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
What would you do if you were given the chance to purchase land in the capital city for only $2,000? Well for some former city councillors and relatives of the former mayor, they didn't hesitate to take that deal.
Yesterday we told you about the suspicious land dealings that were reportedly occurring during the tenure of former mayor Sheran Palacio. Those deals saw elected officials, staff and relatives allegedly purchasing land for almost 80%discounts- with the loss in unrealized earnings going to the city council. And, in some cases, persons received multiple parcels - all at severe markdowns.
It's a tangled web of insider trading that the current council has had to untangle, and they've been doing so quietly, until one of the former councilors who benefitted went to another media house after she was told she owed several thousands of dollars for the land which she had already bought.
Now, Mayor Pablo Cawich is only hoping that they will be able to recover some of the revenue that was lost. Courtney Menzies spoke with him today and has this story.
Right now, the Innovabel area of Belmopan is little more than dirt roads and bushy lots, but the vision for it by previous city councils has been a new and bustling community. And over the last three years, the former council sold many of those lots.
But it has now been discovered that many of those lots were given under corrupt deals - parcels valued at $20,000 were sold as low as $100.
Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan "Reviewing the accounts, we started looking at the valuation of some of those land in the Innovabel area and some of the payments that had been received and we had noticed that - and the $2,000 is just an example - there were different percentages of discount to different people."
Reporter: "Can you confirm if some lots sold for $100 per lot?"
Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan "I can confirm that, yes."
Reporter: "I have heard that some former councillors received in the number of 8 lots at $100 per lot."
Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan "Not for every lot. I'm not sure how much I can divulge but yes there is one particular councilor that got more than one."
Courtney Menzies: "And relatives of the former mayor, they were also getting some of these land deals?"
Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan "Yes."
And these "land deals" amounted to serious revenue loss for the council:
Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan "The entire Innovabel project when it came to the land distribution and sales had approximately just under a $2 million loss in revenue."
"What we found was the lands in question had a value of $20,000. Adjustments were made to the value without any documentation of reasoning placed in the adjustments, just to use the $2,000 as an example, an $18,000 adjustment was applied as a credit which we can't see where the funding was coming from because obviously nothing came in, it was just an adjustment and the $2,000 was paid in some instances after the title was received."
And in the cases where the land was sold way below the value, Cawich says that the declarations sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources confirming that full price was paid were falsified.
So, former councilors, family members of Mayor Sheran Palacio, and even current staff members - two of whom have since been terminated - "came up" on the Innovabel project. And now there is not much that can be done for the council to recover those lost funds.
Reporter: "Are you willing to concede that there is no legal obligations on any one of these title holders to pay any further amount than what they've paid or to return any of these titles?"
Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan "Once a title has been issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources, there is no legal stance anyone can take to force someone to pay additional funding. It is a reality that we are aware of but as mentioned we are hoping that as good citizens and good Belizeans their ethics and their morals will drive them to ensuring that they do pay the true value of the land."
"When we found these, what we found, our goal as I mention and I keep mentioning was not to target anyone. The only intention we as a council is to try and ensure that we collect the lost revenue."
"The only reason we're here today is because one of the people who participated in this unethical behavior decided to go to the media to try and imply that the council was trying to do something wrong."
And since the council was trying to deal with the issue quietly, the mayor says they also have no intentions of taking legal action, or putting the blame on any one person.
Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan "We have not found any evidence that points to the council's, as a body, and I'm referring to the elected officials, that they had any involvement other than some of them participated in receiving a land."
Reporter: "I was going to ask because I think Sani Cal is the only remaining councillor from that past administration so he had nothing to do with those transactions?"
Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan "Correct."
Cawich also said that one of the former mayor's relatives received up to 8 parcels of land - clearly a scheme that still has many layers to uncover.
We reached out to former mayor Palacio, who said that she will be issuing a statement on social media.
An inmate was found dead inside his cell at the Kolbe Foundation Prison this morning. And, tonight, police are awaiting a post mortem examination to determine what killed alleged Costa Rican Conman Christopher D'Angelo Alvarado.
After 3:00 this morning - three other inmates who shared cell number 9 at the remand section of the prison called the guards when they found the 40 year old Alvarado foaming. When the guards got to the cell, they found him unresponsive. They called the police who noted that his face was slightly swollen.
According to prison authorities, he had been in San Pedro for his trial all week and just got back to the prison last night. They say he had no known medical issues, and had not been a troublesome inmate. He was in a low security area with what the CEO of the prison calls "other white collar criminals" who are also on remand.
Alvarado's name burst into the headlines in February when a number of high end resorts in Placencia and San Pedro accused him of running up bills of over one hundred thousand dollars in bills. In multiple cases - he used screenshots of fake wire transfers and multiple identities to secure premium accommodations and dining services- that is until he was caught on San Pedro and charged with obtaining property by deception, and other offences.
He was denied bail because he is a flight risk and his trial had been progressing this week.
A post mortem will now determine what caused his death - but at this time police are not posting to foul play.
A woman and her daughter are trying to rebuild their lives after their home collapsed on Tuesday night. Juanita Martin, her daughter, and another woman were inside their home when it fell, trapping them inside. And while they escaped mostly unhurt, most of Martin's possessions are buried under the wooden remnants of the home.
Now, she's coming to the public for help. Courtney Menzies spoke to her today and has this story.
These school books on the ground belong to an 11 year old girl who has had to miss the last three days of school after her home collapsed.
The girl and her mother lived here on Faber's Road Extension, in a house that stood on stilts. But in 2022, the structure began leaning, and on Tuesday night, it finally fell.
Juanita Martin, Homeowner "We were watching TV on my bed in my room at the back, and then we heard some noise like hurricane or, you know, a big noise. And after that, I feel the bed starting to fall. It fell quick. And after that, when we landed, we were totally buried. Totally buried. I didn't know which way we could come out, but some neighbors came because they heard the noise."
"It was a big noise. And they broke the window to the side, and so we crawled out. I sent out my daughter first, and then I come out, and then my friend come out."
And now, not only are Martin and her daughter without a home, they also lost many of their appliances, and most of their possessions - including the girl's school supplies - are still stuck inside. Since the incident, they've had to stay at a neighbor's home.
Reporter "You've had this home for a while. You said it belonged to your mom. At what point did it start leaning?"
Juanita Martin, Homeowner "When hurricane Lisa came, it leaned a lot because that shook it. It shook it, and it started to lean over this side. The poses started to lean so."
And now, not only are Martin and her daughter without a home, they also lost many of their appliances, and most of their possessions, including the girls' school supplies, are still stuck inside.
Reporter "What have you been doing since Tuesday night? Where have you and your family been housed?"
Juanita Martin, Homeowner "Well, since Tuesday night, one of my neighbors took us in, and we are living over there in his house, and trying to salvage what we can out of the house mostly clothes, and my daughter's uniform, schoolbooks, and things. That was what we are salvaging because most of everything gets destroyed. My bed broke. Everything gets destroyed."
And Martin is hoping they can get assistance from the public:
Juanita Martin, Homeowner "I feel, just feel sad and traumatized and a little bit hopeless, but I know we Belizean people have love and kindness, so I know I will get help somewhere or the other. At this moment, I really need help to demolish the house, and clear away all the stuff, so that maybe I could get a next house."
"Any help or assistance, so anybody could give clothes, anything, shelter, because over at my neighbor have no electricity and it's really hot and it's punishing."
For anyone wanting to help, Martin can be reached at cellphone number 624-0498.
Once again, that number is 624-0498. If you wish to donate directly to her bank account, the number will be provided on our Facebook page.
Government has had to put an importation permit for ten thousand cases of Corona beer on hold. According to our sources, that's after a powerful pushback from Bowen and Bowen, the mega corporation which produces Belikin Beer.
Well, the other much smaller beer company, Caribbean International Brewery has issued its own statement on the permit. They say the approval was, quote, "very worrisome as it seeks to set a very dangerous precedent where Mexican beer is concerned for the beer market in Belize. ….Who will control the importation of Corona? We know that due to our porous borders we can have thousands of cases brought in illegally through the parallel market."
The company's public relations officer Fortunato Noble told us more via phone:
Voice of: Fortunato Noble, PR Caribbean International Brewery "If you grant a permit to anybody to import Mexican beers, it is setting a very dangerous... The reason is this. There, we don't have the capacity to police or to control the influx of Mexican beers into Belizean territory."
"So yes, you will be giving or granting a permit for 10,000 beers, but who will monitor and who will control the influx of Mexican beers into Belize because yeah, you will pay the tariffs for 10,000 cases, but then you can bring 5, 10, whatever amount of containers full of Corona beers into the country."
"So basically what they're doing is they're legalizing the contraband of Corona into the country. People will purchase beers, Corona, okay, it's a recognized brand. We agree that people will purchase Corona."
"I'm sure the Belizean public would be interested in seeing Corona beers in the market. But how does that help the economy? How does that help the person that is employed at Barry Bowen, the person that is employed at Caribbean international?"
"How does that help that person and their family? You understand?"
The release closes by, quote, "applauding the immediate actions taken by Hon. Abelardo Mai and his policy of supporting and protecting our local industries."
Earlier this week we shared with you the disturbing news of a prominent pastor being charged for serious sex crimes.
65 year old Victor Wagner Hernandez of the Toledo Outreach Christian Center and the president of the National Evangelical Association of Belize was charged for rape and sexual assault upon a 35 year old woman.
Now, while those flat details give the gist of the story, taking down a big name pastor in a small community is exceedingly difficult - and for the victim to come forward, it requires great courage.
Yesterday the commissioner told us they even had difficulty in charging Hernandez - though the complaint was made some time ago. He explained why.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police "From what I was told by the acting OC Of the Toledo Police formation is that this report was made to the police some time ago but there was no cooperation or minimal cooperation coming from the complainant due to fear from threats she had received. Eventually she came forward and gave a full account of what may have transpired and so the police sent the matter to the DPP representative in the south for advice and having reviewed the file, reviewed the evidence on the file, he advised the police to proceed with the charges against the pastor and the police acted accordingly. That matter is now before the court and I leave it at that."
"It is extremely sad because those of us who are in public who have authority and are in public life where people depend on us and people rely on us, people trust us. When we breach the trust of the people that trusted us then that is something that we have to be concerned about. A pastor is someone of eminence in society and when a pastor is accused of rape it is certainly a cause for concern not just for that community but for the whole country and when I listen to the comments on social media and even on the live media I think that the concerns of people are legitimate."
And though bail is usually denied for this offense - due to his age - Hernandez was granted bail of $10,000.
In other news of persons accused of abusing their position of trust….the Professional Standards Branch in the Cayo district is currently investigating a case of embezzlement involving a Police Constable and Corporal. They are accused of misappropriating funds through a purchase order. The Compol gave us more details on this yesterday.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police "I had directed PSB to conduct that investigation after the information came to me and what I gathered was there was some situation where a lady was supposed to be hired to cook for some summer camp that the police had and the lady as charging I think $1,000 to do the cooking and that was agreed upon. And then two days before the date of the cooking the police officers told the lady that she would not be needed to cook anymore but the money would still be sent to her. So they told her once the money is sent to her she must transfer the money to their account. The money did come to the lady account and on the instructions of the police the money was sent to one of the police officer's accounts so that matter is with PSB and PSB will deal with that matter adequately."
And while those are white collar crimes - police are hoping street crime doesn't increase when the 90 day SOE ends in four days.
It's been three months of lockup for about 90 gang affiliates and it's also been 3 months of relative peace in the City with little to no violent crime.
And, for politicians and police that tempts them to perhaps extend the SOE.
And while it has been criticized as a crude tool for law enforcement - the compol said it is effective:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police "Certainly the SOE has contributed tremendously to law enforcement. You can attest that since the SOE we saw a significant decrease of crime in Belize city particularly gang violence likewise in the Cayo district these were the areas that were being affected by the gang issue and with the SOE we were able to contain that. A number of persons were investigated by this task force that I put together as well as by GI3 and some of those persons who were under the SOE have been charged with murder - I think we solved about 6 murders some were charged with being a member of a gang and some were charged with other offenses like robberies etc. So the SOE also gave the police the ability to conduct a more tedious investigation on some of the past cases and based on that we were able to solve many of them so we are happy where we are now. It's not where we want to be but certainly if you are to compare statistics, despite last month being our best month, our best year since 2005 at the end of August, this year we were one below last year where murders were concerned. So if it's only one....I saw on Sun up this morning the commentators Brandon and Renata they said Compol by one and they laughed but one murder less than last year which was an exceedingly good year is a good achievement for us, we wish, yes that it was far less, but we have to do more, the public needs to do more to work with us and I committed that the police department will continue to build relations with the public to be able to see how together we can end this scourge of crime."
And now that the SOE is ending, the Compol is using a carrot and stick approach. They are trying to get a few dozen guns off the street - and telling the gang members who are on lock down that if they don't turn over the weapons - the SOE may be extended.
He told us that he has managed to strike a deal with them in exchange for their freedom:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police "They all said that they want this gang issue to stop. They want to be released and come home to their families and I said to them if they can see how peaceful the country has been since they were detained it simply goes to show that they were the problem. They conceded to that and pledged that coming out of prison if the SOE is not extended they will work with the programs that we have in place. They have committed to continue to work with them to see how they can help them to overcome whatever issues they may have and I said to them the same way you can live together in prison, why can't you live this way when you are out on the streets? You don't need to be in prison to learn to live this way and they agreed but the important thing I said to them was since you so want to change your life you don't want to go back to the gang life you used to live, you don't want to go back to the shooting and killing of others, then surrender your guns. You don't need it, you are no longer a gang member, surrender your guns. They agreed that they are going to surrender their guns so we will see how that goes. But at the end of the day they have to understand that as a society we have had enough of their lifestyle because they make our law-abiding people feel unsafe in our country and we cannot countenance that."
And while the complaint of a death threat which Shyne Barrow made against his party's own second deputy leader wouldn't be called a gang crime - the UDP leader says he has evidence of it in a text message.
But since then, the investigation seems to have gone nowhere with no updates to the investigation.
And while charges are routinely brought based solely on complaints, the compol said that in this case that they need to ensure that they are being fair in their investigation, and all sides need to be heard before they proceed with any charges.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police "I don't think that Shyne dictates when the police should charge somebody. We are still looking at the matter because there are also allegations against him. It may very well be a cross complaint because Beverly Williams also has a complaint against Shyne and we don't want to be biased against either party. I have directed the investigator to make sure they look at it holistically. Interview as much people as they can, record as much statements as they can, so that we can basically arrive at a just point where we can see exactly who is at fault from who is not at fault. But so far it seems like both parties will have to face charges if that should be the case."
But, the hostilities between Shyne Barrow and Beverly Williams have found other outlets - she's been expelled from the UDP - even if she is Phillip Goldson's niece.
This week, it caught everyone by surprise when the UDP chairman Mike Peyrefitte announced casually in an internal communication that John Saldivar, Tracy Panton, Patrick Faber and Beverly Williams had been expelled from the UDP.
That was different because days earlier they had just been labelled as having "constructively resigned". So when were they expelled? Many expressed doubt and we asked Shyne Barrow about it on Wednesday:
Reporter: "All four of them expelled?"
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition "Yes."
Reporter: "They're saying that no NPC has been held."
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition "Yes we had Central Executive, we had NPC. Then they complained that it was only 17 people, it was only 18 people."
"We had a Central Executive Meeting."
Reporter: "By WhatsApp?"
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition "No, Zoom."
And while Barrow claims to have had a NPC and a Central Executive - by Zoom to expel the four - his own Deputy Chairman is on record disagreeing with that. Two days ago, August posted an interesting response to a Facebook comment from someone claiming to be a delegate. That person expressed confusion over whether the four were indeed expelled after a meeting of the NPC and the National Executive
August responded, quote, "we made two attempts to discuss Party business at the NPC, the first was boycotted and the second was disrupted. We have made no other attempt since." The one that was disrupted of course was the one on August third.
So, Deputy Chairman's August's statement directly repudiates his party leader's claim that, quote, "Yes we had Central Executive, we had NPC". In so doing it gives fuel to the other side who claim the entire expulsion is baseless.
And, in other news…in observance of the 23rd annual Safety & Health Week, BEL participated in a pedestrian crosswalk painting activity, to enhance the visibility of crosswalks for drivers and pedestrians. BEL and its team painted a total of 17 crosswalks across the country. Their Health & Environment Coordinator spoke more about it.
Kadie Usher, Health & Environment Coordinator, BEL "So we are out here doing pedestrian painting we have been doing it in Dangriga, yesterday we were in San Ignacio and in Orange Walk. Today we are in Belize City on Coney drive. Its a part of our safety week activities, annually BEl puts aside a week for safety and health, and this year our focus is on road safety. And so its BEL giving back to the community in making the area a little more safe for the road users. As a responsible corporate citizen we believe that we should play our role in making the country a little safer for everybody. We also practice safe driving and so it is just natural for us to make the area safe for pedestrians."
We often talk about climate change as something conceptual or distant - but you don't need much more proof of its presence than to witness this month's King Tides.
The King Tides are a natural phenomenon that happen every year in September when the orbits and alignment of the earth, moon and sun produce the greatest tidal effects of the year.
But this year, likely due to rising sea levels, those king tides have caused a major disruption in our low-lying coastal city.
And now it has forced the City and the Ministry of Education to change the route of the Uniform Parade in the City. The City Administrator Albert Vaughn spoke with us today and told us more about where the parade will be moving to and why.
Albert Vaughn, City Administrator "We have been call-in's from the teachers and parents. They are concerned about the tide we are facing. Some people call it King Tides, other people call it high tide, I know it's a bad tide because it means that the concern was the children going through the water tomorrow for the parade. So it was a tough decision because we were trying to see if we can work with the tide. The tide rises and falls but it seems as though we have no control of that. So we met with our team and we looked at the alternative route. Of course we work very closely with the CEO, Ms Dian Maheia for Education and so we were able to come up with a route and recommend this route to her, and this morning, I got the go ahead to change the route."
Jo- "So the new route will now be?"
Albert Vaughn, City Administrator "Yeah the new route, I want to say that the official ceremony for the City Council will be at the Government House. That's where we do the guard of honor and the speeches and then after that the new route would be from the Government House and it goes into Yabra Road we go around where the basketball court is across the bridge, in Queen Charlotte and we go into Fairweather street and we go straight down into Dolphin and we cross Cemetery Road go into Magazine Road, take left Vernon Street and we wind up at the Berger Field that's the new route we have."
The Uniform Parade starts at 9:30 at the Government House.
And while students will be marching tomorrow, in our neck of the woods, Anglican Cathedral and Wesley Colleges got a head start today. According to the vice principal, today's march was a special treat for the preschoolers.
And one of the teachers added that the students are prepared for the parade tomorrow.
And while ACC was doing their patriotic parade, their sister school from down the street, Wesley College was doing its own patriotic competition. We found out more:
And while everybody is heading into tomorrow's Independence Day with a different idea of how to celebrate and honor the day - the National Drug Abuse Control Council was today out on the street with a simple message: this Independence eve or day, just don't drink and drive:
And we close tonight as we usually do on Independence eve, with Frankie Reneau's extravagant, totally original rendition or, perhaps, classical remix of the National Anthem. We're not sure what the songwriter Samuel Haynes would say, or what the man who adopted it as the national anthem George Price would think of it - but every year - we hear something different in there.
We leave you with that as a September meditation, enjoy and have a wonderful independence day holiday.
Join us tonight at 8:30 for live coverage of the flag raising and concerns, and tomorrow we'll also have the official ceremonies live from Belmopan.
Tune in then and join Jomarie Lanza back here at the same time on Monday…
Email
Print
What would you do if you were given the chance to purchase land in the capital city for only $2,000? Well for some former city councillors and relatives of the former mayor, they didn't hesitate to take that deal.
"Reviewing the accounts, we started looking at the valuation of some of those land in the Innovabel area and some of the payments that had been received and we had noticed that - and the $2,000 is just an example - there were different percentages of discount to different people."
An inmate was found dead inside his cell at the Kolbe Foundation Prison this morning. And, tonight, police are awaiting a post mortem examination to determine what killed alleged Costa Rican Conman Christopher D'Angelo Alvarado.
A woman and her daughter are trying to rebuild their lives after their home collapsed on Tuesday night. Juanita Martin, her daughter, and another woman were inside their home when it fell, trapping them inside. And while they escaped mostly unhurt, most of Martin's possessions are buried under the wooden remnants of the home.
Juanita Martin, Homeowner 
Government has had to put an importation permit for ten thousand cases of Corona beer on hold. According to our sources, that's after a powerful pushback from Bowen and Bowen, the mega corporation which produces Belikin Beer.
"So yes, you will be giving or granting a permit for 10,000 beers, but who will monitor and who will control the influx of Mexican beers into Belize because yeah, you will pay the tariffs for 10,000 cases, but then you can bring 5, 10, whatever amount of containers full of Corona beers into the country."
Earlier this week we shared with you the disturbing news of a prominent pastor being charged for serious sex crimes.
"From what I was told by the acting OC Of the Toledo Police formation is that this report was made to the police some time ago but there was no cooperation or minimal cooperation coming from the complainant due to fear from threats she had received. Eventually she came forward and gave a full account of what may have transpired and so the police sent the matter to the DPP representative in the south for advice and having reviewed the file, reviewed the evidence on the file, he advised the police to proceed with the charges against the pastor and the police acted accordingly. That matter is now before the court and I leave it at that."
And while the complaint of a death threat which Shyne Barrow made against his party's own second deputy leader wouldn't be called a gang crime - the UDP leader says he has evidence of it in a text message.
But, the hostilities between Shyne Barrow and Beverly Williams have found other outlets - she's been expelled from the UDP - even if she is Phillip Goldson's niece.
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition 
And, in other news…in observance of the 23rd annual Safety & Health Week, BEL participated in a pedestrian crosswalk painting activity, to enhance the visibility of crosswalks for drivers and pedestrians. BEL and its team painted a total of 17 crosswalks across the country. Their Health & Environment Coordinator spoke more about it.
"So we are out here doing pedestrian painting we have been doing it in Dangriga, yesterday we were in San Ignacio and in Orange Walk. Today we are in Belize City on Coney drive. Its a part of our safety week activities, annually BEl puts aside a week for safety and health, and this year our focus is on road safety. And so its BEL giving back to the community in making the area a little more safe for the road users. As a responsible corporate citizen we believe that we should play our role in making the country a little safer for everybody. We also practice safe driving and so it is just natural for us to make the area safe for pedestrians."
We often talk about climate change as something conceptual or distant - but you don't need much more proof of its presence than to witness this month's King Tides.
"We have been call-in's from the teachers and parents. They are concerned about the tide we are facing. Some people call it King Tides, other people call it high tide, I know it's a bad tide because it means that the concern was the children going through the water tomorrow for the parade. So it was a tough decision because we were trying to see if we can work with the tide. The tide rises and falls but it seems as though we have no control of that. So we met with our team and we looked at the alternative route. Of course we work very closely with the CEO, Ms Dian Maheia for Education and so we were able to come up with a route and recommend this route to her, and this morning, I got the go ahead to change the route."
