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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 |
Child Shot Amidst the Ruckus of the Fireworks, (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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2025 had a scary start for a Belize City mother - after her 4 year old child was shot to the left arm a few minutes after midnight. It happened in the Jane Usher area during the roar of firecrackers and dynamite that blanketed the city to greet the new year. At 12:05 am, the four year old - who was held in her mother's arms on Levi Slusher Street - screamed out "mommy I get hurt!". The child was bleeding from her hand.
Today, that mother, a 24 year old from Belize City told me what happened next - she asked to appear off camera:
Amidst the noise of the fireworks, dynamite and other explosives at midnight for New Years, a 4 year old child, was hit by an alleged stray bullet while being held in her mother's arms outside on Levi Slusher Street. A relative gave us more details today as to how exactly it happened."
Voice of relative
"Basically me and my family was outside you know lighting up, my two brothers were lighting the fireworks for the babies because my daughter my niece my sister in law and the neighbor as well came over and others that live on the street as well and after his fireworks show, not even less than a minute my baby hand was up meaning that she was screaming excited for the fireworks and by the time she brought her hand down back she yelled mommy I got hurt so when u looked I saw a cut so I told my brother, I said like what happened to the baby and probably she said it could be a stone bounce off, when the fireworks went off and cut her so the neighbor said as well that's a stone and we thought it was a stone as well because when we saw the cut but bare in mind when we were going into the yard I looked down and saw like a hard object so I said the stone stayed in her hand. So my brother went upstairs got a cloth and tied it and told us let's take her to the hospital to see what it is to take it out."
But when they got to the hospital nothing prepared this family for what they would have found lodged in their four year old's arm. And in addition to this scare, according to the mother, her little one is unable to walk because she has cerebral palsy.
Voice of relative
"And when we finished the x ray came out that it was a bullet and then the doctor come she and her two doctors they numb the spot and got the surgical blade and did the process and when we finished an inspector was there and he just got my information and the baby's and said he would bring CIB and I waited but the doctor said Ms your baby needs to rest because it's late you can go and make the report another day or go from tonight."
But upon following through with the report, their relative claims that the interrogation lasted three hours with the police which she feels was unnecessary because allegedly they were attempting to insinuate that the child may have been hit by someone known to them.
Voice of relative
"This corporal I won't say her name but she wanted me to make a confession about oh it was someone in my surroundings take out a firearm and let out a shot because basically they know that many of my family members have a license firearm as well and yes they were in the vicinity with us but nothing like that happens so how will I confess something that is not like that and the questions and oh I don't want you to lie for your family members, tell the truth. All the interrogation questions."
"Yes I was frustrated bad Ms because I kept telling this lady what happened and she wanted to put words in my mouth. But at the end of the day it's her job, it's them who interrogates you to make you try and tell them something that isn't true so they can get their job done easy. So I was frustrated I was frustrated that night."
While police dispute the claim of a gunshot injury, an X-ray was conducted on the child where it was determined that the injury was due to a gunshot wound and a slug was removed from here left arm.
No Arson Charges Yet In San Pedro (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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A Mexican - Belizean woman who was the main suspect in the alleged arson in San Pedro that burnt down an apartment building has been released without charges, according to reports.
Police do not have enough to charge her at this time and the investigation is ongoing.
Initial police reports said that on Sunday morning at 1:00 am one of the tenants - who is a baker - woke up to the hissing sound of butane being discharged from his tanks leading to an explosion.
On Monday, the San Pedro Fire Chief told me that because the apartment building is wooden, it didn't need much to start the fire:
Kenneth Mortis, Belize National Fire Service
If it proves to be true that the fire was intentionally set. Looking at the fire load that this structure has, she doesn't she didn't need any form of outside agent. She could have simply lit something and left it there to do its magic. It's going to be it's going to be a little bit of work and cooperation on her behalf for us to come to closure for this fire.
But this is what we do is not always easy. Open and shut case in all the fires that we've attended. But we will press this one to the end.
A total of 51 persons from 12 families were displaced by the fire.
New Year's Miracle: No One Killed In Head On Collision (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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It's a miracle no one was seriously hurt after a major collision on the Hopkins Road. It happened early on New Year's morning on the Hopkins access road. Two midsize SUV's, a Chevy and a GMC had a head on collision with both receiving massive front end damage. But, despite that impact, there were no casualties.
Water Taxi Fees Increase Due To GOB Charges (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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Water taxi charges increased across the board on January first. It's a modest increase of two dollars for round trips and one dollar for one way tickets. But, for regular users it can add up. And that's why the water taxi services are stressing that it's not them, it's the Port Authority.
A release from the Port says that the passenger user fee for water taxi services will increase to $3.00 per passenger for fares more than $10.00 but less than $100.00. The fee had been temporarily reduced during COVID to provide relief to operators and passengers. But now, a release says, "with the recovery of the economy, the BPA will now revert to the full fee, which will be applied to tickets purchased on or after 1 January 2025. This adjustment is necessary to ensure the continued safety, security, and maintenance of maritime services."end quote.
Vegas Visitor Spent New Years In Jail After Weed Bust (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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He came from Vegas to visit family for Christmas, but today 26-year-old Belizean American Lincoln Saenz ended up before a judge where he pleaded guilty to possession of controlled drugs. It was 27 grams of marijuana which he was found with on New Years Eve. Today he told the Magistrate that it's medicinal and he uses the weed for his "Eczema"- a skin condition which he displayed on his right hand.
Saenz, who is staying with family in the Kings Park area, appeared unrepresented this morning before the Chief Magistrate where he pleaded guilty to the charge of possession.
The Chief asked him if he will continue to use the marijuana and while he said yes, he will make sure it is within the possession limit which is 10 grams.
The first time offender who was scheduled to fly out of Belize yesterday has been in police detention since New Years Eve.
For his guilty plea, Saenz was imposed a fine of $300 which he was ordered to pay forthwith.
Police say they caught him with the stash in a vehicle parked in front of a known drug peddler's house on New Year's eve.
Murder in Belize Was Up Slightly in 2024 (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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2024 is done, and the number of murders increased marginally. At the end of the year, there were 91 murder by our count - which is a 5% increase. We note that the police commissioner's count puts that number at 89. With that, Belize's murder rate per hundred thousand residents goes up slightly from 21.5 to 22.14.
Whichever number you stand by, it is still a marked decrease from the past many years, and we can also see that a generally lowering trend is occurring.
We note that Jamaica - saw a sharp decrease in murders - down 19% - with 265 fewer killings.
Trinidad on the other hand - saw an increase - and was recently put under a state of emergency.
City Murders Went Very Low In Latter Part of 2024 - The LIU Effect (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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City Murders Went Very Low In Latter Part of 2024 - The LIU Effect
Next week the commissioner of police will present his final statistics in the quarterly "Compstat" review.
And certainly one of the most remarkable metrics in the review will be the dramatic decrease in Belize City murders in the last 5 months of 2024.
Yes, there was an extended three month SOE that ended in September, but since August, we have only reported four murders in the city - which is a notable low.
The commendations for this success will inevitably go to policing tactics - but what role did the Leadership Intervention Unit play? That unit is designed specifically to de-escalate gang violence - which - for the time being at least - is at a low. We spoke to the Chairlady today and asked her why LIU gets no love from officialdom:
Jules Vasquez:
"How did LIU view 2024?"
Dominique Noralez, LIU Chairperson
"I think LIU views, well, I know we view it as one of our great successes. We've had our shortcomings. But I think this year has proven to be one of our great successes because of the level of organization that we now have. There is now, a more direct, sort of strategy as to how we work. We make sure that everyone always has access to everyone on the team."
Jules Vasquez:
"Did the LIU's work have a meaningful de-escalating effect on the last six months of 2024?"
Dominique Noralez, LIU Chairperson
"Certainly. There is no doubt in my mind. Because, like I constantly say, when there's a conflict both within gangs and between gangs, it is my team that is called first. And it is only us that people trust with the information that they have."
Jules Vasquez:
"Why isn't anyone else saying, well, we need to thank you for also playing a role in this?"
Dominique Noralez, LIU Chairperson
"I think that just comes down to personalities. The Commissioner of Police is a good colleague of mine. And so, and we've had our disagreements, I think, as most professionals in our working space do. But I like I said, maybe just my leadership style. I don't chase the the praise of others. What matters to me is the people who I serve every day, the people who come to my office, the people whos spouses have been killed the day before their child was born, the young men who come to my office to go back to school, that is what matters most to me. That is what gives me the fulfillment. And like I said you know, in this space where governance..."
There are currently 273 persons on the LIU program who receive a weekly stipend and other support.
The Difficulty of Gang Legislation (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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And while the LIU works with gang communities, the police do too - except when they are trying to incarcerate them for gang membership.
The crime of being a member of a gang has never quite worked as well as police would wish it to. Alleged gangsters who have pleaded guilty get off with a fine, and then cannot be charged again for the same crime.
And even for police to prove they are gang members is difficult, because it's not like gangs have registration drives.
On Tuesday, the Compol spoke about his frustratIon:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"It is certainly a difficult task Marisol the threshold is high and we are looking to see what can be done to amend the law to not to make it easy easy but for the prosecution to be able to prove more easily that these persons are gang members even you in society without any legal training can see certain people operating and you can know that they are a gang but the legal requirements is extremely high. Certainly when we do charge for that it's not a holding charge because we believe that we have the evidence that these people are gang members. And we will go to court with those, whatever evidence we have and try our best through those evidence to demonstrate to the court that these people are gang members. We are looking at cases in the Caribbean like Jamaica had a number of these cases ventilated through the court system so we are looking at those cases to see if we will be able to use them to make our cases stronger in term of demonstrating to the court that the activities of these people can only lead to one conclusion that they are a criminal gang. And we will continue to work at that."
Increasing Police Budget Reflects Pressures And Pulls (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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The Commissioner also discussed his department's budgetary exercise, which is ongoing. The police budget seems to expand annually - along with the country's security needs - which are dynamic.
The commissioner outlined some of those area of expanded operations which may have started out as operations but ended up as status quo:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Certainly we are in the process of preparing our budget I think we have completed the process and I have said to my FO's and my commanders that we must ensure that the budget reflects what we need. If it is that what we submitted is not approved which happens every year we don't normally get what we submitted then we would be in a position down the road to say to the ministry of finance when we had applied in our budget for this but we didn't get it and we need it and certainly they are going to find a way to get it for us. We have in our policing plans for 2025 we have a number of operations that we want to carry out we also have the northern operations which now becomes a permanent feature which becomes a routine policing efforts and again you would know that northern operations are being financed through supplementary budgets. We don't want next year we have to do supplementary budgets for the northern operations we want that imbedded into our recurrent budget so with the northern operations and then local operations we have to do to address the crime issue. The increase in police officers and the increase in police stations because we have police stations now in Santa Elena which was not before. We have another in Dangriga we are going to open one in Kontiki we are opening one in Orange walk trial farm so with these new decentralized locations for police it will certainly call for more money and so those are going to be reflected into our budget. Likewise our fleets some of our vehicles are already dilapidated and needs to be changed so we have also included in our budget monies to be able to purchase vehicles in next financial year."
Domestic Violence Unit Renamed (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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And one change that won't cost the budget anything is a name change of the Domestic Violence Unit.
As a reflection of the changing perspective on this kind of violence, what was formerly the DVU will now be called the "Gender-Based Violence Response and Investigative Unit" (GVRIU).
And internal police memorandum says "this decision, which was made after thorough consideration and consultation with relevant stakeholders, reflects the department's broader commitment to addressing the complexities and challenges associated with gender-based violence in ALL its forms." End quote.
The document explains that "the new name aligns with (the) evolving mission to address violence not only within domestic contexts but also in diverse scenarios where individuals face violence based on their gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. Gender-based violence encompasses a wide range of harmful acts, including but not limited to domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking, and harassment." End quote.
The change is effective as of New Year's day.
Meet The First Baby of 2025 (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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At exactly 15 minutes after midnight on January 1st, 2025, the KHMH welcomed its first baby of the year, a bouncing baby boy of 6lbs, 3oz. The maternity ward manager told us today that in other years they would check in up to four expecting mothers. But this year they had only one patient.
Estella Flowers, Unit Manager, Maternity Ward
"We were expecting, like a majority of the time on the 31st, we usually have like four or five people would come in to deliver on the first. But Miss Glenda Pop, she was the first one that came in on the 31st of December at 8 PM with 8 cm and when she delivered it was 12:15 p.m. on the first right."
"So when 12:00 came, right, she was fully dilated and ready to push and she pushed, you know, she delivered a healthy male neonate at 12:15 a.m., right. Wearing 6lb 3 oz. The nurses that delivered her was nurse Elamin and Nurse Ortiz along with an intern Dr. Fernandez."
Glenda Pop, who was set to deliver on January 3rd. But her beautiful baby boy came a bit earlier than expected. This is her second child and she says that she never thought she would deliver a New Year's baby.
Glenda Pop, Mother, First Baby of the Year
"Well, I feel good, I feel proud. Right now he joins the family with us. And I'm happy for it."
And as a good corporate citizen every year, San Cas Ltd. distributes care packages to all the newborns in the wards across the country. Marketing manager Aisha Trapp told us that it's just a small token for them as they settle in with their newborns and the care packages contain an assortment of goods for both mother and baby.
Aisha Trapp, Marketing Manager, San Cas Ltd.
"We couldn't start the New Year of course, without having left the babies, I have to say, of babies guys, because we don't only give the baby born at KHMH, but we do give babies from all different all different public hospitals. We've checked. And so far, San Ignacio had a baby boy. He was born 12 02 am and Dangrigahad three. They had two females and one male. The first female was born at 9:02 a.m. so we continue to check and see if any other babies were born. We did check also the private hospitals because we do give all the babies that were born for the New Year package."
Briceno and Barrow: One Year, Two Visions (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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Turning now to politics, if you've been watching the news tonight and on New Year's Eve you would have seen the Prime Minister's New Year's Message.
And in somewhat less grand fashion we've also seen the address from the Leader of the Opposition via WhatsApp.
Now, it should be a big deal - after all this is the address for what is surely going to be a year of election.
So, how did they do? Did they rise to the occasion? Well, not quite. But we picked out some key moments and put them up side by side:
John Briceno
"Our people are working, earning higher incomes, paying less taxes, living in safer communities, benefiting from improved education and healthcare. And believing for the first time in a generation that opportunity and hope match their ambitions."
"Yes, poverty has been fast compared to 2018, but any reason that is poor is one too many. Yes, thousands of housing and farming plots have been awarded, but this government's push to place valuable titled land in the hands of first time landowners will not relent."
"2025 will witness the construction start of the new state of the art tertiary care hospital in Belmopan that will elevate public healthcare to new levels of excellence. And the new year will bring the final phase in the realization of a truly national health insurance program so that every Belizean, including residents of the district, benefit from free public health care."
Shyne Barrow
"Despite our economy continuing to contract, poverty continuing unabated with the middle class eroding, we witnessed the gap between rich and poor increasing to unprecedented levels. This PUP government has had the highest inflation rates ever."
"UNCAC has been abandoned by this PUP government, with corruption at an all time high under the John Briceno administration, underpinned by bloated infrastructure contracts that go to one favored contractor."
"This new year gives us the opportunity to take our country back, to rescue Belize from the vicious punishment of the People's United Party. The UDP will do better, and that is why we enter the New Year with optimism."
Keeping Resolutions Realistic (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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And, while Shyne Barrow's top New Year's resolution is probably to be Prime Minister, is it realistic?. The experts say that your resolutions should be realistic, so that they are achievable. Clinical Psychologist Nasima Reyes appeared on Sunup today to discuss the difference between the real and the ideal:
Hospitalizations On Increase For Upper Respiratory Infections (posted on Thu Jan 2, 2025)
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And in medical news - on Tuesday we told you about the norovirus that's causing so many Belizeans to have "bad bellies" throughout the festive season. Well, Doctor Marvin Manzanero says that doctors are also seeing a lot of upper respiratory tract infections:
Dr Marvin Manzanero, Internist/Bioethicist
"Some patients are showing up with the classic signs and symptoms of Covid. I know some patients have lost their sense of taste and smell. But I think what we are seeing, what I'm seeing, some patients have had to be hospitalized because of pneumonias, bacterial, which came as a result, after the after the viral infection. But I think what is important is patients are having this persistent cough that has lingered for days or weeks. So that's a reason why people are coming to the outpatient department."
"But we are seeing cases. Yeah. As expected. You know, we are closer together. We are sneezing into each other's face, enclosed spaces, the things we knew or are grilled four years ago. We have kind of let our guard down in that regard."
"But we are seeing older adults, diabetics, people who have high blood pressure, stroke survivors are showing up and having to be hospitalized because of complicated upper respiratory tract infection."
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