paul Lopez has the following story.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
He’s a familiar name in law enforcement circles, Aaron Guzman, the former Deputy Commissioner of Police who retired just last year after a long and distinguished career. There’s no doubt he’s got the experience. But tonight, we’re asking: why was he brought out of retirement? The Ministry of Home Affairs has hired Guzman as an advisor, reportedly with a seventy-thousand-dollar annual salary and a government-issued vehicle. But what exactly is his role? And why was this appointment necessary? When first questioned about the arrangement, Minister Kareem Musa said Guzman was advising the ministry’s CEO. But beyond that, the details remain murky.
File: June 25, 2025
Kareem Musa
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“It is not anything new. These government contracts exist in all ministries. Obviously, the CEO comes from an administrative background, not a policing background. So having the type of advice and council from a senior like Aaron Guzman has been very valuable to the ministry and valuable to the CEO in the conduct of her duties.”
The minister says, ‘Hey, these kinds of contracts? They’re nothing new, they exist across all ministries.’ But hold on, not everyone’s on the same page. His own Cabinet colleague, Minister of Natural Resources Cordel Hyde, is pushing back, saying his CEO doesn’t have an advisor at all.
File: June 26, 2025
Paul Lopez
“Sir does your CEO has a special advisor that is getting seventy thousand annually?”
Cordel Hyde
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
“No, don’t give him any ideas, no.”
Paul Lopez
“As a senior politician, why would a CEO need an advisor if they are being placed in such an authoritative role?”
Cordel Hyde
“I don’t know, I cannot speak to that. I have never been a CEO. But what I can say is that the job of governance is much different than when I was first around twenty-five years ago. It is heavy lifting, a lot of work. But I can’t speak that.”
But, only a day later, we spoke with Minister Musa again and this time he clarified that Guzman was hired as an advisor to the entire ministry, not just the CEO. He even offered to provide News Five with the contract.
File: June 27, 2025
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“I know the media has run with this as any sort of new scandal. But anyone can tell you that Mr. Guzman is not a crony of mine. This is not a crony’s contract. You are talking about somebody with institutional experience and knowledge. And I will share the contract with you Paul, because you want to see it. But it is to the ministry, not the CEO. So please stop going with that narrative.”
So, where’s the contract Minister Musa promised to share with News 5? Despite several follow-ups, we’ve received nothing. On Tuesday, in the name of transparency, we filed an official freedom of information request. We’re not just asking for the contract’s terms but also details about the vehicle given to Guzman, including what kind it is and how much it cost taxpayers, if anything.
Paul Lopez
Paul Lopez
“We are here at the Ministry of Home Affairs compound in Belmopan City to deliver a FOIA request to the minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa. HE too we have been asking for the advisory contract for Aaron Guzman, retired Deputy Commissioner of Police. He has committed to providing us with that contract but we are yet to receive it. We tried to reach out to him on several occasion. Thankfully, the law affords us an avenue through FOIA, to make such request to get access to document that should be public records. So we are going to deliver this and he like the minister of public service has two weeks to give a response.”
Our request was hand-delivered, and we signed off on the delivery. So, now the clock is ticking, and hopefully we can get some answers very soon. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
Now to a bizarre and frustrating situation unfolding at one of the country’s newest infrastructure projects. Just months after the grand opening of the thirty-million-dollar Haulover Bridge, parts of it are already going missing, literally. The Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing confirmed today that aluminum piping has been stolen from the bridge, leaving officials stunned and disappointed. The government says this kind of vandalism not only damages public property but disrespects a major national investment. We spoke with Chief Engineer Evondale Moody, who shared more on this troubling incident.
Evondale Moody
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“We found out that a section of the aluminum bullet rail that is basically on top of the jersey barrier that separates the carriage wave from the pedestrian footpath. We observed that approximately thirty meters of that rail was removed, and it was basically saw cut because that was the only way that they could have removed it. And so we just wanted to reach out to the public so that they could be aware of the facing of the infrastructure, which is a key asset for the Government of Belize and also for the MIDH. And we believe that we need the public’s assistance so that they could inform us when these things are occurring, if they see it, because there’s no way that we could oversee and monitor all our assets 24 hours a day. What we would have to do is will a new section in between. Because the rail itself is a continuous rail all the way across the bridge structure, and it’s also in an attachment whereby it strings through a hole itself on the bridge. And so there was no elsewhere for you to steal it, but to cut it. And so yes, can be repaired. However, something like that has cost us approximately, will cost us approximately eighteen thousand to replace, because when we built the bridge, the rate for that rail was six hundred dollars per meter. Meter is only three feet, three point two eight feet to be exact. And so to replace that intersection we will have to spend to replace it.”
First, it was aluminum pipes being stolen. Now, we’ve discovered something even more alarming: several nuts and bolts from the bridge’s handrails have either been loosened or removed entirely. And get this, they weren’t cut or broken, they were simply unscrewed. Earlier today, we visited the bridge and spoke with Chief Engineer Evondale Moody, who explained why the bolts weren’t welded in place and what role they play in the bridge’s safety. He also shared more on the damage being caused by reckless drivers along the Coastal Highway. The Ministry of Infrastructure is urging the public to stop damaging these vital national assets, but is anyone listening?
Evondale Moody
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“Those are tightened screws. And so you have the screws coming out of the jersey bar and then you have an anchor that will support the horizontal rail that is there. Those anchors are still in place. Those have not been removed. It is the horizontal bar that has been removed from the bridge itself. Those are not welded. Those are just bolted in place in the event that we have to replace the entire section. So those remain as is. But if you can see if those are loose, then more than likely they were trying to lose those first. And so they decided to cut the horizontal bar, so those are not welded in place. Those are bolted in place.”
Britney Gordon
“Okay. So what purpose do they serve? If they can be taken out so easily.”
Evondale Moody
“It’s basically a handrail for the pedestrians, so it segregates the jersey barrier is for the vehicle traffic. If they hit that. That will deflect them from getting into the pedestrian footpath. However, on top of that jersey bar is a handrail, and that is a handrail is used for the pedestrians. The coastal Highway has only been open, I think just over a year and a half now, going on two years and over four kilometers of guardrail has been damaged. I can share some photos with you to highlight that. The four kilometers, that is basically four thousand meters. Each meter of guardrail passes us three hundred per meter. Again, a meter is three point two eight feet, so that’s over twelve thousand feet of guardrail. It’s happening at many different location because of reckless driving. However, what I want to, the positive thing about it is that the guardrail is serving its purpose. Because it is deflecting the vehicles from going off the road and no one has died as far as I’m aware. And so they crash into the barrier. And the barrier works because it deflects you back onto the road, which is the purpose of the barrier. However, most of these incidents that are occurring is because of drunk driving or reckless driving, and that is something that we definitely have to plan on, but that is not under our mandate to do that. But we have to protect our assets because. We are the one that has to replace it.”
Well, we’re just about a month into the hurricane season and already, Mother Nature is making her presence felt. In northern Belize, heavy rains have caused significant flooding, turning major roads into rivers and leaving some communities temporarily cut off. The Ministry of Infrastructure Development was quick to respond, sending out teams to assess the damage and carry out urgent repairs. But with months of stormy weather still ahead, the big question now is: how prepared are we for what’s to come? And what’s being done to protect our highways, especially in flood-prone areas? We spoke with Chief Engineer Evondale Moody to get some answers.
Evondale Moody
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“To be honest, the ministry has began its preparation for every hurricane season from the beginning of January. So I meet with the technical staff of the ministry, we asses where we are in terms of the road infrastructure. We assess what we need to put in place in terms of materials, culverts and to be on standby incase we have emergencies we have to respond to. So we have bene on top of things as best as we can as a ministry. In respect to the works up north, we had some minor damages in San Jose where the road shoulders were eroded in two sections. However because of preparation our team has mobilized and completed about seventy percent of those works. We deployed early last week to repair the shoulders undermined by the flood waters. We also installed new erosion protection measures to prevent that incident from occurring again. It is difficult to say or task these events will happen. We don’t know where the excess rainfall will occur, however from what I have seen the concentration of rainfall over Orange Walk was very intense. So that led to the inundation of those sections of the road. However the road held up.”
Big changes are happening on Independence Hill. The iconic National Assembly Building is getting a major facelift and according to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, it’s right on track to be completed by September. But this isn’t just a touch-up. The entire building has been gutted and rebuilt from the inside out. We’re talking about a brand-new roof with insulation, redesigned chambers and gallery, fresh interior walls, and even an elevator, something the original structure never had. It’s a bold transformation, but it’s also coming with a bigger price tag than originally planned. Chief Engineer at MIDH, Evondale Moody, gave us an update on the progress and what’s still to come.
Evondale Moody
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“Basically we have invested a lot in that structure. The cumulative cost we are estimating at five point six million. We have gone above what was originally estimated, honestly. But, once we got into the building we found out that there was a lot of things that needed to get done for us to make the building functional. That is the aim of the MIDH, to make it as functional as we can based on what we have available.”
Paul Lopez
“So there were things done that was not originally considered?”
Evondale Moody
“Yes, there was a lot of things done. We have a new elevator system that came into the country this week. So we are hoping to get that into Belmopan within another week. We took into consideration the Disability Act to make sure we make the building accessible. The exterior we have tried our best to maintain the original structure. But the original structure, because it has been there for so long had some defects where it had exposure. So we had to plaster some of those areas. We were also tasked with pressure washing the building. That created some issues because of the porosity of the blocks. It showed that it had some holes. So we had to find a mechanism to seal that. So we have to seal the build just in an effort to maintain the original look of the building.”
Tensions continue to simmer in Pomona Village, where a land dispute has sparked heated accusations and divided opinions. Over the past few nights, we’ve brought you reports of villagers pointing fingers at Stann Creek West Area Representative Rodwell Ferguson, his son, and his nephew Aaron Ferguson, accusing them of aggressive confrontations. But in a follow-up to Tuesday night’s story, Aaron Ferguson is speaking out, firmly denying any involvement in the alleged incidents. We want to note that these claims remain unverified, and we apologize for any harm caused to Ferguson’s reputation. Still, this is a developing story, and News Five will continue to keep a close eye on the situation in Pomona and the Rodville Developments.
After being rained out in June, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize is back on track with its much-anticipated march and rally, now set for this Saturday in Belize City. NTUCB President Ella Waight is once again calling on union members and workers from across the country to show up and stand strong. The message? Delayed, but not denied. Here’s what she had to say about the movement and why your voice matters.
Ella Waight
Ella Waight, President, NTUCB
“We are surrounding our march and rally around four national themes, which includes good governance, respect for unions, democracy now and systematic change. One of the key national teams is good governance. We would like the public to understand that all these themes are important to workers of this country and they should be as important to every citizen of this country. Whenever unions negotiate for salary adjustments or better benefits for workers we have to ensure that Belize and our government are practicing good governance. We are asking again that all workers, citizens and young people, even retirees, join our rally on Saturday. We are asking union members to wear their union colors to bring out their banners and flags because that is how we will make our point to the employers of this country that we mean business and demand the respect that we deserve. We are sending out a special invitation to those workers in the BPOs and call centers to join us on Saturday. We hear their call that they want to be organized. They want fair representation and appreciated for the work they do. But we need to see them, we need to see them out there and we are asking them to wear white so that we can say we see you and we will do our best to get you organized and protect your rights as workers, because you are important to the economy of this country.”
The NTUCB will also be conducting a youth recruitment drive on Saturday through its youth arm headed by Ashley Longford.
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize is throwing its support behind the University of Belize Faculty and Staff Union, as the call for a long-overdue salary increase grows louder. UBFSU says its members haven’t seen a raise in over a decade, and that’s making it harder to keep and attract quality lecturers. NTUCB President Ella Waight says it’s time those educators are fairly compensated for the work they do.
Ella Waight
Ella Waight, President, NTUCB
“I have been checking my email constantly and I have not seen a response from any of the parties that were invited. But we are hoping that there will be a meeting soon. We are hoping to meet very soon, because this matter is important. We don’t want an impasse at the university, and it leads to some kind of serious industrial action. That is not what we want to be the result of this. We want to see that the university and union get around the table and start serious dialogue about how our members can get their salary adjustment. Having the lecturers that teach our young people that this country matters and that workers matters, not getting a salary adjustment for over ten years is not logical. It is not fair, feasible. According to the acting president, we are having a brain drain at the university. What will happen when we have no one that wants to stay at the university. Where will we send our young people. We can’t send them to the private institutions. Form the fact that we call to our national university, everyone should be concerned and should want to assist in ensuring we retain these lecturers because they are very good lecturers and would retain the national university the standard it should be an elevate it to be a better university and that can only be done if we have our lecturers fully compensated for the work they do.”
But the big question now is — will the Minister of Education agree to meet with the union this Thursday? We’ll be watching.
