Belize is represented on the global media stage as News Five’s Digital Editor Hipolito Novelo participates in a forum in Caracas, Venezuela. The event, Voices of the New World, has drawn journalists from across the Global South to push back against what the forum describes as “the media blackout” imposed by dominant Western narratives.
The forum is being held under the theme of resisting information manipulation and fighting for truthful communication. It highlights how media blackouts are used as tools in geopolitical conflicts.
Sessions focused on topics like algorithmic censorship, the struggle of African nations to decolonise narratives, and the rising need for cross-border collaboration among independent journalists.
The forum also tackles censorship in the digital age to the media portrayal of wars in the Middle East.
Organised by the Alliance of Journalists for Communication from the Global South, the forum also called for the creation of new international media coalitions led by journalists.
The High Court has ruled that the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and two of its members must pay over half a million dollars in damages. Why? A three-day blockade back in December 2021 brought the BSI sugar mill to a standstill and the court says it wasn’t just a protest, but a calculated move to pressure the company during a breakdown in talks. But this ruling goes beyond pointing fingers, it shines a light on deeper issues of accountability, readiness, and the delicate balance that holds Belize’s sugar industry together. When tensions boil over, who should pay the price? Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
A landmark ruling from the High Court has found the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and two of its members liable for over half a million dollars in damages after a three-day blockade of the Belize Sugar Industries Limited mill in December 2021 brought operations to a grinding halt. The protest, triggered by a breakdown in commercial negotiations between BSI and the BSCFA, saw cane-laden trucks block the entrances to the mill and its residential compound. The court found that this action, though not officially sanctioned by the BSCFA, was effectively enabled by its leadership, who failed to intervene until a new agreement was reached.
Justice Rajiv Goonetilleke ruled that the blockade was a deliberate act of economic pressure, not a spontaneous protest. The court awarded BSI BZD 520,674 in damages for lost production and employee costs. A related claim by Belize Cogeneration Energy Limited (BCEL), which relies on BSI’s byproduct bagasse to generate electricity, resulted in an additional BZD 43,456 in damages. However, the judgment also raised questions about the companies’ own preparedness and response. The court found that both BSI and BCEL could have mitigated some of their losses. For instance, BCEL had a reserve of bagasse that could have kept its power plant running during the blockade but chose not to use it.
The case highlights the fragile interdependence between cane farmers and mill operators in Belize’s sugar industry. While farmers rely on BSI to buy their cane, BSI depends on timely deliveries to keep its mill running. The blockade, which began on the very first day BSCFA was scheduled to deliver cane, was seen by the court as a strategic move to force BSI’s hands in negotiations. Should farmer associations bear full responsibility for the actions of their members? Could BSI and BCEL have done more to prevent or respond to the disruption? What mechanisms should be in place to resolve disputes without an economic fallout? This case may serve as a cautionary tale, and a call for more resilient and transparent systems of negotiation and accountability. Isani Cayetano for News Five.
Back in December 2021, talks between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and BSI hit a wall. With no agreement in sight, the BSCFA warned they’d block the mill, and they followed through. Not only did they stop their own deliveries, but they also vowed to keep other farmers from delivering sugarcane as well. That move set off a major legal battle. The court found that the blockade wasn’t just a protest, it was a deliberate act that interfered with BSI and BELCOGEN’s right to do business. The farmers trespassed on private property, blocked access, and, according to the ruling, did it all with the intent of causing harm.
Hector Guerra
Hector Guerra, Attorney-at-law
“This case was grounded in the economic tort called unlawful interference with economic interest. This is the first time that a case like this has been fully litigated and upheld within a court in Belize. That underlying dispute had to do with a commercial agreement which at the time was ripe for renewal and the parties were actively engaged in renewing that commercial agreement. There were ongoing discussions, negotiations at the time and an impasse ensued, meaning that the parties could not come to an agreement in terms of what the material terms of that commercial agreement would have looked like. In leading up to the actual… blockade, the BSCFA had, in a meeting, declared to BSI that if they could not come to some agreement in terms of what the commercial agreement would look like, they would, in fact, block the mill and they also asserted that no other association, no other farmers would be allowed to deliver sugarcane to the mill. So that forms the backdrop, the factual basis upon which this claim was launched. The claim itself says that the BSCFA and the individual farmers who were named unlawfully interfered with BSI’s right to engage in trade. So, there are essentially four elements which had to be proven in court. The first is an interference with BSI’s and BELCOGEN’s right to engage in its business, in its trade. The second was that unlawful means were used. In this case, that unlawful means was a trespass on BSI’s property, on BSI’s compound which blocked the ability of farmers to deliver sugarcane. The third element which had to be proven was that it was intentional, in a sense that it was deliberately done in order to cause harm, to cause damage.”
After months of legal back-and-forth, the court has sided with BSI and BELCOGEN, confirming that the blockade at the mill wasn’t just disruptive, it was unlawful and costly. The companies proved they lost money, missed contracts, halted production, and even lost energy sales to the national grid. But as Hector Guerra explained, this case was never just about dollars and cents. It was about principle, about protecting economic interests and demanding mutual respect in how we resolve disputes. Here’s more from that judgment.
Hector Guerra, Attorney-at-law
“The fourth element which we were able to successfully show in court was that BSI and BELCOGEN, as a result of the blockade, suffered monetary losses, in terms of contracts to deliver sugarcane products, in terms of the ability to manufacture sugarcane products, and in terms of the ability to sell, for BELCOGEN, energy to the grid in Belize.”
Reporter
“And the court agreed with you all.”
Hector Guerra
“Yes. So this is a fair and balanced judgement, but the underlying essence of the judgment is that the court found that the BSCFA and two other farmers were liable because they intentionally and unlawfully blocked the entrance to BSI’s mill. This was never about a monetary sum. It’s not about the figure, it’s about the underlying principle, it’s about upholding economic interest and ensuring that parties engage with respect for each other.”
Late this evening, we caught up with PSU President Dean Flowers to get his take on a court ruling that could have big implications for future union protests, especially those that might impact an employer’s bottom line. We also asked him whether the government should stick to its promise of indemnity. Here’s what he had to say.
Dean Flowers
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“Since 1964 when we achieved self-government, government after government has been pillaging the Belizean tax payers dollars, so whether they pay It or don’t pay it is the Belizean people paying. It is five hundred thousand or a million dollars less that they will take for themselves. So pay it. It is caneros. We are with the caneros and when they decide block, ASR/BSI as a union leader I will be there again to block. We have to understand that in this day and age workers have to fight for their dignity. And I want to express my solidarity with the BSCFA, and the government is on the hook, they made the commitment and they have to pay it. They have to pay it.”
The Belize Tax Service might soon look very different, and today, union leaders made sure staff were in the loop. The Public Service Union and the Association of Public Service Senior Managers met with BTS employees to talk about the proposed shift to a Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority, or SARA. Fresh from talks with the Ministries of Finance and Public Service, PSU President Dean Flowers led the session to break down what this transition could mean for workers. Staff from across the country showed up, except for the Punta Gorda and San Pedro branches.
Dean Flowers
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“It was very important for us to have this meeting with staff, because what we learned in that meeting on July sixteenth was that there had been no consultation with staff and this transition stands to affect all two hundred and thirty-six staff members considering options being afforded to them.”
Reporter
“How do you counter what the management of the BTS is saying. They say you are making much ado about nothing, that all there employes will have a place to come to when the transition is done.”
Dean Flowers
“As the director would have suggested to the media last week, staff members will be afforded the opportunity to resign, transfer into the wider public service or transition into SARA.”
Concerns are growing among staff at the Belize Tax Service Department as the transition to a Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority inches closer. PSU President Dean Flowers says the move could leave over two hundred and thirty employees feeling sidelined. According to Flowers, the three options presented to staff don’t offer fair chances for career growth or proper compensation. He broke it down for us, here’s what he had to say.
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“Now, if you force me to resign, because I do not wish to interview for the position I currently hold, I already hold a position in the BTS/SARA, you are saying I can transition, but I must interview for the position I already hold, a position that the public services commission has offered me, a position I have already accepted and I accrued certain benefits. My terms and conditions are already set, whether it is compensation in terms of salary, allowances, whether it is my right, privilege or entailment to earn a gratuity or pension, you are saying to me that even these things are guaranteed to me I would have to forego them, you are not giving me and option, because if I want to transition I have to interview for a position I already hold and if I fail to meet your requirements for the position I already hold, what is next? Where am I going to transition to? What if you say to me that while you are currently a manager, but the interview team comprised of a politically appointed committee says you know what, I don’t like Marisol. I think she disrespected me at certain points in her career, so I don’t want her to be a manager. So, we will give a clerk position. So, you might ask how we can go from a manager to a clerk. Well, go and ask the company registry what happened to them, they are pushing paper, some of them who were already managers, some of them who were in line to be director. So, this nonsense that Michelle Longsworth is preaching that you can transition into SARA is utter, I don’t want to use bad words.”
The push to transform the Belize Tax Service into a Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority is being sold as a move toward greater efficiency, but not everyone’s convinced. Director General Michelle Longsworth says the change will improve how revenue is collected. But PSU President Dean Flowers isn’t buying it. He says there’s been no proof, no draft legislation, no organogram, and no clear plan showing how this shift will actually make things better. Flowers also revealed that the transition would nearly double the department’s staff, from 236 to 400. So, what’s really driving this change? Here’s how he breaks it down.
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“And an increase of forty percent in staff will now require a larger space, so you will probably need more buildings, especially in the districts, more computers, more desks, more vehicles, so the icre4ase in cost can be substantial. But these people are unable to say how they will transform SARA into a higher revenue generating department, how will they improve their current revenue collection efficiency and reduce current administrative staff. these people are shooting in the dark, they don’t know what they are doing and I challenge them to present an organogram of how the SARA looks like. I challenge them to present to you a five-year projection of how the current tax service department will increase its collection by fifty percent to sustain this new increase in cost.”
Thirty-eight-year-old Police Constable Arcenio Cus lost his life on Monday morning in a devastating traffic accident along the Philip Goldson Highway. Constable Cus had just completed his shift at the Ladyville Police Station and was heading home on his motorcycle when he was knocked down. A black vehicle reportedly veered into his lane, colliding with him head-on. In the wake of the deadly hit-and-run, Khris Rosado, a well-known deejay and businessman. On Monday evening, Rosado turned himself in to Ladyville Police and is expected to face charges, including failure to stop and render aid; failure to report an accident; causing death by careless conduct; manslaughter by negligence; and driving without due care and attention.
A nineteen-year-old father from Baracat Street, Andrew Guild, says he was assaulted by police, but it’s Guild who’s now before the court, accused of attacking an officer. After spending two nights in lockdown, Guild was escorted to the Belize City Magistrate’s Court this morning. He was read a single charge of aggravated assault on Police Constable Kenton Arzu. Though unrepresented, Guild got legal advice from attorney Richard “Dickie” Bradley and pleaded not guilty. He was granted bail of two thousand dollars with conditions, including no contact with the officer or witnesses and weekly check-ins starting this Friday. The charge stems from a July twenty-seventh incident. Police say they intercepted Guild driving a pickup with no plates. He was reportedly wanted for questioning in a shooting. According to officers, Guild resisted arrest and shoved PC Arzu during the confrontation. He was subdued and taken into custody. Guild spoke with a court reporter following his arraignment earlier today.
Andrew Guild
Andrew Guild, Charged with Aggravated Assault
“Di whole thing is, right, di police try use force upon me and I tried to help myself and when dehn realize that I di try help myself, dehn cohn tackle me to di ground, use excessive force against me. If yoh notice, mi face still lee bruise up ah lee bit, yoh get di sense.”
Reporter
“Where were you when all of this happened and why did they even come to where you were?”
Andrew Guild
“At the moment, I just jump eena my car di reverse up, di go look fi pick up my daughter.”
Reporter
“Which area is this?”
Andrew Guild
“Dis da right by corner ah Kraal Road and Reggae Street. I deh pan my way fi goh pick up daughter and di police truck stop me. Alright, I done sih da wah regular police stop. Soh dehn come out, search di vehicle, everything straight. Dehn tell me fi goh. Soh I di reverse now from outta dehn way, about fi goh, and di officer weh seh I assaulted he, come outta di truck, chase down my car fi a second time and tell me bout come outta di vehicle. So right away I felt threatened. Right away, I push my hand outta di vehicle and I tell ahn I noh have nothing, I noh di do nothing. By the time he open my door, he di use excessive force against me, he di look fi hurt me. So weh I do, I try use myself fi just let go affa he and di release affa he. Afta dat, two other police cohn, tackle me to the ground and had dehn knee eena my neck, all eena my back too and I couldn’t breathe fi like three minutes. And I mek dehn know clear dat a wah sue all ah unu. And me, personally, I think di reason why da man bring da charge to me because ih know that I wah tek legal action and I noh wahn stop til I get my victory.”
