Christmas is just around the corner, and Belizeans are getting ready to celebrate this festive season with their loved ones. As the streets fill with eager shoppers searching for the perfect gifts, the Belize Police Department will be out in full force to ensure everyone can shop safely. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams shared the department’s plans to keep everyone safe this holiday season.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“The police will continue to do what we can to avert these fatal traffic accidents involving motorcycles in particular. It is a very challenging one because as much as we try to educate drivers or riders of these motorcycles. We are still seeing on the part of some of them who are very reckless in how they maneuver these motorcycles in the city and on the highways. And the police continue to work along with the Department of Transport and in the cities and towns with the local traffic department. to see what we can do to be able to avert these things from happening. In terms of crime, again, for the Christmas period, we do what we normally do, which is, say, to conduct the annual Christmas anti crime campaign. This is where we see police officers would come out having worked their shift for the day. They come out in the evening time and do extra patrol between six and ten p.m. In the business areas, as well as the hotspots. This is done with a view to ensure that those persons who wish to go out and do their personal shopping can do so in a crime-free environment, feeling safe with the presence of the police, as well as for merchants to be able to conduct business in a safe environment. Again, looking at the hotspots, we maintain presence within those areas as well because we don’t want for people to be leaving those areas and going to the commercial zones and commit crime. and then go back into these areas. And at the same time, we also do it to guard against shootings and other violent crime that may occur in those particular areas.”
The Belmopan Bandits Sports Club has a new owner and a new name! Now called the Belmopan Football Club, the organization was acquired by Cruz Gamez from John Saldivar. Gamez, who didn’t reveal the purchase price, is well-known for his disciplined approach. He has successfully managed several youth teams in the Cayo District and has experience working with the Football Federation of Belize. Today, we caught up with Gamez to hear about his exciting vision for the club’s future.
Cruz Gamez
Cruz Gamez, President, Belmopan F.C.
“The decision to acquire the Bandits Football Club, now the Belmopan Football Club, the negotiation has been ongoing for a while now. We had meetings with the previous owners, and we decided it is an opportune time to acquire the team and start to rebrand a new team in Belmopan for all that has been happening in the Bandits Club. Presently, we are strategically planning our next move. We are doing our best to bring back football to Belmopan, because I think that the level of football in Belmopan has dropped a lot. We noticed the fan engagement, turnout, sponsorship has fallen a lot. With this new initiative, I think we will be able to bring back football to Belmopan to the glory days that the Belmopan Bandits had at the time. I am about to partner with some strategic partner in Mexico. We have the DBC Stars that recently was a meeting with them to partner with them so that they can assist us in turning the entire structure of the club. They are connected with a team in Oaxaca, Mexico, whereby they play on the second division, below the top league in Mexico. We are about to sign a partnership with them and hopefully that will work through.”
Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. The Belize City Council held its Second Annual Triathlon on Sunday in the Old Capital. At the break of dawn, swimmers, cyclists and runners gathered inside the Lord Rhaburn Plaza for the event.
In total, fifty-one athletes showcased their talents across five different categories. The competition featured two junior individual athletes, eight junior relay teams, seven men’s individual athletes, five men’s relay teams, and one senior mixed team. It was an exciting event with a diverse group of participants giving it their all. The event began with the swimmers taking to the water. The juniors are doing one lap towards the orange buoy near the pier and back. The seniors, including the only individual female, were required to do two laps around the entire course. Individual junior competitor Daylan Cruz is first out of the water. And Cruz was also a part of a junior relay group. He passed off one of his two-time chips to his team’s cyclist Kaille Burgess.
The other junior swimmers came in right behind him and one by one the junior riders began taking off from the starting line. They were required to do one lap from the start to the Pallotti High School roundabout and back. Here we see the second junior individual competitor Kyson Vernon, gearing up for the cycling leg, immediately after his swim. He also competed in the junior relay. In the meantime, the senior individual and relay competitors are working to complete their first lap around the swimming circuit, some seemingly taking a shortcut. There goes Kenroy ‘Smokey” Gladden, a former Lion Man, about to attempt his second lap. He is one of the seven men’s individual competitors.
Also competing in that category, was Kent “Bob” Gabourel, clearly winded after his first lap attempt. Behind him, the lead swimmers among the seniors. Kiluvert Cal led out of the water. He sprinted to his teammate cyclist Giovanni Lovel, passed over the time chip and Lovell was the first senior cyclist to get underway. 00:45 Swimmers Mario Cucul and Kian Trejo came behind and sent of cyclists Byron Pope and Steven Jergenson. Cucul also competed as a solo athlete. He geared up, jumped on his bike and rode off. Right behind them, out of the water is forty-four-year-old Guatemalan Triathlon Athlete Fransico Lima. He competed as a solo athlete. The senior riders were required to do two laps around the same route as the juniors.
Devyn Major is the first junior relay cyclist to finish his first lap. He passed his team’s time chip to Tamia Bennett who began the last leg of the triathlon, the run. Ahmaad Cherrington, the second youth relay cyclist, finished his ride and passed the team chip to Davae McCauley. Gladden, now out of the water and hoping to gain some ground on the cycling leg. Junior rider, Kelsi Castillo completed her one lap and left the last leg in the hands of Jalen O’Brien who made quick work of the transfer and sprinted off to catch up with the runners ahead of him. Bob Gabourel completed his swim at this time, jumped on his bike barefoot and began his two laps. Among the senior riders, Lovell was the first to complete his team’s two laps. But Byron Pope was steadily closing the gap. Leon Leslie was approximately two minutes behind the two lead riders, and there goes Jyven Gonzalez as the fourth rider around he first lap. Now here we have it folks, the first junior relay team to finish the triathlon. Tamia Bennett brought home the gold in the relay category for Team Chill Guys.
Tamia Bennett
Tamia Bennett, Gold Medalist, Team Chill Guys
“The running was a mental thing, because running a long distance you have to have a strong mind. I wanted to stop for a lot of time, but I just pull through.”
Kerwin Guild crossed the finish line in second place. Guild and his relay team from Wesley College secured silver. Jalen O’Brien and the Team Tri-hards secured the bronze medal in the relay category. senior riders began rolling in with Lovell leading the group. Lovell transferred to Ariel Avila, the first senior relay runner to begin the five-k run. Byron Pope only a few second behind handed his team’s chip over to Albert Davis who sprinted off behind Avila. Two minutes later, Jyven Gonzalez and Leon Leslie completed their two laps and handed over their chips to Derrick Chavarria and Levi “Yellow Flash” Contreras respectively. They had a great deal of grounds to make to catch up with the runners ahead of them. Franciso Lima, one of the solo competitors took of his riding gears and suited up for the last leg. Behind Lima, two additional solo competitors, Cucul and Gladden in third and fourth place in the cycling leg. And now, here we have it folks, the first senior relay athlete to finish the five-k run. Its none other than the “Yellow Flash” himself, Jesus Contreras representing team Juan-Leon, Jesus. He was followed closely by Davis in second place and Avila in third.
Jesus Contreras
Jesus Contreras, Gold Medalist, Team Juan-Leon-Jesus
“When I started, knowing that my rider had made up grounds already that had boost me up mentally. I said to myself, if he can take back a minute it is ours. I am in love with this team. The funny thing is, this was one of the team that had a last registration. But, with the swimmer, rider and runner included, we knew we were destined for top two at least.”
And now, the first solo athlete to cross the finish-line was Guatemalan Fransisco Lima. He is your 2024 individual champion. Team G-Flow was the only team in the mixed relay. That team included Leon Guild, Tyrin Tasher and Mirtha Welch. Daylan Cruz won gold in the junior individual category.
Kaya Cattouse
Kaya Cattouse, Organizer, Belize City Triathlon
“We have excellent cyclists and runners in the country; however, our swim is weak. From the triathlon association we are trying to work on this. We have partnered with the YWCA to use their facilities, and we get our high schools athletes there in the evening times to try and swim and become better. We are trying to do more open water swims in this area. We have tried to have just swim events where you just come out here, you set up the buoy and have small incentives to get people motivated that you are training in the pool but for something bigger.”
Well Folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.
Inspector Christopher Martinez, who pleaded guilty to wounding a businessman while detained at a police station, must remain incarcerated. The High Court dismissed his appeal, meaning that he must serve the remaining three months of the five-month sentence handed down by Chief Magistrate Jayani Wegodapola in September. The appeal hearing, led by Justice Candace Nanton, skipped the appellant’s stay of execution and dove straight into the substantive arguments. After more than an hour, Justice Nanton dismissed the appeal, stating there was nothing wrong with the original sentence. She noted that the five-month sentence was not excessive and could have been longer. Martinez should consider himself lucky, as sentences can increase on appeal. Representing Martinez was Senior Counsel Hubert Elrington, with over fifty years of experience. The appeal ended with some tension between Elrington and the judge. In an interview, Elrington explained that he felt ambushed, believing the hearing was for a stay rather than the appeal itself. He requested more time, but this was denied. The crown was represented by DPP Cheryl Lynn Vidal.
Hubert Elrington
Hubert Elrington, Attorney-at-law
“The learned judge of appeal sitting at the High Court level, felt that the magistrate had observed the legal requirements and [that] the sentence was not unduly harsh and would not cause the ordinary Belizean on Albert Street, say in the Brodies area, to be startled or alarmed by the harshness of the sentence. So she decided that she was not going to interfere with the sentence. She also gratuitously that a sentence appeal can be increased, as well as decreased, and she wanted to know from the DPP whether she was applying to have the sentence increased. The learned DPP indicated to her that they had not appealed the sentence, and she would not be jumping into that at this stage. She would remain at the stage that they had begun, they were not going to challenge the length of the sentence.”
Court Reporter
“So in the end, Inspector Martinez has to continue his five-month sentence. He has three months remaining.”
Hubert Elrington
“The sentence imposed on him by the Chief Magistrate in September, I think it was the thirteenth of September was upheld.”
Inspector Christopher Martinez admitted to wounding businessman Aaron Flowers back in 2022.
The Ministry of Education is still figuring out how to best support students in the areas hardest hit by the floods. For the past two weeks, we’ve been reporting on several communities left partially underwater following the passage of Tropical Storm Sara. Residents have had to wait for the waters to recede or find alternative ways to get in and out of their communities. Earlier this week, we shared the story of students in Crooked Tree Village who woke up at 3:30 in the morning to catch a boat out of the village. Today, we asked the Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca, about the efforts being made to help these students. Here’s what he had to say.
Britney Gordon
“For students that are living in these areas affected by the floods like Crooked Tree, there is some concern with residents of how early they have to get up to go to class and the struggle they’re having to pay attention and get back home and do their studies. Is there any assistance that’s being provided for them or any talks of possibly moving classes online?”
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
“Yeah. There’s an ongoing discussion about that matter. As the ministry, when it was required, we cancelled classes, we postponed classes. But yes, we’re looking at all of those alternatives. In those cases, we work very closely with the management, we work with the principals of those schools. But we don’t want to do anything, any general policy. It has to be targeted certain schools are affected in, in one, in a manner, in a much more substantive way than others. So we address it on a school-by-school basis. But yes, we are working with all of those affected schools in those communities. Especially in the River Valley right now. To try to address those wherever students are not able to go to school. To come up with an alternative plan.”
Assessments are still ongoing to determine the extent of damage Tropical Storm Sara’s recent flooding has caused to the agricultural sector. Prime Minister John Briceño has already hinted that the numbers will be staggering. Meanwhile, reports are coming in that some products are being smuggled into the country and sold on the local market. In San Pedro, for instance, there’s been an influx of contraband watermelon, likely due to the impact on local supplies. Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai was asked about this issue.
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“That is one of the problem we have when we have very porous borders. If you have a problem with your production, with your supply then there will be illegal importation. But, San Pedro has always been a problem for us in contraband. Always. That does not surprise me that they have contraband in the market. But again, whenever you have bad weather and you lose you crop, your sweet peppers, your tomatoes, I mean they will try to find a way to import. Our officers go out in the field and ensure that there is no carrots, cabbage, tomato and then they will import. You will find that you give a small license to import cabbage and then a farmer in Valley of Peace have cabbage and then the railing up begins, who never report this. So, it is a constant challenge for us and sometimes farmers don’t report, and sometimes our officers slip up, but if there is no product somebody have to supply it. That is the challenge we have at this time.”
The Belize National Teachers’ Union has had enough. In a press release on Thursday, the union expressed its frustration over the government’s lack of progress in delivering the overdue increments to teachers nationwide. We asked Minister of Education Francis Fonseca how the government plans to respond to this outcry. He acknowledged the issue, saying the government shares the teachers’ frustration. Here’s more on that.
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
“It’s a frustrating issue. And As I have repeatedly said to the BNTU, everyone at the ministry of education. In fact, everyone in the government of Belize is committed to resolving this matter We don’t get credit for it, but this is a matter that goes back to 2018, 2018. We, our government, our ministry of education, working along with the treasury department and the accountant general, have brought back all of that from 2018 up to 2023. So what we’re dealing with now is 2023 and the current air trying to deal with those issues. Now we’ve almost resolved everything for 2023 So there are other issues in terms of 2024, but we are working tirelessly. Everyone is working and BNTU knows this because we have regular meetings with them to discuss this matter. So we’re trying to address and resolve this matter as quickly as possible. Obviously, we know that teachers want and deserve their increments, their allowances. So everybody’s focused on getting it accomplished. And we certainly hope that it will be resolved at the earliest possible time.”
Britney Gordon
“They asked to have it paid tax-free. Is this a feasible option?”
Francis Fonseca
“Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t want to speak on that because that’s something I would have to discuss with the Ministry of Finance. They’re the ones who would have to make that decision. But I’m certainly willing to have that conversation with the Ministry of Finance.”
Belize is still free from the New World Screwworm, but for how long? Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai has been holding weekly meetings with his technical teams to stay updated on the rising cases of New World Screwworms in the region. Today, one of these meetings took place in Yo Creek Village. After the meeting, we caught up with Minister Mai and BAHA’s Managing Director, Zoe Robinson-Zetina, for the latest update. In short, new cases are popping up in neighboring countries, and experts think it’s only a matter of time before Belize sees its first case. Meanwhile, strict surveillance measures are being put in place. News Five’s Paul Lopez has the story.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
A single case of the New World Screwworm in Mexico recently prompted the United States to ban cattle imports. Now, cases are cropping up in larger numbers in neighboring Honduras and Guatemala. During a technical meeting in Orange Walk, BAHA’s Managing Director, Zoe Robinson-Zetina, discussed the issue with Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai.
Zoe Robinson-Zetina
Zoe Robinson-Zetina, Managing Director, BAHA
“First I want to confirm that we do not have screwworms in Belize and we are going through active surveillance to ensure we know the health status of our country. In our surrounding countries, we pay special attention to Guatemala, because they are the closest to us. And we know that Guatemala right now is reporting twenty-six cases and the closest case to us is in the far western area of Peten. And in that region they have only on reported case. The next closest to us is Honduras and Honduras is reporting just over seventy cases. And we believe that Honduras has been maintain or controlling the spread in that country.”
When the New World Screwworm burrows into an animal’s flesh, it can cause serious, often fatal damage. Studies show that the rise in reported cases is largely due to the illegal movement of cattle. Interestingly, Belize doesn’t import animals, which adds a unique twist to the situation.
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“There are about five important thing that you do to keep screw worm out or suppressed. The first one is education and awareness. Are we doing it? Yes. Are we doing it to the right people? Yes. Those that live on the periphery and the borders to the country of Guatemala. The second one is control point. Do not move animals form infected areas or do not move animals if you suspect it is. The third is treat wounds. Are we treating the wounds, yes. We are telling the farmers now you cannot have animals wounded on the farm then treat it. If there are no wounds then the fly cannot bear eggs. If the cannot bear an egg it dies. The fourth one is report all cases fast. And the last is the dispersal of sterile flies.”
The New World Screwworm poses the greatest threat to the local cattle industry, which is now valued at one hundred million dollars, according to Minister Mai. The risk of Mexico and Guatemala banning the import of Belize’s cattle is real. Minister Mai recently returned from a working trip to Mexico.
Jose Abelardo Mai
“As a matter of fact the Mexicans have been stopped from exporting cattle to the U.S. this is a serious matter. The U.S.D.A has banned Mexico from exporting cattle into the U.S.A for one screw worm in southern part of Mexico. So this is how serious they look at their cattle industry and the Mexican associations that represent eight hundred thousand cattle farmers wrote to their ministry of agriculture asking him to ban us and I said to them, we are the only country that has a program in place. The ministry of agriculture is a screwworm veteran. He knows what it is. So we quickly moved, as a matter of fact, the resources that government has put towards screwworm control right now is more than we get from the region. This is how serious the government is looking at this.”
Regarding the measures BAHA has put in place along the border, Managing Director Zetina mentioned that they’ve ramped up surveillance at both official and unofficial border points.
Zoe Robinson-Zetina
“We are doing active surveillance, and we are stremghtening our border points, both official and unofficial. We know it is no secret that we have agriculture goods going through Jalacte and Bullet Tree. What is good for Belize is that we are not importing animals in Belize. It is exportation that we do. But we are strnething those two check points for BAHA. We are manning them twenty-four hours to ensure there are no animals coming into this country. And also, for any vehicles that are passing through those points. To ensure that they are free and clear of any material that can transport the pest.”
Paul Lopez
“Can BAHA monitor pastures that have been cleared illegally by Guatemalans that have incurred on Belizean lands?”
Zoe Robinson-Zetina
“As long as that property is on Belizean terrorist then BAHA has jurisdiction to do surveillance and we are doing that at this time.”
The Ministry of Agriculture has already drafted an S.I. to quarantine a particular area in Belize wherever the New World Screwworm is detected. And, the experts believe that it is only a matter of time before Belize reports its first case.
Jose Abelardo Mai
“The worst case scenario is we have a case in Toledo. Plan, block off Toledo, control points in place which we have already, we have the S.I. ready, we have everything ready, block of Toledo, put the control in place. Twenty-four hours and work that area backwards to the border. Pump the area, saturate the area with sterile flies.”
Paul Lopez
“What is your response to the notion that it is an inevitable.”
Zoe Robinson-Zetina
“It is more than likely true. It is spreading so rapidly in Central America that we believe yes ti will be introduced in Belize. Like I said, it is people who are moving it. But people can move it through cattle, but they can also be brining their pet, dogs, pet cats, but it can come on people themselves as well.”
One solution the Ministry of Agriculture is considering to tackle the rise in screwworm cases is setting up a slaughterhouse in Belize. Minister Mai believes that exporting live animals isn’t the best approach. Instead, he thinks Belize could benefit much more from exporting premium cuts of meat.
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“We have to look at what are the options on our table. As I explained today, this could be an opportunity. We can convert this challenge into an opportunity. Exporting cattle is not the best thing to do. Exporting a raw product is not the best thing to do. We export cacao beans and we import chocolate. We export corn and import corn chips. We export raw sugar and import Tate and Lyle refined sugar. That is nonsense. We export beef and some people in Belize wants to import cuts from American sources. So this challenge can be converted into an opportunity. It is time for us to look seriously at a slaughtering facility, certified that we can export to these other slaughtering facilities, our cuts, maybe whole cuts, shoulders, the quarters, we can begin with that. The argument is we don’t have enough volume to sustain it. Well, lets partner with the same company. Carne has a slaughtering facility in Nicaragua. As a matter of fact, we have a meeting today at one thirty, it is almost one-thirty now, with a company that wants to speak with us about that.”
The Central Bank recently announced that inflation is now mainly driven by the rising cost of domestic goods, especially the foods we produce. Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai explains that there are several reasons for these increasing and persistent costs, but the biggest culprit, he says, is climate change.
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“There are a number of reasons why costs go up right. Last year the same time we had the inflation spike again. The weather patterns, not only in Belize, but in Mexico. Excess rainfall has caused loses to the farmers. So you have loses, less product, supply and demand. And so the farmers right now. I got a call moments ago that the farmers in San Carlos, carrots are not doing goo. So the farmers that take a thousand pounds will take five hundred pounds. So his carrots gone up. He have loses. So, the little carrots that he has he will try to get a better price for it. But it is a natural reaction. Again, you hear the term climate change over and over. The soy beans, we have fifty percent lost right now. The millers jump up quick and say minister give us the license to import soy beans. I say, wait. Buy what the farmers have first. Obviously the farmer wants a little more, because he lost. WE live in the humid tropics. We subject to some of the worst diseases, worst pest, worst conditions to grow crops in. So, last year was the same exact thing.”
Paul Lopez
“What sort of relief can the ministry think about issuing?”
Jose Abelardo Mai
“One of the things discussed is crop insurance, but it aint cheap. There is nothing cheap nowadays.”
