Briceno Pulls The Trigger For March 12th

Tonight, Belizeans are getting ready for a four week sprint to the polls. Just as we told you he would, the Prime Minister today announced March 12th as the date for the general election. First he and his brother, Jaime along with Deputy PM Cordel Hyde and Senior Minister Francis Fonseca went over to the Governor General's residence to dissolve the National Assembly and issue a writ of election.
And then he went back to the Sir Edney Cain building in Belmopan where at 10:45 am he live-streamed the public announcement.

Here are the key pieces from his four minute address which he delivered with all 31 candidates standing behind him:

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Things have changed dramatically, as we promised they would. Every day since you gave us that massive vote of confidence, my colleagues and I have worked to deliver on plan Belize and to maintain your trust."

"Plan Belize is making good on its pledge to a national transformation with this sterling report card in hand and after careful reflection and prayer, I have decided that now is the appropriate time to seek from you a renewal of our electoral mandate. Earlier, I advised the Governor-General to dissolve the National Assembly today and to appoint Wednesday, March 12th, 2025 as the date for general elections."

So, the battle is now truly joined, but who is the PUP battling against? The UDP remains divided. We have seen a flyer with 13 candidates for Tracy Panton's party - which, at this time, for legal reasons she is not allowed to call the UDP. As for Shyne Barrow, he has said he will put forth 31 candidates. They were promised at the end of January, but that process seems to still be in the "loading" phase - so there is no flyer. And, most importantly, which candidates will get to have their name beside the color red? Well, that still has not been decided by the Elections and Boundaries Commission and today the Chief Elections Officer told us, quote, "The Commission is still yet to make a decision." That probably means we will know closer to nomination day - which is set for February 24th.

Enriquez, Ramlogan Tried & Failed To Get Injunction Against Election

And the High Court is still yet to make a decision on an urgent application for an interim injunction prohibiting the Governor General from making a proclamation for the holding of general election.
That's what Jeremy Enriquez, Rudolph Norales and Jessica Tulcey along with their attorney Anand Ramlogan are clamoring for after they were unable to get an injunction from the court to stop the Prime Minister from instructing the Governor General to. Dissolve the house.
It was a long shot - but once the attorney for the Attorney General, Eamon Courtenay yesterday - wrote to Ramlogan yesterday telling him they would give no 5 day notice of their plan to call election, the Trinidadian attorney and his local counterparts went into a flurry of activity to get an application for an injunction filed and heard before the PM could call it.

But they didn't succeed and today claimant Jerry Enriquez maintained that an elections without first having a redistricting exercise is fraudulent:

Jerry Enriquez, Pushing for Re-districting
"We worked into the night to file an injunction. And so we did file in the court's portal last night, hoping that this morning by around 8.30 or so, we would have some kind of response. But unfortunately, we learned that there was some problem with the portal and we had to get some printed documents into the court."

"And so to get 400 pages printed took a while and we were a little late in filing. But it's disappointing. But at the same time, it shows the country, the entrenched system that we have, very deeply entrenched system. And not only that it is entrenched, but that there is strong resistance and insistence to having the status quo remain."

Jules Vasquez
"Do you believe or was it your expectation that the government would have exercised what you construe to be good faith and said, okay, these people have something that they say they want to ventilate, let us wait and see. Is that, was that your expectation?"

Jerry Enriquez, Pushing for Re-districting
"We did have that expectation for decency and respect by the government, especially that we send the pre-action letter to them to indicate. We also sent to the governor general to say, listen, can you give us a little bit of time before any, so that we can file our injunction."

"We did not get that response from the governor general nor the prime minister. And then they went ahead in a sort of a kind of an ambush to get the process done, to call elections without the redistricting."

"But I'm still hopeful that the judges are reviewing the situation and we'll see what happens from there. When the prime minister said in his statement this morning, something to the effect that we are a model democracy, that it's in the face, a blatant lie, we're calling an election that is in violation of the Constitution. The Prime Minister promised from the beginning of this term that he's going to find ways to rectify that situation and we're back to this same thing that we started with."

"The bottom line is that there has been no resolution up to this point to the redistricting and we're entering an illegal election with all the gross severe malapportionment of electoral divisions."

Jules Vasquez
"Should people in protest, people who support you, what would you advise them to do? lodge a protest vote, don't vote, what would you say?"

Jerry Enriquez, Pushing for Re-districting
"I would, I am not voting, so I would encourage people not to vote and if we have a people in mass not do that it could register our sentiments, our voice as to what we feel about the election."

"Secondly, any observer of our electoral process, whether it be OAS, the Commonwealth, I want them to know already that they're coming to observe something fraudulent."

Jules Vasquez
"Politicians love low outcomes. They spend less money. It's a more predictable outcome. They control the variables. So once again, you're playing into the corrupt political establishment hand."

Jerry Enriquez, Pushing for Re-districting
"We've got to find a way in every way to address this. We have to bring international attention to this issue. We have to bring regional attention to this issue. But most importantly, we're going to drive it through the courts at the highest level. As a people of Belize, we're screwed by our own politicians who people think we could trust, but they are really very committed to maintaining the status quo."

Jules Vasquez
"Do you think the court properly treated it as an urgent matter?"

Jerry Enriquez, Pushing for Re-districting
"I think they are. It's still a matter in the court."

Jules Vasquez
"If this were a man's life or a woman's life on the line who's about to be hanged, that person would have hanged already."

Jerry Enriquez, Pushing for Re-districting
"That person would have hanged."

Reporter
"How far are you willing to go?"

Jerry Enriquez, Pushing for Re-districting
"We're going to the highest court as far as we could go. The Caribbean Court of Justice, if possible."

We understand the matter was this afternoon assigned to Justice Hondora and Enriquez says he hopes it will be heard tomorrow. It asks the court to grant an order of Mandamus against the Prime Minister directing him to revoke his advice to the Governor General on dissolving the house and another injunction prohibiting the Governor General from issuing the writ of election - which has likely already been issued via an extraordinary gazette.

Registration For March Election Closed In January

Now that nomination and election day have been set the Elections and Boundaries Department issued a notice today for the registration of new voters.

And it basically says that if you haven't registered, you can no longer do so in time for the March 12th election. The release states, quote, "Persons applying to be registered as electors after the cut-off-date of 10th January 2025 will NOT be eligible to vote in the 12th March 2025 General Election."

ITVET Instructor Inexplicably Killed On Neighbor's Verandah

Another murder was recorded last night - only this time it happened in Hope Creek Village in the Stann Creek District.
The victim was reportedly out socializing at a friend's home when he was fatally shot. He's since been identified as 23 year old Simon Arana, an ITVET instructor. Reports suggest that 2 shots were heard within the area before Arana was found lying motionless on the verandah of a neighbor's home.

No motive has been ascertained and police aren't even sure if he was the target.

Charged For Rape Of High Schooler Near Strip Club, Man Walks Free

Back in October 2022, a 17 year old high school student reported that she was raped after she left Eruption Night Club. She was found partially nude in an abandoned vehicle not far from the club. 27 year old Michael Flowers was later charged after a neighbor alleged that his surveillance cameras caught him walking with the girl the night of the incident.

Flowers was late to court yesterday and spent the night at the Belize Central Prison, but today his case was ultimately dropped. The DPP entered a case of nolle prosequi after the main witness - the complainant and alleged victim - refused to testify.

Pedro Fishermen Came Under Fire Near The Reef

A pair of fishermen report being targeted in the open waters off San Pedro. Two fishermen reported being pursued and fired upon while fishing near Tuffy Channel, approximately one mile offshore from the south end of the town.
26 year old Luis Pablo Diaz, and his brother, 24 year old Janel Silvino Diaz, were fishing from a kayak around 8:30 this morning when they noticed a small grey skiff approaching them from outside the reef. The brothers identified the occupants as persons known to them.
Sensing danger, the brothers maneuvered towards the reef, where they believed the skiff could not follow. However, the boat repeatedly attempted to reach them by navigating around the reef. After an hour of evasive maneuvers, the brothers say they saw one the men produce a firearm and point it in their direction. Moments later, they heard a gunshot and immediately dove underwater to avoid being hit.
Luis then swam away, leaving his brother holding onto the kayak. He was later rescued by a boat and taken to shore, where he reported the incident to police. The Coast Guard responded and located Janel Diaz, safely escorting him back to the island.

San Pedro police moved quickly to arrest two of the suspects while one remains at large. The boat has also been impounded.

After Deadly Game, BDFA Promises To Tighten Security

Football fans in Belize City were left shocked and terrified after the last BDFA game turned into a murder at the end of January. Those who witnessed it will probably think twice before attending another game. But today the BDFA met with the police department to fix the cracks in security that led to the fatal shooting of Brandon Baptist. They're assuring the public that the next games will have no lack of police officers and even members of the LIU will be there. Courtney Menzies spoke with them after the meeting and has this story.

This was the chaotic scene at the Marion Jones Stadium on January 31st, the night 39 year old Brandon Baptist was fatally shot during a football game.

It was the first time a murder occurred during A BDFA event, and it left the Belize District Football Association with the job of figuring out how to move forward safely.

And today, they held a meeting with the Police Department to do just so. One of the executive members explained that the main focus for this weekend's games has to be increasing security.

Ian Gaynair, Executive Member, BDFA
"I think we gotta step up our security force and that was what was discussed in the meeting. We need more men on the ground and we have a lot of top notch security that will be on the ground at both the semi-finals and the final game so I want to assure the Belizean people, the people that attend football, the kids, everybody, that they will be safe, we will have more than enough security out there and I would like to invite everyone to come out and see."

"They have intelligence, ways how to deal with these types of people and I am sure that anyone that goes to both the semifinals and the final game on Saturday, they will go with respect and know that they can't take their stupidness out there."

But why didn't the BDFA employ more officers in the first place? Gaynair said it was because they don't usually see a large crowd at the games.

Ian Gaynair, Executive Member, BDFA
"When it comes to little security at that game, like I said, in the past - I'm in office about 6 months but in the past, they only had the same thing, like 4 police but it never had the crowd that I managed to pull out. Did my marketing and I was amazed, I was shocked to see so many people I pulled out of the city on a Friday night to go and watch a football game in Belize City."

"But definitely we'll step up the security, the amount of people at the game, we'll step up our security measures."

Courtney Menzies:
"Do you believe it was, in some respect, a lapse in judgement? If your goal is to bring out more people and you know that it gets unsafe, especially at night, shouldn't the next thought be, well, we need more police?"

Ian Gaynair, Executive Member, BDFA
"Maybe it was a lapse in judgement, I won't run from that because I felt like we could have maybe gotten a few more but the tournament was running so smoothly that I didn't think that something like this would have happened."

But this time they'll have more than just police officers - they'll have assistance from the team that ensures that the William Dawson Sprite Basketball Tournament goes through without a hitch. And the National Youth Program Coordinator explained how they're able to do it.

Douglas Hyde, National Youth Program Coordinator, BPD
"For the past three to four years, the LIU along with the police department have been doing a lot of mediation. Some of these players, some of these communities are part of that process so when there's an incident like that that happens, it takes us backwards, it takes steps behind, which we need to work on in the dialogue and communication with the communities."

Courtney Menzies:
"What advice do you pass on now to the football federation?"

Douglas Hyde, National Youth Program Coordinator, BPD
"It's a work in progress for us. Myself and other in the LIU have been working with these people for years. I'm not a junior person, here I'm a senior person who has 18 years so it's a level of experience that we have and that level of connection that we already built with these communities and these young persons. When you separate us and other persons who have been working in these communities, it takes a different approach and so when you don't understand the dynamics, and the LIU is not involved in it, then when issues come up, when things that you didn't see that we can see, we can address far beyond just safety and security."

Courtney Menzies:
"What happens if you see known BLC and known PIV members coming to the game?"

Douglas Hyde, National Youth Program Coordinator, BPD
"Part of the strategy is to have the LIU and our intelligence officers working together and there's still discussion with these guys, Mr Nuri and Raymond Gongora are still working with these communities and this is a plus. You see these are the things that happen in the background that people don't know. And so when the competition which will push off tomorrow and Saturday is to encourage these teams while the competition going on, please, if you have that kind of vibes, just don't come and we're encouraging them not to participate but to let the competition continue to move forward."

The semifinals will be held on Friday, while the final game will be on Saturday.

Study Finds More Substance Abuse Among Women And Adolescents

The use of Alcohol and drugs in Belize primarily among adolescents has continued to grow in alarming numbers for the past 7 years.
That's the finding of a first ever study of A Situational Analysis on Substance Abuse amongst Adolescents, Youth and Women in Belize- a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Wellness, NDACC and UNICEF.

Today at the Biltmore these findings were presented to local and international stakeholders. Jomarie Lanza was there and here's her report.

The National Drug Abuse Control Council held a National Stakeholders Consultation this morning with civil society representatives and academia to present a situational analysis on substance abuse amongst adolescents, youth and women in Belize.

The data they analysed extends from 2017 to 2024, and the director for NDACC says that the trends portray a steady and concerning rise of substance misuse within Belize.

Esner Vellos, Director, NDACC
"The National Drug Abuse Control Council, Ministry of Health is very much inclined in ensuring that we have all our stakeholders participate in meaningful discussions. In this particular session we want to ensure that we get the information that is needed so that we will be able to plan effectively and design programs that are geared towards adolescence, children and families, because we believe based on our data that these are the group areas that require a little bit more attention when it comes to substance misuse, particularly when it comes to alcohol consumption, marijuana consumption in the country of Belize. We all know that alcohol consumption does affect a lot of our citizens but as well it also contributes a lot to the deterioration of our social fabric in terms of contributing to domestic violence or to violence in general, the increase of traffic accidents and so forth so it is very important that the ministry of health and NDACC partner with agencies such as UNICEF to ensure that we get the support that is needed and at the same time get the discussion in ensuring that we have these topics discussed by our stakeholders, primarily educational institutions or rehabilitation facilities that we work with as well as social groups and social partners in the country of Belize."

It can also be said that substance misuse is becoming increasingly frequent among young females. Vellos says that this is why they have begun to develop interventions that include more women:

Esner Vellos, Director, NDACC
"One of the things that we at the National Drug Abuse Control Council see on a very regular basis is a lot of the younger population between the ages of 15 and 25 and indeed yes we have seen an increase in consumption among females and that is the reason why NDACC is putting a lot of emphasis in ensuring that we bring this issue into the forefront so that we can discuss it more. One of the things that we look at with the National Drug Abuse Control Council is to increase our program development section so that we will be able to include more women in the conversation and at the same time we will be able to design programs that are catered towards them as part of a holistic approach in ensuring that everybody gets equal opportunities to access these services whether it be treatment or whether it be prevention programs. And indeed one of the things we have been looking at is how we can diversify our programs in ensuring women are taken into consideration when developing these programs but also curtailing the programs that will align to their needs so for example increasing programs that would look at how we can have sowing initiatives that would distract in one way or another our younger women population, invest in cooking programs that would also have a certain level of prevention as well but more important in how we can drive the message to the younger population whether it be a male a youth or whether it be a female youth because at the end of the day it doesn't matter what gender you are what is important is that you are able to access the services that are available which are free within the national drug abuse council and the overall ministry of health services that we have in the primary health services that is available in the country."

Ken Legins the UNICEF representative for Belize spoke more about the importance of NDACC's partnership with UNICEF in reaching youths:

Ken Legins, UNICEF Representative
"What surprised me the most is actually the speech this morning from the president from the NDACC who was saying that we are trying to look for how we can reduce demand of drugs among communities especially among children and adolescence and this really in line with UNICEF's health promotion approach which is to not point fingers but really to work with young people themselves to come up with solutions that help them make healthy choices which doesn't include abusing drugs."

"This is a trend that is not unusual to Belize in that sense but I think what I heard today from the president of NDACC is that they have an approach which they think is scientifically proven to actually reduce demand which is to engage the communities that are effected and to find solutions to give them mentoring and extra out of school activities to give them ideas of what their careers could be in the future rather than to be stagnant and not have things to do and to be engaged, and not to be scolded or yelled at because all of us have been adolescents at one point in our lives and we know the challenges that it Is to be and adolescent and if we actively engage with them that Is really what the science is telling us the best way that young people can make healthy choices."

Essential Services Tribunal Convened, Forcing CWU To Stay Its Hand At Port

On January 31st., the Christian Workers Union on behalf of the stevedores invoked twenty-one days' notice of industrial action against the Port of Belize.
Well, yesterday the government announced that it had appointed the members of the Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal for determination and it had done so before the expiration of the 21-day notice period. So, the Tribunal has now been fully constituted to address the ongoing dispute.
The minister's nominees are William A Lindo as Chairman, Carlos Magana and Arturo Lizarraga, and then there's Marcello Blake nominated by the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and finally Clifford Martinez, nominated by the National Trade Union Congress of Belize.
A press statement says, quote, "The Ministry urges both CWU and PBL to engage in constructive dialogue through the Tribunal to achieve a fair and mutually beneficial resolution."
And they kind of have to because once the Tribunal is seized of the matter, no industrial action shall be taken. The Ministry says it remains committed to ensuring a fair and timely resolution.

We'll keep following it.

What Do The Streets Think About Early Elections?

March 12th - that's the date set for elections, and though it had been rumored for at least a month and we basically announced it last night - there's nothing like when it's made official - like a shot of adrenaline to the body politic.
But, with the UDP in disarray - and the PUP looking at the possibility of a walkover - are people really that excited for the 2025 election? We went to the streets to ask just that today - where at least some folks were caught off guard by what is - after all - an election that's coming 8 months early:

A Peek Behind The Blue Curtain

And while Lee Mark Chang is sure he is going to win - we know for sure that the Mesopotamia race will be one of the most compelling because it will feature Chang battling Shyne Barrow for the UDP vote, while Lawrence Ellis will try to steal a victory in a constituency where the PUP has not won in 51 years.

But while that division is a worthy micro-study - today, Jules Vasquez got to do his own when he got to see behind the Blu curtain as the PUP candidates set up for a carefully choreographed election announcement. Here's what he saw:

With their places precisely marked in terms of seniority and perhaps electability - with considerations for height, gender and party executive seniority, the 31 area reps took their places.

With the precision of a set designer and the authority of a stage manager, the Prime Minister's assistant Vaughan Gill shuttled across the area with the intensity of a hovering hummingbird.

Another assistant made sure every button was buttoned.

After three minutes of this micro study of life behind the blue curtain - PM Briceno emerged.

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Good Morning."

With his generals all in a row behind him - Briceno recapped his accomplishments of the last 5 years

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Things have changed dramatically as we promised they would."

He laid out what will be the bulwarks of his campaign.

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Belizeans are working, earning higher wages. Productivity has soared, expanding the economy. Hundreds of millions in new private sector investments have spawned development."

But the party hopes it won't be spurned by voters - and with that the PM pulled the trigger and exposed one of the worst kept secrets in town - that elections will be November 12th.

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"With this sterling report card in hand, and after careful reflection and prayer, I have decided that now is the appropriate time to seek from you a renewal of our electoral mandate. Earlier, I advised the Governor General to dissolve the National Assembly today and to appoint Wednesday, March 12th, 2025, as the date for general elections."

With that, the party launched its campaign, built around this music video, prominently and almost solely featuring Briceno. The party leader now reported to be in his last term. And if he is in the last term, he will have to look to one of his colleagues on his left and right to take over the party leadership in what would be an interesting five years.

Shyne Wants Him To Take Down Tracy, Meet Jose Uc Espat

And while the PM launched the blu rocket into the political stratosphere at around 10:45, close to that time, one of the UDP's newest standard bearers was launching his candidacy. Jose Uc Espat is on the slate for the Albert Division, replacing Tracy Panton. And while Espat is known for many things - whether you see him as a crusader for missing persons or you remember the "fake doctor" allegations - he now wants to add politician and minister to his CV. Here's what he had to say to the people of Albert today.

Jose Uc Espat, UDP Standard Bearer, Albert
"I don't see my vision as only for the Albert constituency but I was literally born and grow in Albert. On Bishop Street."

"So my pledge is to change everything, change everything for positivity starting with the Albert constituency. I know the Albert constituency along with many other constituencies have been neglected after being presented by prominent figures of this nation, both from this same party and from the People's United Party. They have been neglected. Today, 40 years plus after independence and we look at certain constituencies, for example the Albert, what groundbreaking developments have occurred in these areas after so many prominent, different representatives have stood for them?"

"Who is Jose Luis Uc Espat? Just a humble citizen of this nation that has proven leadership through action. And I'll tell you this now, I don't come to talk this, I come to fix this. I have proven that I don't talk, I act, and I lead by example. I grow up right on the corner of Bishop Street and the Canal side. Who knows me knows I'm a very outspoken person and I stand up for what I believe in and my principles and values. I'm not perfect but I stand for what I believe in to death."

"I humbly come to ask for an opportunity to continue that. Coming to this platform does not change one thing about me, even if elected, I will still remain true to my passion, I will never give up looking for missing people in this nation. As a matter of fact, being brought to the table allows me to use this platform to change the way things are done in this system."

10 year ago, in 2015, Espat ran in the Albert division under the Belize Progressive Party slate, and received 50 votes.

ComPol's "Golden Godson" Makes Big Gun Bust

Three men have been arrested after cops in San Pedro made a big gun bust. Led by the OC Superintendent Egbert Castillo and supervised by Sergeant Devon Makin, the ComPol's godson, the cops got a pistol and two assault rifles. The 9mm pistol had an extended magazine containing 22 live 9mm rounds, then there was an AR-15 rifle with two magazines containing 51rounds of ammunition and an SG rifle with a magazine containing 12 rounds of ammunition. Additional ammunition was also found.
The search was conducted in a bushy area where a camp was located. The three men were found at the camp.

And it's not just guns, police also arrested 26 year old Daniel Lagos, 23 year old Zephaniah Mariano, and 21 year old Zylon Castillo who have been charged for kept prohibited firearm, kept prohibited ammunition, possession of a firearm with serial number removed, and two counts of kept a firearm without a gun license and kept ammunition without a gun license.

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