Caye Caulker Residents Protest Possible Sale of Police Station Land

Tensions are boiling over tonight on Caye Caulker, where residents have taken to the streets to protest the possible sale of land long set aside for a police station. The demonstration comes just days after a heated town hall meeting, as fears grow over the future of Parcel 815, prime community land leaders say is vital for public safety, youth programs, and emergency response. The Village Council is now drawing a firm line, rejecting any move to sell the property without public consultation. Today, protesters were joined by Senator Gabriel Zetina, who tells us what a title search revealed and why residents say this fight goes beyond a parcel of land, it’s about the future of the island.

 

Gabriel Zetina, UDP Caretaker, Belize Rural South

“What the title search yield did was that the government of Belize transferred that property in February 14th, 2023 which that same day the property was, they were issued a title, a land certificate that same day, the fourteenth of February, 2023. Now of course the village council now, they were told to stop working so the workers weren’t able to continue. And I saw that for myself. There was some piles in, some piles are missing. So I saw that today. And so we don’t know whether the land indeed was sold. Many out there today said that the land indeed was sold allegedly to the water taxi, but so far it’s nothing official, not from the minister. I know a couple people have reached out to him, the Area Representative Andre Perez and also to the minister responsible, which is the Minister for Home Affairs. But everyone seems to be tight-lipped on this. One of the questions I have is that if the government sought out to get a loan from CABEI to build this police station for parcel eight-one-five, how do you go about now explaining that the police station won’t be built there in that property, but elsewhere? To me, that’s one of the big questions.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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