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
Two days ago, there was a report of a drug plane landing in the far reaches of the Toledo District. Pictures have emerged showing a Gruman Gulfstream 2 jet suspected to have carried drug cargo. The aircraft was torched after it landed on an improvised airstrip between Crique Carco and Graham Creek - not far from the border with Guatemala.
Multiple law enforcement sources report that two police officers - an Inspector and a Sergeant - are being questioned in connection with the landing. One of the officers is reported to be from the anti narcotics unit.
Experts tell us a jet of this size can carry two and a half tonnes of cargo legally.
Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has moved to dismiss a police corporal whose name was listed in a note found along with the body of missing man Raheem Usher.
Usher's body was found at the entrance to San Antonio Village on February 27th with a huge note containing the names of two police officers and four other persons, and linking them to narco trafficking.
The compol first wrote to this officer in early March and asked him to list reasons why he should not be dismissed from the department. His attorney Andrew Bennett wrote back and the Compol responded today saying he was not convinced.
His letter says. "In light of the serious nature of the allegations against you, the impact on the reputation of the Belize Police Department, and after careful consideration of the submission by your attorney...I hereby exercise my power and discharge you from the Belize Police Department, effective March 28, 2025. You may appeal this decision to the Belize Advisory Council within 21 days of receiving this letter of discharge." The officer had more than 21 years of service.
In a recent interview where he spoke generally about officers linked to the cartel, here's what the Commissioner said about his determination to purge them:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police "The Belize Police Department is not going to shield no police officer who gets entangled with cartels. If you get entangled with cartels the best I can do for you is to second you to Chetumal where you can work with them but I will not allow for police officers to be entangled with cartels and be working with other police officers who are not involved and when the cartel comes for them, they end up injuring innocent police officers, it is extremely risky and so I have said that what we need to do is to investigate, identify those police officers and I don't think transferring them is going to be helpful. If we transfer them, they move to other areas and they recruit more police officers so they will in essence be contaminating more police officers so my thing is that we identify them and we get rid of them. You can't be cartel and be police at the same time, you have to decide what you're going to be, you can only be one. So you either decide to be cartel or you decide to be police. The fact that they have decided to be cartels, there's no room for them to be police officers. We have to part ways and that's the bottom line."
The officer in this case can still make an appeal to the Belize Advisory Council. We stress that the Compol only referred in his letter to allegations against him.
There's a public health scare tonight - but the extent of it is unclear. It has to do with outdoor gym equipment donated by the Taiwanese in May of 2019. These were distributed through the Ministry of Health to various municipalities for use in public space.
Well, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has written to town and city councils warning them that those pieces of equipment have dangerous levels of lead.
And we only know this because the Orange Walk Town Council put out a public notice stating that the outdoor fitness equipment is being removed from two public spaces.
They say that the Ministry of Health and wellness has informed them, quote, "that the OFE's in six municipalities…have been tested positive for excessive lead. The ministry has requested their removal and careful disposal." End quote.
So how serious is this for members of the public who use them regularly? Why was testing required? And how excessive is the lead? Indeed, there are more questions than answers tonight, but the Ministry of Health has reserved comment for Monday.
In Belize City, the equipment is at Marion Jones - and the City Council says when the donation was made during UDP days, the pieces were never transferred to them.
One mentally ill man has been detained for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed a woman's home and almost killed her. It was just after 12:00 when the fire broke out on Banak street, but the perpetrator is no stranger to the victim. Her mother, who owns the property, which contains two houses, explained that her daughter lives alone in the lower flat of the home at the front, but that her nephew, who is mentally challenged, sometimes enters the upstairs to be alone. This time, however, he inexplicably reportedly lit a fire that got out of control. The homeowner, Shana Tillett, told us more.
Shana Tillett, Fire Victim "I wasn't at home, I was at work but they called me and said the house is on fire."
Courtney Menzies: "Do you know what started the fire?"
Shana Tillett, Fire Victim "No, but my son said it was the mattress upstairs, my nephew, he's not too correct, he probably smoked his cigarette and left it on the mattress and burnt it."
Reporter: "Was he here on his own or was he with your son?"
Shana Tillett, Fire Victim "He and my son stay upstairs here but I don't know what is the reason he wants to be over there because over there is for my niece and nobody lives up there."
Reporter: "Is this the first time he has done something like this?"
Shana Tillett, Fire Victim "The first time he try burn down."
Courtney Menzies: "What kind of mental condition does he suffer with?"
Shana Tillett, Fire Victim "I'm not sure, I have to ask his dad. But I know he has schizophrenia, I don't know what else he's diagnosed with."
Courtney Menzies: "You don't know why he prefers over that side?"
Shana Tillett, Fire Victim "He just wants to be by himself because he wants to do all kinds of things, have the place looking crazy and have all kind of rubbish that he can do anything and throw anything anywhere but when he's around somebody, he doesn't do that."
"He was upstairs, she lives downstairs and she didn't know the fire until everything burnt up, almost her too. She was sleeping and didn't smell the fire."
"She just bought her fridge, I don't know how somebody couldn't help her take out that fridge, $900."
Courtney Menzies: "And she lost all her clothes and everything?"
Shana Tillett, Fire Victim "Everything, you see I gave her a pants. Everything."
Courtney Menzies: "Did any part of your house get damaged?"
Shana Tillett, Fire Victim "Just round the back but thank God it's not the whole place because I just spent $3,000, saved my money to buy my fridge and my machine and my kids' mattress."
Reporter: "Has this individual ever been like a threat to your family or recently have you seen a change in his behavior?"
Shana Tillett, Fire Victim "Not really, it's just the same, how he stands, sometimes he gets aggressive with you and he talks crazy to you and tell you he will do you this or so but me as his aunty, I'm already used to him like that but people out there they would want to knock him, hurt him and then the way how he talks to them like they would want to do him something but he just talks out of his head, he won't do anything unless they fool with him."
If you would like to assist this family, they can be reached at 602-4520.
An American tourist was seriously injured in a boating accident near Caye Caulker yesterday afternoon.
Around 4:20, 45-year-old Mark Strus, a civil engineer from Michigan, USA, and his three children were kayaking on the northern side of Caye Caulker when a boat, traveling at moderate speed toward San Pedro Town, crossed their path.
Strus and his son jumped from the kayak to avoid the collision, but he went underwater and was struck by the boat, causing a large wound to the back of his head. The boat's captain, 33-year-old Wilson Gonzalez, a tour guide from San Pedro Town, assisted Strus and rushed him to the Caye Caulker Polyclinic. Gonzalez was operating a 25-foot skiff named *Reely Hooked*.
Police found Strus at the Caye Caulker Polyclinic receiving medical attention for the profusely bleeding wound on the back of his head. He was airlifted to Belize City for treatment.
Authorities have confirmed that Strus remains in critical but stable condition.
Gonzalez has been detained by police, and a urine sample has been taken as part of the investigation.
She was a 30 year old arraigned in October of last year for sexually exploiting her own 10 year old niece. Tonight, after 5 months on remand for child pornography and sexual assault upon a minor that aunt has gotten bail.
We won't show her face or share her name to protect the identity of the child but we can say that she is from a village in the Belize District.
The child was captured on camera being used in a sex act performed by her aunt - and the video went viral, showing the child's face.
After 5 months on remand Welch is now free on bail. She was granted bail of $8,000 which she was able to meet, on the grounds that she must not interfere with the child. Her trial is expected to begin in April of this year.
A preliminary inquiry into her case led by the DPP concluded on March 17th. The senior magistrate ordered that Welch must stand trial for 2 sexual offenses, for the making of child pornography and sexual assault.
The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association may have schooled the PrimeMinister for stripping Jose Mai of the portfolio for sugar - but another growers' group, the Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association is applauding him for the portfolio switch.
In a letter dated today, the CSPCA says, quote, "The CSCPA fundamentally expresses its deep satisfaction on your decision to allocate the Sugar Industry portfolio under your Ministry…Such decision would indeed establish the bridge for investor confidence for further strategic development to building efficiencies with economic gains for all stakeholders..."
They note that, quote, "little or nothing effectively has been achieved over the years" and conclude "This decision will bring about the alignment of the interests of investors, millers, farmers, the government, and financial institutions; it is possible to create a more equitable and productive sector."
We should note that the Corozal Sugar Cane Producers is one of the four cane farming groups in the north and they have a signed multi-year commercial agreement with the ASR/BSI.
The Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future held its 3rd award ceremony yesterday in San Ignacio. During this ceremony, they award grants to organizations involved in conservation projects that have a positive impact on Belize's marine ecosystems. This time, they awarded 8 grants. The executive director told us more.
Leandra Cho-Ricketts, Executive Director, Fund for Sustainable Future "We provided four regular grants and four community grants and those four regular grants are for well-established organizations and they were medium-sized or about 150,000 roughly up to 150,000 and one large one which was around 340 or 57,000 thereabout and then we had four community grants. For the first time we're giving support to community groups that may not have the full capacity to manage projects or do the financial aspects or management of that, so we've created community grants. it's a cap of 75,000 that allows them to still be able to do actions on the ground and in this case we had two fishers organization, so they're helping them to build more sustainable practices and build capacity for fisheries management.
"We had animation studio that's led by youth that they're developing marine awareness animation as a part of informing and educating the legions about the importance of their marine environment and how to sustainably use that and then a community group in the north three lagoons, they're looking at community management of the reserve which is the riparian reserve or the coastline reserve right. And so what the fund is doing is providing that financial support to them while they do activities on the ground. So we manage the finances and let it flow to them they don't actually receive a manager."
The new world screw-worm was news months ago - but it is now endemic in this region. And the only effective way to counter it is through the dispersal of sterile flies.
These sterile male flies are released into the wild to mate with wild females from which no offspring can be produced, leading to a drastic reduction in the wild populations.
But these sterile flies are provided by the United States Department of Agriculture, and up until recently they weren't agreeing to give Belize any flies.
The Prime Minister told us on Wednesday that has changed:
John Briceno, Prime Minister "First of all, they have agreed now they have agreed now that they are going to give us the flies, the sterile flies to be able to, to combat it. But what has happened is not them, why they were not, was giving us the flies immediately, simply because there's a bigger crisis in other parts of, of Central America. And I imagine that they felt that if they bring the flies here to stop it here and, and you don't stop it over there, they will still come to Belize. So, they're trying to contain it over there, but now that they're seeing that is starting to spread in Belize they're making the sterile flies also available to Belize. And lastly, they had slowed down that, that that program, so they do not have enough flies for to issue. And so right now they're trying to ramp up the production of these flies."
$95,000 worth of Information and Communication Technology was today donated to the Community Rehabilitation Department as a part of the PACE Justice Project, which is funded by the EU and implemented by UNDP.
This ICT equipment will be used to help reduce the backlog in the justice system by creating an adult probation unit. We learned more at the handing over ceremony today.
Adele Catzim Sanchez, CEO, Ministry of Human Dev. "The ICT equipment is part of a larger project. It really reflects the need for us to improve the support services that we provide to low risk offenders. It's part of a project that is called Pace Justice and it's a regional project in the Caribbean and Belize was selected to be one of the countries to participate in the project and the objectives are to provide education, legal education to people so that they could navigate or better navigate the legal system. It's to reduce the backlog of cases that go through the courts and to ensure that lowest offenders have community and rehabilitative services so they don't reoffend but at the same time not clog up the justice system by incarcerating people in prison."
"We are looking at between 32 and 34 probation or new officers to come on board with us and we've gotten approval from Cabinet but we are to stagger the hiring over a four year period so we'll start out with maybe 8 to 10 officers including the probation officers and coordinators to make sure that everything functions well. We'll have offices across the country as we do currently but the offices will be separate from the offices we have now and that is to ensure that people who are on adult probation don't necessarily intermingle with the other populations we serve."
Michael Lund, Deputy Resident Rep., UNDP Belize "Belize is really spearheading and setting the pace for the rest of the countries, Belize is really the one that is modernizing and improving the most out of everybody so we're proud to be a part of the effort."
"One of the efforts to reduce the backlog was of course the adult alternative centers act of last year and operationalizing that is creating this unit which is the adult probational unit that is being created and this IT unit that we're handing over is helping to operationalize that unit so you're able to move away from writing papers, shuffling papers, but digitalizing your work and moving much more efficient so it's an efficient but it's also reducing the backlogs by not sending low risk first time offenders all the way through the court system into overcrowded and expensive prison but handling much earlier and up front so it doesn't even become a case."
Three teams, and three days of grueling drills and challenges that test leadership, physical fitness, marksmanship, and unit cohesion., all for the title of Wonder Woman 2025. The winner was awarded this afternoon at the Coast guard Base after the teams had completed the final challenge, ominously called "The Crucible." Jomarie Lanza was there:
Today the Belize Chamber and Commerce Industry held its 3rd annual Women's Empowerment Forum. It's an initiative that began post-pandemic and has grown every year. It features over a hundred women entrepreneurs, representing a cross section of business interests. The CEO, Kim Aikman, explained more.
Kim Aikman, CEO, BCCI "We came up with the idea about three years ago because we recognized especially after COVID that there were so many women who were who had to become entrepreneurs and who were in business for them to survive and we wanted to find a forum to give them support to let us share from and learn from each other whatever are the best practices that one person is doing that maybe we could have used so we brought everybody together and since then it's been going it started out with probably like 30 women and now we're up to 150 and this is our third year."
"When we had COVID a lot of businesses shut down, not because they wanted to but because the country was shut down and as women we had to find a way to take care of our families and we saw the evolution of entrepreneurs of small businesses of ad hoc online businesses popping up all over the place."
"For example we had a lady in in Cayo who was making masks and we paid her bank transfers and then she sent them so it's and since then it's been difficult for some of the women to even go back into the formal workplace they have built upon their ideas and have gained the confidence to continue and put forward their businesses and try to improve it."
"All you have to be is a woman and in business we put out the invitation to members of the chamber female business owners of the chamber but we did not limit it to that we've had women who are not members who've called us and as can we participate and most definitely we said yes."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has concluded a two day trip to three Caribbean countries: Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname.
For the US it is about strengthening ties with countries in its own hemisphere, but for Caribbean leaders, it was a chance to urge the US to soften its stance on Cuban medical brigades and travel restrictions for certain countries.
InGuyana, President Irhan Ali confirmed that semi position that had been stated by Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica: that Cuban doctors are not a part of any forced labour program:
Dr. Irfaan Ali, President, Guyana "We have reassured our partner that we will continue to ensure all international and local labour laws are adhered to in the hiring of regional and international labour. Further, with our expanding healthcare system and critical shortage of human capital, will explore areas of collaboration in filling existing gaps."
In Jamaica, Rubio promised to engage with them to have a "better understanding" of how it treats Cuban doctors and said, quote, "Perhaps none of this applies in the way it's handled here."
Rubio also agreed to put in a word for this region where it is feared a trade war with China - and the imposition of million dollar service charges on Chinese ships could sharply drive up the costs of goods coming to this region. Here's how he put it:
Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State "I do believe that we will take this back because we've heard this not just here, Mr. President. We've heard it throughout our visits here in the Caribbean. And we're going to take it back and explain to those who are in charge of trade policy that there are some implications to applying it to certain nations who are partners and who are seeking to develop their economies in ways that I think serve the national interest of the United States, not to mention the national interest of our partner nations, and see what can happen. What I can commit to is that I will most certainly raise this issue as a recurring issue in multiple places that it would have a real detrimental effect on economic development."
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Two days ago, there was a report of a drug plane landing in the far reaches of the Toledo District. Pictures have emerged showing a Gruman Gulfstream 2 jet suspected to have carried drug cargo. The aircraft was torched after it landed on an improvised airstrip between Crique Carco and Graham Creek - not far from the border with Guatemala.
Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has moved to dismiss a police corporal whose name was listed in a note found along with the body of missing man Raheem Usher.
"The Belize Police Department is not going to shield no police officer who gets entangled with cartels. If you get entangled with cartels the best I can do for you is to second you to Chetumal where you can work with them but I will not allow for police officers to be entangled with cartels and be working with other police officers who are not involved and when the cartel comes for them, they end up injuring innocent police officers, it is extremely risky and so I have said that what we need to do is to investigate, identify those police officers and I don't think transferring them is going to be helpful. If we transfer them, they move to other areas and they recruit more police officers so they will in essence be contaminating more police officers so my thing is that we identify them and we get rid of them. You can't be cartel and be police at the same time, you have to decide what you're going to be, you can only be one. So you either decide to be cartel or you decide to be police. The fact that they have decided to be cartels, there's no room for them to be police officers. We have to part ways and that's the bottom line."
There's a public health scare tonight - but the extent of it is unclear. It has to do with outdoor gym equipment donated by the Taiwanese in May of 2019. These were distributed through the Ministry of Health to various municipalities for use in public space.
One mentally ill man has been detained for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed a woman's home and almost killed her. It was just after 12:00 when the fire broke out on Banak street, but the perpetrator is no stranger to the victim. Her mother, who owns the property, which contains two houses, explained that her daughter lives alone in the lower flat of the home at the front, but that her nephew, who is mentally challenged, sometimes enters the upstairs to be alone. This time, however, he inexplicably reportedly lit a fire that got out of control. The homeowner, Shana Tillett, told us more.
Shana Tillett, Fire Victim 
An American tourist was seriously injured in a boating accident near Caye Caulker yesterday afternoon.
She was a 30 year old arraigned in October of last year for sexually exploiting her own 10 year old niece. Tonight, after 5 months on remand for child pornography and sexual assault upon a minor that aunt has gotten bail.
The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association may have schooled the PrimeMinister for stripping Jose Mai of the portfolio for sugar - but another growers' group, the Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association is applauding him for the portfolio switch.
The Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future held its 3rd award ceremony yesterday in San Ignacio. During this ceremony, they award grants to organizations involved in conservation projects that have a positive impact on Belize's marine ecosystems. This time, they awarded 8 grants. The executive director told us more.
"We provided four regular grants and four community grants and those four regular grants are for well-established organizations and they were medium-sized or about 150,000 roughly up to 150,000 and one large one which was around 340 or 57,000 thereabout and then we had four community grants. For the first time we're giving support to community groups that may not have the full capacity to manage projects or do the financial aspects or management of that, so we've created community grants. it's a cap of 75,000 that allows them to still be able to do actions on the ground and in this case we had two fishers organization, so they're helping them to build more sustainable practices and build capacity for fisheries management.
The new world screw-worm was news months ago - but it is now endemic in this region. And the only effective way to counter it is through the dispersal of sterile flies.
$95,000 worth of Information and Communication Technology was today donated to the Community Rehabilitation Department as a part of the PACE Justice Project, which is funded by the EU and implemented by UNDP.
"The ICT equipment is part of a larger project. It really reflects the need for us to improve the support services that we provide to low risk offenders. It's part of a project that is called Pace Justice and it's a regional project in the Caribbean and Belize was selected to be one of the countries to participate in the project and the objectives are to provide education, legal education to people so that they could navigate or better navigate the legal system. It's to reduce the backlog of cases that go through the courts and to ensure that lowest offenders have community and rehabilitative services so they don't reoffend but at the same time not clog up the justice system by incarcerating people in prison."
"Belize is really spearheading and setting the pace for the rest of the countries, Belize is really the one that is modernizing and improving the most out of everybody so we're proud to be a part of the effort."
Today the Belize Chamber and Commerce Industry held its 3rd annual Women's Empowerment Forum. It's an initiative that began post-pandemic and has grown every year. It features over a hundred women entrepreneurs, representing a cross section of business interests. The CEO, Kim Aikman, explained more.
"We came up with the idea about three years ago because we recognized especially after COVID that there were so many women who were who had to become entrepreneurs and who were in business for them to survive and we wanted to find a forum to give them support to let us share from and learn from each other whatever are the best practices that one person is doing that maybe we could have used so we brought everybody together and since then it's been going it started out with probably like 30 women and now we're up to 150 and this is our third year."
Dr. Irfaan Ali, President, Guyana
"I do believe that we will take this back because we've heard this not just here, Mr. President. We've heard it throughout our visits here in the Caribbean. And we're going to take it back and explain to those who are in charge of trade policy that there are some implications to applying it to certain nations who are partners and who are seeking to develop their economies in ways that I think serve the national interest of the United States, not to mention the national interest of our partner nations, and see what can happen. What I can commit to is that I will most certainly raise this issue as a recurring issue in multiple places that it would have a real detrimental effect on economic development."
