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
This morning at 5:00, 32-year-old security guard David Lucas crashed and died when he ran into an iron lamppost right in front of the KHMH. The impact threw him across the street and smashed his helmet. Today his family had a dire warning for motorcycle drivers:
This morning at dawn, while his family members were just getting ready to start their day, they got news that 32-year-old David Lucas, a security officer at a local call center, was killed in a motorcycle crash along Princess Margaret Drive.
He was driving his Lifan 125 motorcycle from the direction of West Landivar toward the Philip Goldson Highway when, upon reaching the roundabout at the intersection of Princess Margaret Drive and Coney Drive, Lucas lost control of the bike and collided with a metal lamp post situated in the median opposite the BCVI Eye Clinic. The impact flung him from the motorcycle across the median, landing in the opposite lane near the entrance of the BCVI. He died from his injuries there-just feet from the country's biggest hospital.
His eldest brother says that he was waiting for him as they had an agreement that when he came off his security shift, they would spend the day together:
Shamah Palacio, Brother of David Lucas "I just talked to my brother yesterday, literally just spoke to my brother yesterday and we made a little business to say today we will link up at 7 o'clock when you come off of work, you dig? So I am here waiting, I am just here waiting for him."
"To see my brother bleeding like that, to hear the news, I was here literally waiting for my little brother when I hear he was knocking off I was excited because yes, it's time for me and my brother to hang out today. We will maybe drink a beer and cool out and it was my grandpa who tell me that DJ, well we call a David right cause he is David Jr, DJ caught in a little accident and I don't know how everything just freeze."
And in the moment life froze, plans of meeting up forever dashed, but the family will always remember how loving this father of 2 was:
Shamah Palacio, Brother of David Lucas "I don't know where to start because David, David was someone really loving, he was a loving soul you know. Loving, loving soul that and I don't know how to describe his love and his support to family, his siblings, we you know, it's always family first."
And in the midst of their grief, his brother has one message for cyclists: stop speeding:
Shamah Palacio, Brother of David Lucas "My message to cyclists mein, everybody, the light man, Chon Saan man, delivery man, run man, bro. Take your time on those cycles. Where are you rushing to go? You understand, let this be a learned lesson. Come on man, you all are making too many stupid mistakes, just for the speed and making a pile of noise to go nowhere, just to end up right there. My brother made a miscalculated speed calculation whatever and this is the result because of speed, stop speeding bro."
Around 2023, the BDF was supplied with 120 Taurus brand rifles which were not military-grade and quickly fell apart. They were supplied by a politically favored company, and the transaction, from what we are told, included dozens of sub-ten-thousand-dollar payments. But while the full picture of that dubious acquisition is still being pieced together by the Auditor-General, in 2025, the BDF turned a new page when it received a supplementary budget to buy military-grade rifles. But did they pay a fair price for them? That's what Jules Vasquez has been investigating-a tidy profit and a million dollars in what can only be called "profit plus":
These are Colt M4 carbines-they are military-grade rifles, good for a barrel life of 20,000 rounds. In June, the BDF and Belize Coast Guard got 350 of them-an acquisition welcomed by soldiers who suffered in the past with over 100 inferior Taurus brand rifles which were not military-grade and fell apart after only 10,000 rounds fired.
So the Colt rifles are a good thing-but is it a fair price? Not based on our research.
These Colt rifles sold online are almost identical to the ones which the BDF got. The CEO says the ones purchased by the Ministry of Defence are, quote, "military grade and had some modifications from the standard package."
We found the standard rifles retailing for just over $1,000 US. So then the bulk wholesale price would be less.
But how much did the Ministry of Defence pay for the weapons? Try $3,000.00 US each or $6,000 Belize dollars. That's more than twice the highest price we saw online. And, remember, the Government doesn't pay duty-so only the shipping and handling costs would be added to the cost paid by the importer.
The chosen supplier is Fort Point Security, and for them, selling 350 rifles at $6,000 each was a 2.1-million-dollar sale.
But did they make an obscene profit? Let's say the supplier bought the rifles wholesale for $1,000 US each and made a tidy 50% profit of $500 US each-that would still be $3,000 Belize dollars each. But not $6,000 dollars.
We asked the CEO if he felt the $6,000 price tag was fair and he said, "I definitely believe we got value for money."
But he could not tell us based on what.
He also told us that, "The procurement of the rifles followed the GOB tender process"-but we couldn't find the invitation to tender online, nor did he provide it to us when asked.
We note that a supplementary budget had to be approved for the purchase of those weapons. The CEO says the contract was approved by the Contractor-General.
And while these carbine rifles are supplied to the BDF for $6,000 each, we are told that the sub-military-grade Taurus rifles-120 of them-were sold to the BDF for $5,000 each-also a very inflated price based on the online purchase price.
Salvador Alas was the Financial Officer during that period when those Taurus rifles were purchased, but 7News has confirmed that he was not at work in February of 2025 when this text message was sent. On July 1st, we aired a story suggesting Alas, as Financial Officer, had some connection to or knowledge of this message.
But he was not at the Ministry at that time, so, to be clear, he could not be linked to that message.
And while it has been widely reported that Alas was recently on administrative leave, he was not. He was on vacation leave and has returned to his current post at the Ministry of Sustainable Development.
In 2019, Colin Francis was accused of killing Nestor Vasquez Jr. in a detention cell at the Queen Street police station.
He was detained there because on that same day, he stabbed nurse Augustine Elijio at the Port Loyola Mental Health Clinic after receiving psychiatric medication.
Colin Francis Jr., who's been on remand for the past 7 years, was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia when both these incidents had occurred and was classified as unfit to stand trial.
The prison psychiatrist has determined that he is mentally fit to take a plea on the basis that he had diminished responsibility due to his mental illness.
So today, the Crown accepted a guilty plea from him after his charge for murder was reduced to manslaughter. Francis pleaded guilty to both manslaughter and attempted murder, which the court accepted. His sentencing is now set for September 7th, 2026, and Justice Nigel Pilgrim has ordered that a Social Inquiry Report (SIR), Prison Report, and Victim Impact Statements be collected for both cases.
Every election season, it's the same story: if you want to win, you have to invest. Mass political parties receive millions of dollars in campaign financing-but from whom? And under what arrangements? Well, they're under no obligation to disclose, since there is no real campaign financing legislation in Belize. And aside from receiving the money, those same political parties then pay voters or find other means to influence them through financial assistance.
The lack of regulations and the rampant corruption are examined more closely in the Belize Public Policy and Research Institute's latest report, Money in Politics: Breaking the Regulation Deadlock. Courtney Menzies was at the launch of the report today and has this story:
"Money in Belizean Politics" is the latest report from the Belize Public Policy and Research Institute. It investigates illicit and unregulated campaign financing and proposes recommendations for the establishment of legislation to mitigate corrupt practices. The report was launched today, and BELPRI's Executive Director explained that the glaring issue is that it is often public funds that are used to influence the electorate.
Dr. Dylan Vernon, Executive Director, BELPRI "The general point the report makes is that while Belize does not have official public funding of political partisan candidates, that public resources in Belize can be used or abused to influence voters and constituents. And while there are some programs like the constituency development fund that has the objective of developing, having projects in constituencies, the question is always who decides who gets what? And even for these official programs, which we have seen an increase in over time, the answer to the question is that it is usually the elected politician from that constituency that makes these decisions, and so in a sense, political finance can come from public resources. It is even more blatantly done with the Christmas and summer assistance before school opens, that sort of program, which is shorter term, but at the end of the day, who decides who gets what? If it is a politician, it is political financing."
One of the recommendations in the report is to establish an autonomous commission appointed by social partner senators. While none of those partners were at the launch, Vernon explained that they will be making a presentation to them as well as to the Prime Minister. We asked him what he hopes will come out of that meeting.
Dr. Dylan Vernon, Executive Director, BELPRI "I think what I will say is, 'Prime Minister, here is this report. We have collated the international better practice, regional best practice. We have looked at all the proposals made in Belize towards this issue. We have a blueprint for how it could happen. If political parties, if the Government is serious about advancing, this can be a tool and a blueprint for moving forward.' As I said in the presentation, we have to acknowledge that it's not going to be easy. This is difficult. The Prime Minister is right in that way, but because it's difficult does not mean in any way or form that we should not try and we should not at least try to mitigate some of the worst implications, negative results of money in politics."
One politician who was at today's launch was mayoral aspirant Allan Pollard. He told us that he doesn't have anything to hide regarding financing for his own campaign, and he won't bow to his financiers' requests.
Allan Pollard, PUP Councillor "For me, I have nothing to hide. Most of my campaign, when I compare it to the other big ministers, for me, the local government, I don't solicit a lot of funds, so for me, I wouldn't have an issue. And anyone who is financing my campaign usually has the best interest of myself and the city at heart, so I'm sure they wouldn't have any difficulty disclosing as well."
Reporter: "What would you do as mayor if a financier comes back to you, if you are elected, and says, 'Hey, I invested in your campaign, in your political ambitions, and now I want, for example, this policy or this request approved,' how do you approach that?"
Allan Pollard: "Well, policy comes from politicians, not necessarily from the businessmen. But the way I plan to govern is ensure that we have all business people at the center, we have more consultation groups, more committees, and of course any policy that we implement has to benefit the wider Belize City, not just one particular entity."
Courtney Menzies: "Why did you feel obligated to come here today? You're the only politician here."
Allan Pollard: "I think this is, as a young politician, this is pivotal to my future, the way how I do business going forward, the way I do politics, and of course my engagement within the electorate."
And while Pollard agrees that it's a mammoth task, Vernon explained in his presentation that without campaign financing regulations, it's Belizeans who lose:
Dr. Dylan Vernon, Executive Director, BELPRI "I think in short, and perhaps the most straightforward language, it's because Belize loses. We all lose when unregulated money dominates our politics the way it does now. We lose when a small number of people supply most of the political finance. We lose when most people can't afford to get into politics. We all lose when public resources are used or stolen for political influence. We all lose when our taxes are being used for favors instead of for building a fire station or repairing the roof of a police station or for buying medications."
Copies of the report were also presented to social partner organizations, such as the president of the NTUCB.
And this report is very timely since Belize is gearing up for Municipal Elections in March. But even before that, the mass parties are getting prepped for conventions to determine their slates. For the PUP, that means an election for their mayoral candidate between aspirants Allan Pollard and Eluide Miller.
With about a month left, and no publicized delegate list, is it a mad scramble for Pollard? And does he have the resources to win the delegates over? We asked him today:
Allan Pollard, PUP Councillor "I think two things, firstly I don't see it as a mad scramble. I think these people are people who have been engaged with the party for quite some time. I think being a delegate for a constituency is a privilege that is afforded to lifelong party supporters and area rep supporters so these are the people, they're not new, they are people who have been around, people who have been engaged and have been supporting us for years so for me it's just touching back with them, giving them a greeting and ensuring that I relay that plan to them. I don't think it's anything whereby there are new people and I have to reintroduce myself or anything like that so for that reason I don't consider it a mad scramble."
Courtney Menzies: "Do you think you have enough time and financial resources?"
Allan Pollard: "I think I do, for the time wise. But for the financial resources I do want to say, I don't know where you get that figure from, the $200 per delegate. I personally don't pay for delegates, but the support that I have been afforded over time, I think I am one of the lucky ones, it's not as expensive for me because I put in the time, I put in the work and of course the relationship that I have with the delegates is something that money can't buy so."
And in the last municipal election, Pollard supported Evan Thompson's campaign. Reports are that Thompson was not allowed to offer himself as a candidate this time-struck off, it is reported, by the vetting committee. Yesterday, party Chairman Henry Charles Usher did not confirm this, saying that their process is still ongoing. And Pollard explained that he was not a part of those high-level meetings:
Allan Pollard, PUP Councillor "I saw it on the news, I think one of the pages put it out and it was something I wasn't aware of and I'm not involved in those high level meetings unfortunately but I saw it, I don't know what the basis was exactly and probably that will be unveiled in the upcoming days so once I get that information I could tell you."
Courtney Menzies: "Would you have wanted him to run again? You supported him a lot in the last election."
Allan Pollard: "Well of course, I'm always for younger candidates running and I always think democracy should be showcased at the polls. But of course the party has its arms and they have their reasons and of course I have to understand and be mindful of that so whatever decision they make, I'm sure it's for the best interest of the party."
But apart from Thompson, the PUP is getting ready to announce its approved slates of municipal hopefuls. Pollard explained they all attended a meeting yesterday:
Allan Pollard, PUP Councillor "Yesterday we had a meeting with all the potential candidates so I'm sure those will be unveiled, everybody has received their letters. I think it's wonderful amount of people, it's talented people, older people, younger people, business people, new people. So I think it's very exciting, I think the delegates have a task ahead in terms of selecting the ten people who they want to be councillors so I'm excited and I always maintain that whoever gets the opportunity to be on the slate and get elected, will have my full support and my full backing and I will work with them."
And last week, we asked the other mayoral hopeful about a $46 million bond offering which the City Council is proposing. Part of it is to reprofile their existing $20 million bond, but there's still another $26 million in there, which looks like major cash flow in time for an election.
We asked the Deputy Mayor to explain the offering:
Eluide Miller, Deputy Mayor of Belize City "I would not want for anybody to get the idea that we're taking on $46 million in new investment. We had over $20 million worth of existing investment, and so what is happening is that we are reprofiling that. Meaning that we are turning it from short term investments, one to two year investments into the city, into longer term investments, five to ten year. But as a part of that as well, we're also taking on some new investments. And that has been going well. I think we have been doing a good job of encouraging the public and private sector to invest in Belize City. As you know, it is one of the most attractive offerings on the financial market. There is a lot of liquidity out there in the market. And I think the Belize City Council has effectively managed our municipal securities offering over time. I am proud to say that we have never defaulted on an interest or principal payment, even through the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, even through the impacts of Hurricane Lisa, and all the economic implications that came along with that, we have been able to meet every single payment. We continue to do what is necessary to build our interest reserve fund, and our sinking fund, and those continue to be managed properly as well. And so I'm happy to report that that has been going well."
And while the Deputy says everything is above board on a smooth-sailing ship, we did ask how the council-whose annual gross revenue is 33 million dollars-still has to fundraise with municipal paper:
Eluide Miller, Deputy Mayor of Belize City "Well, I wouldn't want to approach it from that angle. In fact, I don't think the organic revenues of the council amount to 33 million. I think factored into our budget is also the assistance that we receive from the Government of Belize, in terms of infrastructure and that kind of thing, that is also factored in there as well. And so I don't think that our organic revenues really account for 33 million dollars. I don't think we're at that point as yet. But our municipal securities allow for others to invest in the city. As you can imagine, it's quite difficult for us to maintain and upgrade all the infrastructure that we have in the city out of operations, right? It's simply not very practical. We have over 700 streets in Belize City, for example, and over the past, I would say six to seven years alone, we have upgraded more than 300 of those streets. And so you could imagine how significant of a cost that is and how difficult that would have been to fund out of our operations alone. And so it's essentially a financial tool that we use in order to do some of the capital projects that we want to do. This time around, I think in our prospectus, we had quite a few things, including the expansion of our e-mobility fleet. And so we will be building that fleet, which is something that the residents of the city has been asking for us to do. In this specific offering as well is, of course, we are making allocations for additional infrastructural upgrades. I'm sure you have seen all the infrastructural upgrades we've been doing across the city. And also infrastructural upgrades that we plan on doing before the end of this term as well."
We note that the Government subvention to the council in 2025 was 5.9 million dollars.
An estimated 500 to 600 refugees from across Central America have entered Belize over the past few months.
During routine field operations, home visits, and rural assessments, officers from law enforcement, Human Development, and the Department of Immigration encounter these individuals weekly. Every case is unique, shaped by the complex circumstances that drove them to seek refuge in Belize.
Today, the Department of Refugees convened a multi-agency stakeholder session to establish clear protocols for handling these cases and guiding officers on proper intervention procedures.
The Director of the Refugee Department outlined the focus of today's training:
Nikolai Zelaya, Director, Refugees Department "We are doing a bit of institutional outreach today and we are at the Belize Institute of Management, we are conducting this training it is a bit of a sensitization project, the stakeholders that we have chosen to include in this are people who we think may at some point during the course of the day have contact with refugees or asylum seekers. So we invited the Police Department, Immigration, Customs, community health workers, we have some representatives from the Belize City Council, a couple of other government departments."
"The Refugees Act provides that persons who may come in contact with asylum seekers that there is a referral system wherein these persons are obliged under law to refer them to the Refugees Department, one of the issues that we have always had is that people don't know of the existence of the Refugees Department, and people do not know what they can and cannot do once it comes to asylum seekers so that is where the importance of these sensitization sessions come. We try to educate as much as possible we try to pass that information to those who need it the most."
Jomarie Lanza: "What would you say are some of the most frequently asked questions when approaching these cases?"
Nikolai Zelaya: "The most frequently asked question is actually the concept that people do not really understand the difference between refugees and migrants. A migrant is a person who is here because they chose to come here whereas a refugee, well an asylum seeker is here because they were forced to be here. They may be running away from a natural disaster, the crime in their country the war in their country there are a number of reasons why people would come here. That is the primary issue and secondly like I had mentioned before that people don't know what they can and cannot do, sometimes people are not even aware that they can have international protection."
When we asked Director Zelaya for an estimate of how many refugees are in Belize, he told us the numbers are never consistent because refugees are always coming and going. And while some refugees have been in Belize for months, he explained that they must follow a process with every case. But he confidently declared that their department is not experiencing a backlog:
Nikolai Zelaya, Director, Refugees Department "I cannot speak on what happens in a US court that is outside of my purview however I can say that under the safe third country agreement that we have with the Government of United States we will be periodically receiving persons who the US government sends here. These people have applied for asylum in the US and under this agreement they can now apply for asylum here in Belize. Keep in mind that it does not mean they are guaranteed refugee status they can apply. One of the conditions of that agreement with the United States government is that we will only be accepting persons from the Central American and the Caribbean regions. Belarus is nowhere close to us they are definitely not going to be accepted so if the US government requests to send persons that request goes through my department first and we would not agree to something like that under the normal course of things."
It's not only Central or Latin Americans who have attempted to seek refuge in Belize. Recently, a group of Belarusians made a case to come to Belize. We asked the director about it today and here's what he said:
Nikolai Zelaya, Director, Refugees Department "The issue of the long wait period was a problem for the past 2 to 3 years. We have not had that problem. There is no backlog at the Refugees Department, and the normal time from the time the person makes their application until they are given a recognized refugee card is 60 days, so it is a 2-month period. We are aware and for general knowledge, refugees, while they are at the asylum seeker stage, they are not allowed to work, therefore we try to minimize the amount of time being taken up by administrative decisions, we try to minimize as much as possible, and the time frame right now is 60 days. Keep in mind, however, that every person who applies for a refugee status has to go through security clearance. This is done by the Special Branch of the police. For persons who are from Central America, this is an easy process because they are so close to us and we have a good relationship with our Central American counterparts. However, people who are extra-regional, for example Africa or Europe even, it happens, those security clearances take a long time, so their application would be longer than a Central American."
If you're looking for a government job, there's a new way to find the best position for you. The Ministry of Public Service has introduced a GOB job portal where you will be able to see vacancies and submit applications online. Minister Henry Charles Usher told us more yesterday:
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service "So we had a job portal before, but what we found was that the space that was available was not enough. We had persons who were submitting their resumes who were applying for jobs, but it got crowded and it came down often. So we had to continuously have to buy additional space. Now, with the services being provided, and the improvements being made, we've opened a new job portal with more space and more features so that persons can go in there, see what jobs are available, upload their resumes, etc. and also a feature that I am particularly happy for is one where if there is a vacancy for a particular skill, it can actually look and to see if persons have submitted a resume with that particular skill and try to match them. So we could maybe contact the person without that person having to say, I'm interested in the job."
Courtney Menzies: "We know, the Neopeople was contracted for this service. Will the cost be publicized?"
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service "So Neopeople has been contracted to do some digital work for the government and included this portal as you as you said, it includes the attendance record being digitized and some other areas where we're trying to improve this is part of a bigger project for the modernization of the public service. We actually got the approval from the IDB for a loan to modernize it, to look at the pay scales, to see how we can improve the services being provided. So it's all part of what plan Belize promise in terms of the modernization of the public service."
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This morning at 5:00, 32-year-old security guard David Lucas crashed and died when he ran into an iron lamppost right in front of the KHMH. The impact threw him across the street and smashed his helmet. Today his family had a dire warning for motorcycle drivers:
"I just talked to my brother yesterday, literally just spoke to my brother yesterday and we made a little business to say today we will link up at 7 o'clock when you come off of work, you dig? So I am here waiting, I am just here waiting for him."
Around 2023, the BDF was supplied with 120 Taurus brand rifles which were not military-grade and quickly fell apart. They were supplied by a politically favored company, and the transaction, from what we are told, included dozens of sub-ten-thousand-dollar payments. But while the full picture of that dubious acquisition is still being pieced together by the Auditor-General, in 2025, the BDF turned a new page when it received a supplementary budget to buy military-grade rifles. But did they pay a fair price for them? That's what Jules Vasquez has been investigating-a tidy profit and a million dollars in what can only be called "profit plus":
Salvador Alas was the Financial Officer during that period when those Taurus rifles were purchased, but 7News has confirmed that he was not at work in February of 2025 when this text message was sent. On July 1st, we aired a story suggesting Alas, as Financial Officer, had some connection to or knowledge of this message.
In 2019, Colin Francis was accused of killing Nestor Vasquez Jr. in a detention cell at the Queen Street police station.
Every election season, it's the same story: if you want to win, you have to invest. Mass political parties receive millions of dollars in campaign financing-but from whom? And under what arrangements? Well, they're under no obligation to disclose, since there is no real campaign financing legislation in Belize. And aside from receiving the money, those same political parties then pay voters or find other means to influence them through financial assistance.
"The general point the report makes is that while Belize does not have official public funding of political partisan candidates, that public resources in Belize can be used or abused to influence voters and constituents. And while there are some programs like the constituency development fund that has the objective of developing, having projects in constituencies, the question is always who decides who gets what? And even for these official programs, which we have seen an increase in over time, the answer to the question is that it is usually the elected politician from that constituency that makes these decisions, and so in a sense, political finance can come from public resources. It is even more blatantly done with the Christmas and summer assistance before school opens, that sort of program, which is shorter term, but at the end of the day, who decides who gets what? If it is a politician, it is political financing."
Allan Pollard, PUP Councillor
Dr. Dylan Vernon, Executive Director, BELPRI
And in the last municipal election, Pollard supported Evan Thompson's campaign. Reports are that Thompson was not allowed to offer himself as a candidate this time-struck off, it is reported, by the vetting committee. Yesterday, party Chairman Henry Charles Usher did not confirm this, saying that their process is still ongoing. And Pollard explained that he was not a part of those high-level meetings:
"I would not want for anybody to get the idea that we're taking on $46 million in new investment. We had over $20 million worth of existing investment, and so what is happening is that we are reprofiling that. Meaning that we are turning it from short term investments, one to two year investments into the city, into longer term investments, five to ten year. But as a part of that as well, we're also taking on some new investments. And that has been going well. I think we have been doing a good job of encouraging the public and private sector to invest in Belize City. As you know, it is one of the most attractive offerings on the financial market. There is a lot of liquidity out there in the market. And I think the Belize City Council has effectively managed our municipal securities offering over time. I am proud to say that we have never defaulted on an interest or principal payment, even through the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, even through the impacts of Hurricane Lisa, and all the economic implications that came along with that, we have been able to meet every single payment. We continue to do what is necessary to build our interest reserve fund, and our sinking fund, and those continue to be managed properly as well. And so I'm happy to report that that has been going well."
An estimated 500 to 600 refugees from across Central America have entered Belize over the past few months.
Nikolai Zelaya, Director, Refugees Department
"So we had a job portal before, but what we found was that the space that was available was not enough. We had persons who were submitting their resumes who were applying for jobs, but it got crowded and it came down often. So we had to continuously have to buy additional space. Now, with the services being provided, and the improvements being made, we've opened a new job portal with more space and more features so that persons can go in there, see what jobs are available, upload their resumes, etc. and also a feature that I am particularly happy for is one where if there is a vacancy for a particular skill, it can actually look and to see if persons have submitted a resume with that particular skill and try to match them. So we could maybe contact the person without that person having to say, I'm interested in the job."
