There’s a new team steering the ship at the Port of Belize. The company has just named its Board of Directors, kicking off what they’re calling a fresh chapter in leadership and direction. Ambassador Lynn Young takes the helm as Chairman, leading a diverse team tasked with steering the port’s strategic and operational goals. His team includes attorney Priscilla Banner, former union leader Elena Smith, businessman Dinesh Bhojwani, Kevin Castillo, Rey Guerrero, and C.E.O. Arturo ‘Tux’ Vasquez. This transition follows the conclusion of the previous board’s term, led by Doctor Gilbert Canton. The company expressed gratitude to the outgoing members and says it’s now focused on strengthening services and supporting Belize’s economic growth under the new leadership
Tag: 2025-06-10
Film Workshop for Belize’s Creative Scene Coming This June!
Calling all filmmakers, students, and creatives! The Belize Film Commission is launching an exciting new opportunity, the Belize Film Xchange Workshop Series, happening June twenty-third to twenty-seventh at the ITVET Campus in Belize City. This five-day, hands-on workshop is packed with expert-led sessions covering everything from screenwriting and directing to cinematography, sound, editing, and music. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to sharpen your skills, this is your chance to learn from the best. And speaking of the best, the lineup includes both local and international.
Carlo Habet, Film Commissioner
“So the five-day film workshop series that we’re putting on, entitled the Belize Film Exchange, is something that has been a brainchild, in development for like a year now and it’s a component that we think is really important because we notice that processing permits and these kinds of things, we have a lot of films coming in and more films coming in, bigger films coming in. But what do they need? They need people who they can hire and this is something that we want to provide, it’s that skilled labor so that we can have our Belizeans, you know, they can actually do these things themselves. But it’s like a chicken and egg situation, so we didn’t have enough people. Now, we want to make sure that there are people out there that are of a specific type of standard and actually have something to show for it. So what’s actually interesting is that ITVET is actually certifying this course, so when people are done with this, they could say, “Hey, we have a certificate in directing or screenwriting, or production, grip and electrical.” So I think that’s kind of the value we’re trying to bring to people and I really must tip my hat to NICH and the Ministry of Education for providing this and really subsidizing it because it’s a big program and the price that it’s out there for is actually super reasonable. I hope that it’s something that people will take advantage of, one. And two, that it’s a start of something that we want to do quarterly, going forward.”
Isani Cayetano
“Who all are you looking to see enroll in this particular seminar?”
Carlo Habet
“So, for the exchange, we thought, the industry is still very young and we want to actually target two different groups. One is actually working professionals who already are in the industry, but also students who are already taking some kind of art program and they kind of want to do something film-related and this might be the next step for them that they can take to say well maybe now this is how I can get into working professionally in the film industry, audiovisual industry.”
Sessions run daily from 8 AM to 5 PM, so get ready to dive deep into the world of filmmaking. The workshop is ITVET-certified and backed by the National Institute of Culture and History, the Ministry of Education, Science & Technology, and the Belize Film Commission.
Greater Belize Media Tops 2025 CBU Awards Nominations
Greater Belize Media is making waves this year, leading the pack in nominations for the 2025 Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) Media Awards. With a remarkable one hundred and three entries, GBM has, for the first time, surpassed Jamaica’s powerhouse, the RGR Gleaner Communication Group. The Thirty-sixth annual CBU Media Awards will take place on August twentieth in Barbados. The big news was revealed this morning by CBU Secretary General Sonia Gill during an official ceremony.
Sonia Gill, Secretary General, Caribbean Broadcasting Union
“I am pleased to announce the nominees for the thirty-six CBU awards. 2025 has once again been a record-breaking year, with the CBU Secretariat receiving five hundred and sixty-one submissions for sixty-one categories from thirty-one organizations representing eleven countries and territories in the Dutch, English and Spanish Caribbean as well as pan regional countries. That is an increase of thirteen percent compared to last year, which was also a record-breaking year. For 2025, a new leader in the number of nominations is being crowned. The organization that led the pack with one hundred and three nominated entries is Greater Belize Media. For the first time it edged out the RGR Gleaner Communications Group from Jamaica which still recorded a healthy total of ninety-five nominations for its TV, Radio, Digital and Print services.”
Ralph Fonseca Laid to Rest with Official Funeral
Belize said goodbye today to one of its most divisive political figures. Former PUP Minister Ralph Fonseca passed away last Friday at the age of seventy-five, after battling illness for some time. This afternoon, Fonseca was honored with an official funeral and a Mass of Thanksgiving at Divine Mercy Church in Belize City. The service brought together family, friends, and political figures from both sides of the aisle. Minister of State Christopher Coye delivered the eulogy, offering heartfelt reflections on Fonseca’s life and legacy. Here’s a brief excerpt from his homage.
Christopher Coye, Minister of State
“In politics they say perception is reality. In life and in truth, perception is not reality. Perception is perception and life is reality. On August ninth, 1949, Ralph Fonseca entered this world with a bang at the Belize City Hospital as thunder roared outside, weighing a hefty ten pound we were the eldest son of Ralph Aloysius Fonseca and Gertude. HE would become a guiding light to his siblings, David, Lillian, Andrea and Mark. He attended Holy Redeemer School then Saint John’s College. At a very early age, Ralph displayed a strong work ethic, selling tickets at the palace theater until he was sixteen. Ralph was passionate about the sea, snorkeling, fishing, diving, learning as much as he could from his cousin louis Locke. He even built his first fishing sailing boat at the age of fourteen. His first professional position was at Texaco in 1968 and by the age of eighteen he had already become the manager.”
Minister Backs Firearms Board Amid Criticism from Gun Dealer
Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa is standing by the Firearms and Ammunition Control Board amid criticism from Abner Murillo, owner of Lock N’ Loaded gun shop. Murillo has publicly condemned the new licensing process as slow, unclear, and unfair to law-abiding citizens.
Responding to the criticism, Musa said, “He obviously has a right to protest regulations. Obviously a lot of gun dealers thrived when we had zero regulations with the issuing of gun licenses.” He pointed to past issues, saying, “We heard many horror stories, instances of corruption, instances of paying off to get a gun license. A lot of unsavory individuals getting gun license and we have pivoted away from that.”
Musa added, “I know that is going to harm the business of gun dealers and this guy is a gun dealer right, so it going to harm his business naturally… But, he has to understand, we are operating under new circumstances, under regulations.” He praised the board’s efforts, saying, “I think the board has been doing an exceptionally good job… These are positive things, so instead of applauding these things, he is out there complaining because he is not making the kind of money he use to.”
Musa said, “I have to respect that, but at the end of the day my duty is to the Belizean people to make sure we have proper regulations in place.”
Belizean Student in U.S. Speaks Out on Fear Amid Immigration Crackdown
A Belizean student living in the United States has shared his fears about life under the Trump-era immigration policies. He describes a climate of fear that has reshaped how he and many others live their daily lives. The student, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, has lived in the U.S. for more than 11 years and is currently based in Long Beach, California.
He described a heavy emotional toll as federal immigration enforcement ramps up across cities like Los Angeles and Las Vegas, where many of his family members reside. “They’re all citizens… and even they are worried also about what can happen whenever they step out,” he said. “It is just heartbroken to see families just going through all of this… seeing their crying parents that [get] snatched away and the kids just leave there. Parentless. It’s a very sad situation.”
In light of the increased raids and deportations, he said his own lifestyle has drastically changed. “Festival, large crowds are a no for me… Caribbean events are all off-limits for me until I feel comfortable to be around people and safe again,” he explained. “If restaurants are not safe for you to even eat with your family, then it’s a no.”
The student said that fear of being stopped, even with legal status, is widespread. “We all just have to be careful… small little things, they’re looking for a reason to just snatch you and deport you. And when you get deported, you don’t know where you’re going.”
He said that immigration enforcement is affecting everyone, regardless of status. “Not even students are safe on campus… student visas are getting revoked. People are getting sent back to their origin countries for apparent no reason,” he said. “This has stopped me a lot from pursuing my education.”
Though he currently feels relatively safe in Long Beach, he recounted the chaos happening nearby: “They raid all over the places…Home Depots, Italian restaurants, Mexican restaurants, even on buses. People are heading to work, they’re snatching them out. It’s just unlawful.”
He warned that no one is exempt: “Legal, illegal, citizens, green card holders…everyone is at risk… Your Latin features…once looked at a certain way you will get snatched up and deported.”
His legal status is currently being handled by an attorney, and he continues to pay out of pocket for his education while trying to stay afloat amid the uncertainty. “It’s a scary moment for a lot of people here in America,” he said. “Your life and livelihood can [be] cut just like that in seconds.”
PSU President Fires Back at ComPol Rosado
The ongoing tension between Police Commissioner Dr. Richard Rosado and Public Service Union (PSU) President Dean Flowers escalated this week after Rosado publicly linked Flowers’ phone number to a ‘high-profile police investigation.’
Speaking to the media on Monday, Rosado dismissed Flowers’ recent criticisms of police operations, stating, “It is difficult for me to respond to someone who does not understand the dynamics of policing, who does not understand the challenges in policing. I believe that individual just wants to spew nonsense for his own aggrandizement.” He then added, “But I want to ask you in the media to ask him how his phone number, connected to him, is linked to a high-profile investigation involving public officers.”
Flowers fired back this morning, strongly rejecting the claim and accusing Rosado of trying to deflect from legitimate concerns about policing practices. “He does not have an iota of proof linking 6005110 or 615 3110 to any investigation since the Declaration of Self-Government in 1964,” Flowers stated. He said the Commissioner’s remarks stemmed from bruised ego and anger over Flowers’ criticism of police tactics in Dangriga. “You cannot govern and rule based on fear, which is what in my view, the police department attempted to do in Dangriga, instill fear,” he said.
The PSU President also reminded Dr. Rosado that his position is safeguarded by the very union he now seems to be at odds with. “If it was not for the Public Service Union of Belize, he would never be Commissioner of Police,” Flowers said, referencing protections under the public service regulations tied to collective bargaining agreements. “This union has been protecting you from day one.”
Fire Destroys 8 Motorcycles at Police Station
Police in southern Belize are investigating a fire that broke out late Tuesday morning at the Independence police compound, destroying eight motorcycles. According to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Stacy Smith, the blaze started around 10:30 a.m. on the eastern side of the compound, which houses the ISF station.
“Police officers in the Southern Regional Formation were alerted to a fire that was ongoing on the eastern side of that compound,” ASP Smith said. “The police officers observed that there was a high tension wire that became undone and this resulted in a fire.”
Smith explained that the fire engulfed approximately eight motorcycles that had been stored at the location. “The motorcycles were not the motorcycles that were being used by the police officers,” she clarified. “They were actually properties that were in possession of the police as a consequence of abandoned property or property whose owner cannot be identified.”
Due to the involvement of a high-tension wire, firefighters had to wait for Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) personnel to arrive before they could fully respond to the scene.
“The fire was subsequently contained and the extent of the damages [was] limited to the said eight motorcycles. The property, the building, was not affected by the fire.”
‘Police Officers Stole My $11’
Two police constables are under investigation following allegations that they robbed a Belize City resident during a traffic stop. Edlin Perez claims the incident occurred on June 8, 2025, as he was riding his bicycle against the flow of traffic along Orange Street.
According to Perez, what began as a routine stop quickly escalated. He alleges that the officers searched him and then demanded money from his pocket, ultimately taking eleven dollars. The incident was reported to police shortly after it occurred.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith confirmed that the matter is under active investigation. “Edlin Perez reported to police that… he was intercepted by two police officers who conducted a search on him,” ASP Smith explained. “At the conclusion of that search, Mr. Perez alleges that one of the officers requested money that was in his possession and he handed it over.”
Placencia Council Demands Gov’t Action on Land Dispute
The Placencia Village Council (PVC) is urgently calling on the government to take immediate action in a land dispute that it says threatens the community’s most cherished public space, Placencia Point. In a letter sent to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources Cordel Hyde on June 9, PVC Chairperson Warren Garbutt demanded a resolution to the issue, which he says has dragged on for over a decade.
The 1.8-acre parcel of land has been at the heart of Placencia life for more than 50 years. It is used for hosting major cultural and economic events like Lobsterfest and the Art Festival. Despite long-standing community use and official requests dating back to 2013, the land was sold to a private company without the council’s knowledge.
The village has tried multiple times to formally acquire the land, reaching out to several ministers and even the Prime Minister over the years. Surveys later revealed inconsistencies in the land’s size, with one survey suggesting that nearly half an acre of shoreline, currently not titled, could belong to the village.
The council says the Ministry of Natural Resources previously committed to helping reclaim the land, including publishing acquisition notices and negotiating with the new landowner. But those promises were never fulfilled, and each year the village faces legal threats during Lobsterfest, which generates critical revenue for local governance.
The council says Placencia Point is a vital part of the village’s culture, identity, and environment, especially as climate change and erosion reduce beach access elsewhere.
The PVC has now given the government until June 12 to respond with a clear plan or face public pressure through the media.