We begin tonight with heartbreaking news out of Bella Vista Village in the Toledo District. A family is grappling with unimaginable loss after two young sisters, just seven and eight years old, tragically drowned in an open septic pit on a private property. Angie and Laury Pimentel were sent on a simple errand to their grandmother’s house, but they never made it. What followed was a frantic search that ended in devastation. News Five’s Tanya Arceo traveled south this morning and brings the following story.
Tanya Arceo, Reporting
It was just after four o’clock on Monday afternoon when tragedy struck in Bella Vista Village. Seven-year-old Laury and eight-year-old Angie Pimentel were sent on a quick errand to their grandmother’s house nearby, but they never made it back. As minutes turned into panic, their mother, Delmy Argueta, began searching. What she found was every parent’s worst nightmare, her daughters had drowned in an open septic pit.
Delmy Argueta
Delmy Argueta, Mother of Drowning Victims
“I sent them on an errand to my mother’s house, but they didn’t go there. Instead, they went to the pit and hid their bicycles. One of them took off her clothes, perhaps to take a bath in secret. I don’t know what happened to the other one, but when my mother found the bicycles, she called me. I went and jumped into the pool and pulled out the first one, and then I found the other one. After about half an hour, when they hadn’t come back, I sent someone to look for them and called my mom to see if they had arrived there, and she told me she hadn’t seen them. They went out to look at the house that was being built and found the bicycles hidden inside. They found the youngest girl’s clothes”.
The girls were supposed to be heading to their grandmother’s house, but they never made it inside. Instead, they wandered near a construction site, where an open septic pit sat uncovered. Their grandmother, Ligia Contreras, knew something was wrong when she spotted one of the girls’ slippers nearby. Her heart sank and her worst fears were confirmed.
Ligia Contreras
Ligia Contreras, Grandmother of Drowning Victims
“I found a stick, I stuck it in, I felt there was something there, and I called out to her to hurry up because they had fallen into the well. When I saw that the bicycles were inside that house, I saw her slippers and her little clothes, so I quickly grabbed the stick and stuck it where I stuck it. I felt there was something inside.”
We spoke with the girls’ father at the cemetery. He is still trying to come to terms with the unimaginable loss. He says this tragedy should be a wake-up call. More needs to be done to prevent accidents like this, and he’s urging property owners to take responsibility when digging dangerous pits. Leaving them uncovered, he says, is a risk no family should have to face.
Selvin Pimentel
Selvin Pimentel, Father of Drowning Victims
“I have something to say. When we have a construction project, please, as I tell many people, even if an old man is drunk when he opens his pit, he closes it with anything. Other people just open the pits and leave them there.” 0When my wife called me while I was working, she said, “Selvin, something terrible has happened.” “What happened?” I asked. “Angie and Laury drowned,” she said. “Don’t joke like that,” I told her. A little while ago the property owner where the pit is left me four bars of steel. I told him I didn’t need them. Do you think four bars are worth your daughters’ lives? Of course not.”
We attempted to contact the owners of the property but were not successful. Tanya Arceo for News Five.
Another member of the Espat family is behind bars tonight and this time, it’s twenty-eight-year-old Karim Nazim Espat, who’s been remanded to the Belize Central Prison after being accused of gang involvement. Espat, along with twenty-seven-year-old Bryan Anthony Correa, both from the DFC area of San Pedro, was brought to the Belize City Magistrate’s Court this afternoon to face a single charge each of being a member of a gang. They appeared before Magistrate Ludlow Black just after two p.m., and while both men pleaded not guilty, the charge falls under Section Sixteen of the Crime Control and Criminal Justice Act, which means the magistrate couldn’t offer bail. They’ll have to apply to the High Court if they want a shot at release. Espat was represented by attorney David McKoy, who raised concerns about how his client was treated while in police custody. McKoy told the court that Espat was allegedly denied food while detained in San Pedro, even when his family brought meals for him. Both men are due back in court on September eighteenth in San Pedro. And this isn’t an isolated case. Just yesterday, two other island residents, Alexander and Mark Anthony Logan, were also charged with gang membership. Like Espat and Correa, they pleaded not guilty and are expected back in court on September twenty-fourth.
The Belizean Bus Association is calling out Minister of Transport, Doctor Louis Zabaneh, accusing him of playing politics and acting in bad faith. At the heart of the controversy is the newly formed pro temp advisory committee for the National Bus Company. One of its members, Oswin Blease, owner of Fu We Transport, was appointed to represent bus operators. Here’s where things get interesting: the BBA says Blease isn’t one of them. In fact, they claim he’s a newcomer with little experience and a strong political affiliation to the ruling party. So, is this a strategic move to sideline the BBA’s voice? We put that question directly to Minister Zabaneh today.
Louis Zabaneh
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport
“What happened in the past couple of weeks is that we have been getting quite a number of bus operators coming in to sign on to this phase of the process that will see their operations audited by professional auditors they chose from a subcommittee. We then decide we will form an advisory committee of the same stakeholders we have been talking with over the past two months or so. We have already published the list of the members of that committee that would include the unions represented by the NTUCB, membership from other government entities that will be helpful like MIDH, Ministry of Economic Transformation, the statistical institute of Belize. We want to make sure we have quite a bit of professional input and continued communication from UB as well, who were on that committee. Mr. Oswin Blease was chosen as one of the members of the operators who signed on to be the person with that perspective of the operators on the committee. Then we saw this press release from the BBA with respect to that choice. So that is an unfortunate interpretation from their end. It was not with the intent to disrespect them in anyway.”
Minister Louis Zabaneh is standing by his pick. He says Oswin Blease brings alot to the table in terms of experience. But when we asked if Blease is actually a member of the Belizean Bus Association, the minister’s answer was… well, a bit fuzzy. He said ‘technically, yes.’ We also pressed him on whether the BBA had any say in choosing who would represent bus operators on the advisory committee. Here’s what he told us.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport
“Mr. Blease bring a wealth of experience in the business. He has been to all consultations. We feel he will be instrumental in bringing that perspective to the process. That is why we chose him.”
Paul Lopez
“Is Mr. Blease a member of the Belize Bus Owners Association?”
Dr. Louis Zabaneh
“I guess he is an operator, a listed operator and if they claim that all the operators are members of the BBA, I guess he is. The fact that all of our meeting, the beginning and end of May, Mr. Blease was there among them and a vocal participant in these meeting, expressing his views, some views critical and some supporting the process. I feel comfortable he will bring to bear good judgment and guidance to the process.”
Paul Lopez
“Did the BBA executive, whether it is the president or vice president have any say or input in Mr. Blease’s appointment.”
Dr. Louis Zabaneh
“No, it is an advisory committee to my ministry, and I made the final choice of who I felt would be there to support us and bring something to the table. Minister Shaw, who is the president, is somebody who we interact with regularly. Mr. Shaw expressed that he is on the fence with his decision. We are waiting for his determination.”
BBA maintains that there is a clear desire to prevent equity and transparency in the process.
News Five reached out to the Ministry of Public Service with a Freedom of Information request, asking for a full list of government rental spaces from June 2024 to 2025. We also wanted to know who’s collecting rent from the government, specifically, the names of all landlords with active contracts. And the ministry responded, with a list that’s nothing short of eye-opening. A total of one hundred and sixteen rental spaces across the country, complete with locations and landlord names. Interestingly, some landlords show up more than once, which raises questions about who’s really benefiting from these deals. But here’s where things get murky. When we asked for copies of the actual tenancy agreements, the ministry said no. Their reason? The Attorney General’s Ministry advised against it, claiming the contracts are exempt from public disclosure. They even referenced former Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s past comments defending that position. The ministry also argued that revealing rental costs could drive prices up, putting more pressure on the national budget.
Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa and Attorney General Anthony Sylvestre appeared on Open Your Eyes this morning, diving deep into the proposed constitutional change that’s stirring controversy across the country. Minister Musa says the Thirteenth Amendment isn’t introducing anything new, it’s simply giving constitutional backing to a law that’s been on the books since 1993. He argues that while critics fear government overreach, the amendment actually adds more oversight than current emergency powers. Still, not everyone’s convinced. With public resistance growing, will this move strengthen public safety or weaken civil liberties?
Kareem Musa
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“So since 2018 to present both successive governments have been utilizing the state of emergency as a lifesaving tool because essentially that is what it has become, when crime and violence among feuding gangs becomes so intense that there is constant retaliation among these groups and that often times leads to the lose of innocent lives in Belize, not just gang members, because there is this school of thought that says, just let gang members kill themselves out. There is collateral damage. In this year alone think of Mr. Avilar who died right here on Coney Drive. Think of the young man Orosco who was taking his child to school. Think of Ms. Jones and her handicap son. Those are four lives lost in just this year as you describe, collateral damage. So, the question is, what do you do when you have this escalation in violence that leads to the loss of gang member lives, but also the lose of innocent citizens lives. That is why we say we need to have legislation that can counter this because in the streets there is a code, if I kill Isani, his family will not say its me, even if they witness it. They will take out the retaliation themselves. There is a street and a gang code that we have to recognize.”
Minister Musa broke it down like this: the proposed Thirteenth Amendment is all about clearing up confusion around the current state of emergency laws in the Constitution. To do that, the government is leaning on parts of the existing Crime Control and Criminal Justice Act, specifically the section that talks about creating what they call ‘special areas.’ But here’s the key part, Minister Musa says the amendment also adds an extra layer of oversight. That means stricter checks and balances before any area can be declared ‘special’ under a state of emergency.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“We are fleshing out the state of emergency into the constitution but in a way we are saying specifically, because the state of emergency is only for public safety. It is very vague. Now you think of natural disasters and the looting that happens and you may say well maybe that is what the framers of the constitution wanted, for us to have legislation that address that. We are saying in 2025, as was recognized in 1993 that we need to flesh it out more to say that this is a crime fighting, life saving tool that we want to keep in our tool box as a measure of last resort, not something to be used everyday but something to say listen this is getting our of control, the public is not giving statements, we need to hit the pause button. Its not just the minister, it’s not just the prime minister, it is not just the police that gets to decide anymore under this law. It is an entire security council made up of the military, the coast guard, foreign affairs, all of these parties must now listen to the report from the police and say whether it is justifiable tat we now call an area a special area for one month, similar to the provision for state of emergency now with greater oversight.”
One of the proposed legislations in the Thirteenth Amendment is the establishment of a Gun and Gang Court. So, how will this specialized court assist in combat gun violence and gang warfare? We asked Attorney General Anthony Sylvestre this morning. Here is his response.
Anthony Sylvestre
Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney General
“As things currently stand, matters are being dealt with in the magistrate’s court. The idea is to have these be dealt with in a specialized gang and gun court. In the Magistrates Court, the Magistrates deal with all kind of matters, traffic, and all other types of matters, including civil matters. A case may have started in January but it is not completed, through no faulty of the Magistracy, until maybe a year, because it is adjourned a number of times. The idea is to move that and have these cases dealt with as similar to the High Court which is why the amendment is to have the court has the powers of both a magistrate and a High Court judge. So, with respect to a specialized court, it is nothing new in Belize and other countries to have specialized court that deals with family matters, revenue matters, administration, estate matters, the idea is to have a specialized court that deals with gun and gang matters and that will allow for expedited hearing.”
Last week, we followed up on Aaron Guzman’s seventy-thousand-dollar advisory contract with the Ministry of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries, a deal that raised more than a few eyebrows. Well, there’s an update. Today, Minister Kareem Musa told us that Guzman’s contract likely won’t be renewed when it expires in February 2026. Guzman’s role is to advise on policing and economic growth. But with that kind of paycheck, we’re still asking, was this hire really necessary? We put that to Minister Musa earlier today.
Kareem Musa
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“We found it necessary. Like I mentioned on the last occasion, there is great value coming out of Mr. Guzman. It was a recommendation from the former police commissioner. He wanted Mr. Guzman to be attached to the police department as opposed to the ministry. But we saw where it would have been a better fit in terms of providing guidance and council to our ministry in his duty as a special advisor. And so, there was a lot of work still left unfinished that he still required an additional year to finish up. He has assisted in identifying countrywide repairs to police stations that were necessary. He assisted retirees, in clearing all the backlog with pensions and retirement benefits for retirees. There is such a huge backlog and he has worked well there. He is working on our animal welfare bill. These are things that will be tied up in the coming months and his contract expires in February of next year. We don’t foresee the need to hire him for an additional year next year, but certainly his contribution has been invaluable and perhaps raises the discussion as to whether age fifty-five is really the age we should look at as the retirement age, because I know he still has so much to offer.”
On Monday night, we took you deep into the heart of San Pedro, Columbia, where subsistence farmers are facing a growing threat, an aggressive rodent infestation that’s putting their crops, and their livelihoods, at risk. But as our team ventured further into the deep south, we uncovered more than just a pest problem. What we found was a rich tapestry of tradition, age-old farming practices rooted in Maya culture, where every planting, every harvest, is guided by ancestral wisdom. Tonight, in our latest installment of Kolcha Tuesday, News Five’s Paul Lopez takes us beyond the fields and into the soul of southern Belize’s farming heritage.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
A rodent infestation is sweeping across small farms in the Toledo District and it’s not only threatening crops and livelihoods. It’s shaking the very roots of a farming tradition passed down through generations of Maya families. And while stories of rats in the milpas have been whispered for years, farmers say this is different. This time, it’s not just folklore. It’s real. And it’s right in front of them.
Sylvano Tesecum
Sylvano Tesecum, Farmer, Toledo District
“My ancestors from long time, my grandmother use to tell us the story of lots of rats before, until now I am seeing it.”
So, we hit the road and made our way to San Pedro Columbia to see it all for ourselves. But what we found wasn’t just farmers going about their daily grind. We stepped into a world where farming is more than just planting and harvesting, it’s a way of life. It’s a system deeply rooted in spiritual beliefs, a respectful partnership with nature, and a strong sense of community. Preparation for planting begins the day before. Raphael Choc, an experienced farmer, acted as our cultural guide for the day.
Raphael Choc
Raphael Choc, Farmer, Toledo
“Before the planting, the owner will need to go out there and find workers, most of the time family members.”
Before planting begins, there’s a sacred commitment. The men chosen for the task take a vow of purity, abstaining from sexual activity the night before. It’s a spiritual preparation, rooted in deep respect for the land and the traditions that guide their way of life.
Raphael Choc
“Of course the planters must make sure they are pure and for them to be pure we ask them not to sleep with their women the night before of the planting and whoever cheats we will know. We will see the results in the corn field.”
Before sunrise, the men set of on their journey to the farm through mountainous, densely forested terrain. The route kicks off with a steep, fifteen-minute uphill climb that really puts your endurance to the test. And just when you think you’ve conquered it, the trail drops into an even steeper descent on the other side, challenging your footing and your focus every step of the way. The Maya people have, for generations, been making use of the plants this jungle provides.
Raphael Choc
“Smell this, this is the cow foot leaf, this is the cow foot leaf. So what we do is put this in the lancha. The waha leaves. So, people need to understand we need to start to go green. We the buy aluminum foil and plastic wrapper. We the grow this here. It does not rip. We call it the green wrapper.”
On the farm, the men wear a sling bag known as a kuxtal, across their shoulders that is filled with corn. They traverse the land together, poking holes in the ground and placing the seeds in an orderly fashion.
Raphael Choc
“Of course when everybody comes together, he will not pay them financially, what he will do is give back that working day. So if he gets five people to plant, that means he owes five days work, one day for person. It does not have to be planting, but any work he has at the farm.”
We enjoyed a refreshing bowl of a traditional corn-based beverage, before the return trip. After a long day in the fields, these farmers don’t just head home. They hoist their harvest onto their backs and tackle that same steep incline all over again; this time, weighed down by the fruits of their labor. It’s a grueling climb that shows just how much heart and strength goes into every crop.
Paul Lopez
“Now you imagine this climb, with a sack of corn on your back. That is what they have to do to transport the corn from this area out to where they can sell it, eat it and feed it to their animals.”
Ultimately, the struggles pale in comparison to the reward. It’s customary for the farm owner to host a feast, a heartfelt thank-you to the workers who’ve toiled alongside him. A freshly prepared bowl of chicken caldo is on today’s menu.
Raphael Choc
“So this is the reward of the planters. You have a hot dish of the local chicken caldo, a cup. That is for the chocolate drink. We also have the hot corn tortillas and we also have the hot pepper. As you can see we feed the kids first, then the planters around the table and after when the planters leave the room that is when the women will take over the table and they will have their own feast. And whatever left over food they have they will take it to the family.”
The belief is that if they adhere to these Maya practices then they will experience a favorable harvest.
Raphael Choc
“So now what we are facing is these rats. So we want to know if they are not following the traditional rules or if the rats are just there.”
In any event, the rodents must be eradicated in order for these cultural practices to thrive across seasons. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
