Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum
transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast
are conducted in Creole. In the interest of clarity for our foreign readers,
we attempt to paraphrase the Creole quotes in English
For the second time in less than two weeks, a 20-something-year-old has been killed in the city.
Twenty-one-year-old Jaheim Sanchez was shot and killed in his neighborhood on Wednesday night. The suspects wore dark clothing and arrived on a motorcycle wearing full-face helmets.
Jomarie Lanza spoke to his mother this morning, who told us that her son was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time:
These past two weeks have been filled with deep grief and loss for the Myvett and Sanchez families, losing two family members-one 20 and one 21-to separate incidents of gun violence.
On Wednesday night at 10:30 in the vicinity of T Street, a fatal bullet made its way into a crowd where 21-year-old Jaheim Sanchez was socializing outside his home, just a stone's throw from his mother's house.
She got the news that her son had been shot minutes after it happened, but by the time they made it to the hospital, her firstborn was already gone.
Voice of Shanice Ysaguirre, Mother of Deceased "When I went inside, the doctors told me they are operating on him and asked me to come outside. So I went outside and I stood up outside, and that's when the CIB came out and said they are cleaning him up. I said, 'Why are they cleaning him up? You are talking to me like my son is dead.' Then she said, 'Yes, Ms., your son died from he reached.' So I told her, 'Alright,' and I started to cry, and my little brother came in and they cleaned him up and they told me to go in and see him."
Jomarie Lanza: "When was the last time you saw your son?"
Voice of Shanice Ysaguirre: "The day before he died. He was playing games on my phone and I said, 'Give me my phone so I can check my messages,' and he said, 'Right after this game, Ma.' I told him, 'Alright,' and as he finished the game, he handed me my phone. Sat down and ate his food, he said, 'Mom, I'm going home. I love you and take care of yourself.' I said, 'I love you, Ja, and stay safe,' and he left."
It had only been a few months since her son moved out and began to live independently. She says he would usually come by for dinner, but on the night of the shooting, for some reason, he never arrived. Ysaguirre says that they strongly believe her son was not the target and he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Voice of Shanice Ysaguirre: "I always taught my kids you will know when your friends really want you to uplift yourself or they want you to stay down, right. He had friends through Ghost Town that was really with him-females, it is sad to say it's females, right. And he realized that when we moved and he came around here, and he watched me and my gentleman and he told us he has no friends like that. Because when he went to jail, nobody looked out for him-just me, my friends, and my gentleman. So he said, 'Mom, I need to find friends that will uplift me.' I was very proud of him when he came around here because the boys he would hang with, I won't lie, they didn't treat him bad or showed him a bad face. They found him a job, they made sure he went to work, he moved out from me and ended up renting his own spot. From he was small, he just couldn't go far from me-he will always stay around me, and every day he comes, but just that day he didn't come.
"I don't know, I really don't know. I just feel like my son was not supposed to be out there, he was supposed to be inside. Like usual, I can't even get him to come out of his house to come for food after 9, you understand? So it really hurts me."
And though today they buried their cousin Brianna, Ysaguirre says that the wound has deepened since losing her son the same way as Brianna, quickly and unexpectedly.
Voice of Shanice Ysaguirre: "It's rough because it's me and him. When Brianna got shot, he left from work and came and said, 'You, Mom, did you hear Brianna got shot?' I said, 'Yes,' because they are both young alike, and when we go on family trips, he and Bree hangs out with Bree's brother.
"I went to the morgue yesterday and I told Bree, 'Take care of my baby, because my baby went from me too quick.'"
Tonight, a Punta Gorda family and the UB student community are mourning as the life of Jaheed Lopez was cut short after a freak accident.
Lopez had just received a sports scholarship from the University of Belize that would have granted him a full ride through school. Jaleeza Roberts reports:
On Wednesday, the life of Jaheed Lopez, a loved athlete and UB student, was cut short when an 18-wheeler truck filled with sand and gravel toppled onto its side. It happened around 4:30 p.m. near Armenia Village.
So far, reports indicate that he was coming from working on a farm in Armenia Village when he stopped on the roadside to help remove a tree. That's when the 18-wheeler was overtaking, became unstable, and tipped over, crushing him underneath.
The accident sent shockwaves through the sporting community because this 21-year-old was all about his priorities:
Voice of: Jaheed Lopez, Deceased "Always be different. Always if you want something, you always work for it, no matter how hard it gets, you just work for it. For me, that's the best advice you can get: just be different. If your friend wants to go partying and your aim is on this goal, then you focus on your goal. You can party later when you achieve the goal."
But he never got to his goal, and this morning his UB family grieved him.
Sadness, shock, and loss filled the air as his friends and teammates reflected on a life that brightened theirs. Lopez had just officially signed his contract with the University of Belize to finish his Associate's Degree in IT on a full sports scholarship-one of his goals since he started at the university coming from an economically challenged background:
Erlinda Smith, Student Services Coordinator, UB "Jaheed has been a resilient student. He was always like, 'Miss, am I going to get the scholarship? Miss, am I going to get the scholarship? Miss, I am working for this.' And last year in our football regionals, I was shouting on the... as I tried to attend all of the games, shouting for him and Jaheed. But I did not know he was a person that I had met as a child. So when he scored the goal, I was like... and I'm a football fanatic too. So when I saw it, I was like, 'Jaheed, I know you!' So I mean, he kept on pushing to get the scholarship, kept on doing everything that he needed to do to meet the requirements of the scholarship. And sure enough, this school year we had more spots and we have the support of the Ministry of Education. We also have the support of some other ministers who we've written proposals to increase the number of our students. So currently we have 59 students. Jaheed was one of the first students who responded to the scholarship call, and first day he was at the office: 'Miss, what do I need to do? Do I have everything? Miss, do I?' And the committee met, and there were no... there was nothing that kept us from providing that scholarship for... for Jaheed. The Dean, the President, Coach, and all the other members of Student Affairs were on board to ensure that Jaheed got his scholarship."
And even though he never got to see the fullness of the scholarship he worked hard for, he left a mark on the students that can't be erased. This is a memory his coach holds on to:
Joseph Waight, Athletic Coach, UB "He actually scored in one of our matches, and in the... in the ATLIB tournament, um, that gave us the opportunity to play for a final match the... the following day. And also Jaheed will definitely be missed on our team because, you know, he brings that excitement to the game. He brings his personal skills onto the field and, like I said, that unity he bonds within the group. You know, I cannot ask for anything much greater that he could have done for us in that way.
"The lesson he left for us behind was for us to continue to work for what we wanted, because that is something that he has... he always strove to become better. And like I said, he always had that motivation, even people who don't play football and so on, all the other various disciplines we have here at UB-that was his message to everybody: to continue to be different and get better at what you do in order to attain your goals that you have set in life."
But beyond his athletic and academic life, his family from Punta Gorda remembers him as a hard worker:
Nelisha Gomez, Jaheed's Aunt "Throughout these years, Jaheed remained a humble and helpful young man. Even after school, he and his brother would find ways to help his mother, including selling cake and assisting the family wherever he could. He was never too proud to lend a hand, you know, anywhere around in the environment or in the community. This is where Jaheed would give hand to people doing other works like, you know, soil, helping with little gardening here and there. You know, he never forgot who he was."
And, more importantly, he always remembered who he wanted to be:
Nelisha Gomez: "Football was more than just a sport to Jaheed, it was something he dreamed about and believed in, more like his passion. He would tell his grandmother, his aunt, myself, 'One day I'll become an all-star player.' That was the words we hold on to, and he truly believed he would become one. As he grew older, he played on different teams and eventually became involved with the Football Federation. Football was something, you would say, a background of his mom's people, the relationship from the other family members. Football was something that was in them. You would say they were birthed with it. There seemed to be no football team that Jaheed wasn't a part of."
And beyond the sport he loved, he worked hard to be a provider:
Nelisha Gomez: "Jaheed also wanted to work while attending school because he believed that being a man meant being responsible and helping himself and those he cared about. He went to school maintaining his relationship because Jaheed had a girlfriend and he believed that he needs to find... or he needs to work to help her, and continue pursuing the things that matter to him.
"Jaheed was more than a student, very God-fearing, a humble Christian, never forgot God in anything he does. More than a football player and more than a young man trying to build an independent life, he believed that he could have helped himself. He was a person who made an impact on his family."
And there is another fatal accident to report-it happened last night in the Orange Walk District.
Twenty-five-year-old Lorenzo Castro, a fisherman from Guinea Grass, died when his motorcycle collided with a van at the corner of Munoz Street and Otro Benque Road in Orange Walk Town.
Police say Castro was attempting to overtake the van when he collided with its front driver's side and was flung from the motorcycle, which had no license or insurance.
Sixty-one-year-old Antonio Novelo was driving the van and was detained as police continue to investigate.
Imagine standing on the banks of the Sarstoon River, looking across serene Belizean waters, and seeing Guatemalan vessels dotting the horizon.
That was the image that greeted the Belize Territorial Volunteers as they made their annual Tenth of September visit to Sarstoon Island.
Except this time-the first in almost 20 years-they couldn't get to the island. In fact, they got no further than the Forward Operating Base. They also had to be escorted in and out of the area.
That's because 14 vessels formed a blockade, making it too dangerous for the volunteers to venture further, even with the BDF and Coast Guard by their side.
It was a grim sight for the BTV, who also couldn't plant the Belizean flag, as they normally do during our celebration month.
Courtney Menzies spoke to the BTV leader and has this story:
For the first time in two decades, the Belize Territorial Volunteers could not make it around Sarstoon Island during their annual September trip. According to their leader, Wil Maheia, Guatemalan vessels-civilian and military-formed a blockade in Belize's waters. And to avoid catastrophe, the BTV's boats could only go as far as the Forward Operating Base.
He explained to us that they were warned before they arrived that the Guatemalan Armed Forces were there waiting.
Wil Maheia, Belize Territorial Volunteers "For the very first time, we were escorted from the time we left PG; in the past, we were escorted when we got to the river or the Forward Operating Base, so that was a positive. Just before we got to the river, before we got to the river mouth, we were briefed by the Belize Defence Force personnel, who basically told us things are intense in there because a total of 14 Guatemalan gunboats-and they had a lot of civilian boats with them too, so it was like a total blockade of the river-but they assured us they would get us up to the Forward Operating Base.
"It was pretty intense because we had to have BDF gunboats in the front and back of us and Coast Guard, so it was kind of intense. And the Coast Guard and BDF are professionals, and I'm sure everyone who was on that trip always had tremendous respect for those guys; they can do this job and they did it, and they got us to the Forward Operating Base.
"But for the very first time since we have been going to the Sarstoon for well over 15 years now-and if I remember right, I think it's probably 19 years-but for the very first time, we were not able to circle the island."
"And while we were getting escorted out the river, they were following us as well."
Maheia explained that the Guatemalan boats were only mere feet away from the Forward Operating Base. And he lamented that this incident happened only a week after the Foreign Ministers of both countries met at the Adjacency Zone.
Wil Maheia: "I was like, damn, didn't the CEO and the Minister of Foreign Affairs just talk a few days ago, what a great relationship and there's dialogue taking place and that the Organization of American States is facilitating things? I don't know if I believe those guys anymore, because how can you a few days before be talking with the guys who you call the 'friends of Belize' and a couple of days after, we can't even enter the Sarstoon River, which is ours-part of that river belongs to us. So there are places in Belize that Belizeans cannot go because Guatemalan Armed Forces have occupied those spots.
"I have never-and I have been going down there, like I said, close to 20 years-I've never seen this amount of gunboats. And it's almost like those Guatemalan guys, they were angry; they were like, 'Touch this and you'll see what will happen to you, come a bit closer and you will see,' even though they were clearly in Belizean territory. You can see from the videos, you could identify their boat because they have Guatemalan flags on their boats."
But the danger didn't deter Belizeans from taking the trip. Maheia explained they needed to borrow a boat in order to take everyone who wanted to go. And he added that this incident won't stop them from returning.
Courtney Menzies: "Will you still be out there again next September?"
Wil Maheia: "It won't be till next September; it might be this September. But I think the Guatemalans, they monitor our news and stuff like that, so they were prepared. But you know what? They have to always be prepared, because I'm telling you, we at the BTV, we are insisting that the Sarstoon Island belongs to us. I don't care what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is saying about diplomacy and talking and stuff like that, because if you will recall before we went to the ICJ, we had people like Assad Shoman going around telling people, 'Don't worry, once it's in the hands of the ICJ, we will be able to move freely and the Guatemalans won't interfere with you'-that was a complete lie, and we prove it every year. So we are going back to Sarstoon. I'm not announcing a date we're going, but we will be back to the Sarstoon. We'll try our best to plant a flag on the island; the island belongs to us."
And while Maheia criticized the Foreign Minister, Francis Fonseca said today that this issue will persist until the ICJ issues a judgment. He told us that he's glad no one was hurt and that Belize will once again issue a diplomatic note:
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs "Yeah, I mean we continue to pursue, as you know, a peaceful resolution of the unfounded claim. That is why-that is why we have always insisted on a path to peace. Yesterday was a good example of the challenges that we continue to have, that will not be resolved until we have a final judgment from the court. Despite our best efforts, we have always tried to work with Guatemala to try to arrive at some agreement on how we approach matters in the Sarstoon-we discussed it only last week, the challenges that we face there-so that is why we were talking to everyone. But the good news is that, you know, at the end of the day, nobody was hurt, there were no incidents. But there, yes, there was a heavy, heavy presence of Guatemalan military boats and some civilian-some civilian boats-in the Sarstoon. But the BDF and Coast Guard were able to have a good, nice little ceremony, flag-raising ceremony at the FOB, and the BTV participated in that ceremony."
Reporter: "Are we still sending diplomatic notes protesting these incursions by the Guatemalans?"
Francis Fonseca: "Yeah, no, it is important that the record reflects that we condemn these acts of aggression. So yes, the Belize Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, every time we have one of these incidents, we record it and we send an official diplomatic note recording our absolute objection to the behavior of the GAF and our condemnation of their exercise of illegal authority over the Sarstoon. But we not only do that-we have meetings and we speak to them at my level, the Prime Minister speaks to the President of Guatemala, so it is not just a note, it is also engagement to try to ensure that we can have some constructive dialogue and avoid any incidents like this in the future. But as I keep saying, the reality is that we will continue to have this issue until we have a final judgment from the court."
Reporter: "From our observation, is it that they anticipate our arrival on the 10th and bolster their presence there, or is it always that heavily stationed?"
Francis Fonseca: "No, no, yeah, I don't think there is any secret. I think the BTV every year, they invite people to participate in this event, so it is publicly known and obviously the Guatemalan military takes note of that. So yes, around this time there is a heavier presence of the Guatemalan military in the Sarstoon-that is not unusual."
And today, we got a chance to ask the Secretary General of the Organization of American States about this incident. While the OAS operates in the Adjacency Zone in Western Belize, the Secretary General met with the Foreign Ministers of both countries just a few days ago. They spoke about the ICJ case, as well as peace and stability in the region.
So what changed over the past week? Well, Albert Ramdin explained that he believes the positions of both governments are aligned, but he is not surprised that this incident occurred. Here's how he put it:
Albert R. Ramdin, OAS - Secretary General "It confirms something which we, which we had already indicated that I do expect in the coming months, given the sensitivities, um, Independence Day and all of that, that some groups will, will, will create some incidents."
"Uh, so I'm, I'm not completely surprised. I had hoped that these things would not happen. Um, so we have spoken about this at lengths in private, um, between both countries."
"Both Foreign Minister Fonseca and Foreign Minister Martinez have been very clear to me, and I trust both of them in this instance very well, that they will, they will keep dialogue ongoing."
"They will keep discussing matters. We are not-- the, the adjacency zone office doesn't have a mandate for other cross-border infringements, okay."
"Um, or even within territories through, uh, uh, rivers and so on. So I have not received a report on this as yet, but it's not surprising to me. I would have hoped that it doesn't happen."
"Um, at the same time, we expect, uh, wisdom and cool management of this process so that we don't get, um, matters like this escalate."
"Um, regretfully, um, there are groups which have a different position than often the government has, and we'll have to manage that. But it is not, in my view, the general view of both governments."
"Both governments are very committed, and I have saluted both presidents, Prime Minister Briceno and President Arevalo for, uh, for the stance they take and the way they try to solve this problem in awaitance, uh, of the ICJ discussion."
"And we have already committed, and there is more interest from other countries to work towards, uh, the post-ICJ resolution in terms of implementation and facilitating assistance to both countries in terms how to implement that decision."
"So I'm hopeful, and I regret that such an incident took place, and I'm sure, I'm convinced that the authorities will handle it with care, but at the same time with clarity."
Ramdin was speaking at a virtual press conference with the Caribbean media.
School has been back in session since the start of September, but for some students, specifically those in rural areas, their learning experience differs greatly from those enrolled in the larger schools in more populated areas.
Some of these rural schools are understaffed, like the one in More Tomorrow, functioning with only a teaching principal. Today, we asked the Minister of Education about the chronic teacher shortage. Here's what he told us:
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education "Yeah, I mean the school will remain open. We have employed another teacher, so there is another teacher there now. So the Ministry, yes, the Ministry continues to engage with them. There are challenges, as I pointed out the last time, that remain, but I think they are being worked out. They had a very good meeting with the community. The principal, the Chief Education Officer, and her team were there, so I think they have a plan moving forward that will resolve the issues. So I think, you know, we have a solution."
Reporter: "So bringing the amount of teachers that are currently there to three?"
Francis Fonseca: "That is the plan, yes. That is the plan to bring it to three. I think there is two now because one is the principal, so eventually there will be three. So there are only 30 students at the school, so I continue to insist that we have to look at a long-term plan. Whether or not if it is sustainable to keep that school there, it still remains a question, so we will continue to look at that."
And while finding teachers to staff a school is one challenge, getting the students to school is another.
In the past few weeks, rural school bus operators say that they haven't been getting paid by the Ministry of Education. Today, reports say that those rural bus operators in the south decided not to make their regular school runs in an act of protest.
Fonseca explained what they are doing to sort this out:
Francis Fonseca: "Yeah, the school bus contractors-we are having some issues this year. For the first time, we introduced a new system that provides for the Contractor General to review all of these contracts. And they are small contracts, but they have to go through a process, so there has been some delays in approval of those contracts by the Contractor General's Office. But we are working through those and I believe all of those will be resolved over the next few days, so there should not be any further interruptions in terms of school bus transportation."
Retaining teachers is not easy for the Ministry of Education, and the BNTU has made its demands; one of them is a teachers' allowance for the next school year. The BNTU has partnered with the NTUCB and given the Ministry a deadline to respond to their list of demands.
When we asked Fonseca about it today, he said that there was no need for the BNTU to get the NTUCB involved:
Reporter: "Minister, you frowned on the BNTU putting their demands into the larger or general demands of the NTUCB. They have given a deadline, I think 60 days, 90 days, and so, for instance, agreeing to that allowance for teachers for the next school year, would that be done within the timeline they have set?"
Francis Fonseca: "Well, I didn't frown. You described it as frown, but I expressed surprise that they had introduced that into an NTUCB discussion, because we were having direct discussion with the BNTU-the Ministry of Education and the BNTU were having direct discussions about those issues in our own meeting. So I did not find it necessary for it to form a part of some wider national discussion, but I said that I understood that, and nevertheless, we would engage with them and continue that work. So yes, we are preparing a full response, a comprehensive response to those issues, and yeah, we will have a discussion with them very shortly. So I don't see any issue in terms of deadlines; we will have a full response long, long before that."
In other NTUCB news, that union umbrella has launched a campaign urging small shareholders of BTL to vote out Eric Eusey as the director representing small shareholders and replace him with company veteran Erven Marin.
The NTUCB today said it has lost confidence in Eusey after, quote, "a lack of meaningful consultation and communication with small shareholders and key stakeholder groups on important matters affecting BTL."
BTL's Twentieth General Meeting is scheduled for September 17, 2026.
The union coalition stressed that small shareholders deserve a stronger voice and active engagement on BTL's Board of Directors. Notably, several major trade unions hold equity in the telecommunications provider.
Load-shedding has become a national pain-and it is also a political emergency.
And to try to get to the bottom of it, this morning the Prime Minister visited BEL's Westlake diesel generation facility to try and get a firsthand understanding of the power capacity problem.
Last night, there was no load-shedding after BEL announced that lower demand, cooler weather, and local capacity are helping support service.
Tonight, we continue our examination of the events surrounding the movement of over a thousand feet of confiscated lumber from the Forest Department to a private lumberyard in the Cayo District. The timing and circumstances of the movement raise questions, as do the differing explanations offered by the Forest Department and its Minister. Jules Vasquez tried to make sense of it:
This confiscated lumber is gone, privately sold, but the narrative keeps shifting in what has all appearances of a cover-up.
First, in a press release-which was issued after this video went viral-the Forest Department claimed, quote, "Forest Officers were authorized to transport a quantity of lumber for the purpose of assessing the extent of the suspected illegal logging activity."
So, it was an assessment. But on Friday, the Minister had a different story-suddenly it was a sting:
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development "They decided to set up something, so they wanted to see who would claim the lumber. So by exporting the lumber, supposedly, as was told to the officer, to see if they can sell the lumber and somebody will follow them. And that is exactly what happened. As soon as they arrived close to where they were supposed to sell the lumber, then the illegal logger came up and made the claim that it is his lumber."
But, sting or not, the fact is that once the mahogany was confiscated, it should be paid for at the Treasury Office, which then issues a government receipt. So if the lumber in question was sold to the owner of this lumberyard as part of a sting, then where is the receipt from Treasury showing payment to the Government? Based on our investigation, we can assure you there is likely none.
But, perhaps this is to be expected when drivers are authorized to act as Forest Officers:
Jomarie Lanza: "Would you be able to confirm if the drivers were named Jorge Galvez and Walter Padilla, simply operating on instructions?"
Orlando Habet: "Yes, even if they are not forest officers, the Chief Forest Officer, Acting Chief Forest Officer can give them the authority to go out and act on behalf of the department."
Those with a knowledge of the Forest Act whom we spoke to could not cite where in the Act or the Public Service regulations the CFO is authorized to give drivers the duties of a forest officer.
But, that is a technical issue: the fact is the lumber was moved at night with no forest officer, no police escort present-a situation which suggests sketchy moves with government property, property which was promptly sold the following day.
Now, the Forest Department has charged two men in court-but with the evidence no longer existing, and neither is there any chain of custody. It's all in the wind, which means the sting operation the Minister alluded to may all just be a phantom.
Reports tell us that in the middle of this lumber dispute between timber poachers and the Forest Department, weapons were drawn on both sides. More on that next week.
Last year's children's rally was rained out, and the turnout was not what the Ministry had hoped for due to the weather conditions.
But today, the Civic Center saw a full house of schoolchildren that came out for the annual event.
Minister of Education Francis Fonseca says he looks forward to the event every year:
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture "Yeah, well, it is always a beautiful experience to come to these national children's rallies. Today we are having the one in Belize City; the rest of the country is going to have their rallies on the 18th of September, so next week. It is always a great pleasure. You see all the energy from the kids, you know, they love Belize, they are full of energy, so it is good to just be here with them and celebrate the spirit of September, the spirit of Belize with them. Last year was... we got rained out last year, so only a few schools actually made it. This year we actually have everybody in the house, so fantastic experience for them."
Panyaad-it's the biggest steel pan event in the country, and this year it has a twist. Along with the fete-ing, there is also going to be foam. And a steel pan band all the way from Trinidad, featuring elite musicians, is making its debut. We learned more today:
The event starts at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night at the Government House compound. Tickets for adults are $15, and for kids it's $5.
Or if you can't make it there, you can catch it live on Channel 7.
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For the second time in less than two weeks, a 20-something-year-old has been killed in the city.
Tonight, a Punta Gorda family and the UB student community are mourning as the life of Jaheed Lopez was cut short after a freak accident.
"Always be different. Always if you want something, you always work for it, no matter how hard it gets, you just work for it. For me, that's the best advice you can get: just be different. If your friend wants to go partying and your aim is on this goal, then you focus on your goal. You can party later when you achieve the goal."
"Jaheed has been a resilient student. He was always like, 'Miss, am I going to get the scholarship? Miss, am I going to get the scholarship? Miss, I am working for this.' And last year in our football regionals, I was shouting on the... as I tried to attend all of the games, shouting for him and Jaheed. But I did not know he was a person that I had met as a child. So when he scored the goal, I was like... and I'm a football fanatic too. So when I saw it, I was like, 'Jaheed, I know you!' So I mean, he kept on pushing to get the scholarship, kept on doing everything that he needed to do to meet the requirements of the scholarship. And sure enough, this school year we had more spots and we have the support of the Ministry of Education. We also have the support of some other ministers who we've written proposals to increase the number of our students. So currently we have 59 students. Jaheed was one of the first students who responded to the scholarship call, and first day he was at the office: 'Miss, what do I need to do? Do I have everything? Miss, do I?' And the committee met, and there were no... there was nothing that kept us from providing that scholarship for... for Jaheed. The Dean, the President, Coach, and all the other members of Student Affairs were on board to ensure that Jaheed got his scholarship."
"He actually scored in one of our matches, and in the... in the ATLIB tournament, um, that gave us the opportunity to play for a final match the... the following day. And also Jaheed will definitely be missed on our team because, you know, he brings that excitement to the game. He brings his personal skills onto the field and, like I said, that unity he bonds within the group. You know, I cannot ask for anything much greater that he could have done for us in that way.
"Throughout these years, Jaheed remained a humble and helpful young man. Even after school, he and his brother would find ways to help his mother, including selling cake and assisting the family wherever he could. He was never too proud to lend a hand, you know, anywhere around in the environment or in the community. This is where Jaheed would give hand to people doing other works like, you know, soil, helping with little gardening here and there. You know, he never forgot who he was."
And there is another fatal accident to report-it happened last night in the Orange Walk District.
Imagine standing on the banks of the Sarstoon River, looking across serene Belizean waters, and seeing Guatemalan vessels dotting the horizon.
"For the very first time, we were escorted from the time we left PG; in the past, we were escorted when we got to the river or the Forward Operating Base, so that was a positive. Just before we got to the river, before we got to the river mouth, we were briefed by the Belize Defence Force personnel, who basically told us things are intense in there because a total of 14 Guatemalan gunboats-and they had a lot of civilian boats with them too, so it was like a total blockade of the river-but they assured us they would get us up to the Forward Operating Base.
"Yeah, I mean we continue to pursue, as you know, a peaceful resolution of the unfounded claim. That is why-that is why we have always insisted on a path to peace. Yesterday was a good example of the challenges that we continue to have, that will not be resolved until we have a final judgment from the court. Despite our best efforts, we have always tried to work with Guatemala to try to arrive at some agreement on how we approach matters in the Sarstoon-we discussed it only last week, the challenges that we face there-so that is why we were talking to everyone. But the good news is that, you know, at the end of the day, nobody was hurt, there were no incidents. But there, yes, there was a heavy, heavy presence of Guatemalan military boats and some civilian-some civilian boats-in the Sarstoon. But the BDF and Coast Guard were able to have a good, nice little ceremony, flag-raising ceremony at the FOB, and the BTV participated in that ceremony."
"It confirms something which we, which we had already indicated that I do expect in the coming months, given the sensitivities, um, Independence Day and all of that, that some groups will, will, will create some incidents."
In other NTUCB news, that union umbrella has launched a campaign urging small shareholders of BTL to vote out Eric Eusey as the director representing small shareholders and replace him with company veteran Erven Marin.
Load-shedding has become a national pain-and it is also a political emergency.
Tonight, we continue our examination of the events surrounding the movement of over a thousand feet of confiscated lumber from the Forest Department to a private lumberyard in the Cayo District. The timing and circumstances of the movement raise questions, as do the differing explanations offered by the Forest Department and its Minister. Jules Vasquez tried to make sense of it:
"They decided to set up something, so they wanted to see who would claim the lumber. So by exporting the lumber, supposedly, as was told to the officer, to see if they can sell the lumber and somebody will follow them. And that is exactly what happened. As soon as they arrived close to where they were supposed to sell the lumber, then the illegal logger came up and made the claim that it is his lumber."
Last year's children's rally was rained out, and the turnout was not what the Ministry had hoped for due to the weather conditions.
