Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum
transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast
are conducted in Creole. In the interest of clarity for our foreign readers,
we attempt to paraphrase the Creole quotes in English
This afternoon a man was shot six times in broad daylight in front of Belize Healthcare partners in Belize City. It is a stunning crime - particularly so for the residential neighborhood it happened in, and because it suggests a spike in gang related crime.
We'll have the full story shortly - as our team is just back from speaking with the family of the deceased Mark Lewis.
But first, we go to some other big news that happened in Belize City today. This morning Guatemala's Minister of Foreign Affairs Harold Caballeros visited Belize in an official capacity to have talks with his Belizean counterpart, Wilfred Elrington. The meeting was held at the Foreign Affairs office in Belize City at the Whitfield Tower.
The meeting had been planned before Guatemalan Juan Choc Chub was allegedly shot and killed by the BDF in the Chiquibul Forest on Saturday afternoon - but that subject eclipsed all others and dominated discussions between the foreign ministers.
It also dominated the media's interview where Canciller Caballeros said he expects that the Government of Belize will compensate Chub's family for the loss of life in what he characterized as a disproportionate use of force by the BDF:
Embajador Harold Caballeros - Guatemalan Foreign Minister "First of all, let me tell you that we came to Belize after visiting Adjacency Zone because we wanted to see the Minister of Foreign Affairs and to find ways to have a better and closer relationship."
"Regrettably, last Saturday we had this incident where a Guatemalan was killed and his brother was injured. That was top on the agenda. We discussed this and we asked for a due process; we asked for a full investigation and an explanation to Guatemala about what happened, and we obtained a commitment from the Belizean government about such investigation."
"We both required verification from the OAS office and we will wait for an official report, and we expect that there will be also an indemnisation for the family because this gentleman was 29 years old with 3 children and 2 on the way; his wife is pregnant. This is very regrettable. This is the source of the concern in the Guatemalan public opinion."
Hon. Sedi Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs "This is an incident which occurred in Belizean territory, and it's an alleged crime. This is a matter exclusively for the Belize Police Force. The Belize Police Force has charge of the investigation. We have invited the OAS to be present and we have also invited personnel from Guatemala to be present to ensure that, in fact, all goes well and that the due process is followed."
"Once the result is concluded - it's just like any other criminal investigation; the police will go out there and do their job, and then if in fact it is suspected - if we have reasonable grounds to believe that any in Belize in at fault - then of course the due process will be taken. The legal action will be taken against them. If it is necessary, they will be arrested and charged, and the matter will go to our courts."
"We are expecting that when the police have done their work on the ground to look at the locus to investigate the soldiers and other people who were involved. We are also hoping that they will have a chance to interview the Guatemalans that are involved, and at the end of that process, they will determine whether in fact it's a matter that needs to go to the DPP for prosecution."
"If in fact there is persecution and people are found liable, certainly the government of Belize will be in a position and will certainly be disposed to compensating the family - as he is intimating. That is going to come after, in fact, we ascertain what the truth is."
"At this point in time, we are certain about nothing. There have been allegations. We have given instructions for it to be investigated, and as soon as that is done, we are going to make public the findings of the investigations and whatever is needed to be after that will be done in accordance with our laws."
Jules Vasquez "In your country, the national sentiment is inflamed right now because they feel an injustice has been done. What is the message you will take back to your country that you will give publicly there?"
Embajador Harold Caballeros - Guatemalan Foreign Minister "When we came we presented our protest and we feel that even if this matter happened in Belizean soil, the response was out of proportion. If these peasants were caught with Xate - which I understand is forbidden here - there is a due process for that but not exactly killing a person, and this person died in the arms of his brother who was also injured. That is unacceptable. That's what I came to present; we had a good conversation here and we obtained a commitment to investigate the matter thoroughly - which is what we want because we want justice to be served. Then I go back to my country, and I will explain what we did here, and I will explain too that it is very important for both countries to keep the relations as well as possible and even to increase closeness because we need to move forward. We need to move forward in order to finalize a conflict that we have had for so many years."
"We have several incidents that happened in the past in the AZ (Adjancency Zone) and the reports that we have and we are committed to share with the Belizean government are rather different. The OAS office has verified 4 serious incidents since August, and they were not caused by Guatemalans."
Jules Vasquez "Do you agree with the characterization that the 4 incidents since August were caused not by Guatemalans thus presumable - they were caused by Belize security forces?"
Hon. Sedi Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs "What the Foreign Minister has said very clearly is that we have different versions with respect to these incidents. That is something that we still have to sort out to find what in fact is the truth. They have undertaken to give us what they have, and we have undertaken to give them what we have based on the assessments done by the OAS."
Jules Vasquez "You said an alleged crime. However, if the incident happened in the territory of Belize, outside the AZ - and as the Minister of Defence just told us the security forces were fired upon - do not they first have a right to defend themselves?"
Hon. Sedi Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs "It doesn't matter whether you are legitimate or a trespasser in a country. You have rights and, therefore, when you are dealing with a trespasser or a legitimate person you can't violate their rights, and so persons can be found liable for their death unlawfully if - in fact - they were killed unlawfully. That is possible. Not because they are trespassers it means that you can believe that they have no rights and cause them to be killed. That is not so at all, and it's for that reason that we have an obligation to have the police investigate it just like any other alleged offence."
Jules Vasquez "If the facts bared out that the security forces were fired upon though, that goes beyond the rights of a trespasser. A trespasser does not have the right to fire upon security forces in another country."
Hon. Sedi Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs "Nobody has the right to fire on security forces, so those are legal issues that are going to be dealt with in the due course."
And while Elrington stressed that nothing is known for sure at this time - and will only be verified by investigation, for the BDF and Belize's Ministry of Defence, things are very clear.
We know that because Defence Minister Carlos Perdomo happened to be meeting with the Commander of the BDF, the Head of BDF Intelligence and the Ministry CEO, at the same time Elrington and Caballeros were meeting in another room.
Perdomo told us that they are certain that the BDF was only returning fire when Chub was shot:..
Hon. Carlos Perdomo, Minister of Defence "The investigation is showing that the BDF was fired upon in Belizean territory - that's the main thing that we have established - away from the Adjacency Zone and we returned fire. But at each point that we returned fire, we did not pursue. We just withdrew, and so the knowledge of somebody getting wounded or killed according to the Guatemalan side - we did not know until Monday when we had linked-up patrol with the Guatemalan military."
Jules Vasquez "Are you able to specify the location?"
Hon. Carlos Perdomo, Minister of Defence "I have it in grid form."
Reporter "But is it definitive that it's in Belizean territory?"
Hon. Carlos Perdomo, Minister of Defence "Our investigation, so far, clearly shows that it is not only in Belizean territory but away from the Adjacency Zone even."
Jules Vasquez "Which means that it's more than one kilometer within Belizean territory?"
Hon. Carlos Perdomo, Minister of Defence "The adjacency Zone is 1 kilometer from the border. These incidents occurred over a kilometer into Belize. In the Chiquibul we had an operation that was divided into 4 patrols. The first patrol, Alpha, came under contact twice, so it is likely but we don't have any definite proof that maybe the second contact might be the same group."
"A second patrol, Bravo, had a contact, but that contact was light. It was quick, it was one shot. The BDF responded with another shot to deter and it ended. That third contact with the second patrol was minimal."
Jules Vasquez "These happened within a time frame of?"
Hon. Carlos Perdomo, Minister of Defence "One occurred like 12:30 in the afternoon and the other maybe a few hours later as the patrols moved. They didn't sit, they moved and continued their task and then they met the second."
"Our term of engagement is to defend ourselves, and certainly the BDF will always defend itself."
And so if the BDF were defending themselves and the Guatemalans were firing on them - then it is not a crime. But right now those are just reports from both sides.
What follows next will be very complex and difficult police investigation. That's because first, there is no crime scene, and there is no body - presumably the Guatemalans have the body - and it may have already been buried. It is unclear whether the Belize police can use their post mortem report to launch an investigation in Belize. The OAS will also - as we understand it - observe this police investigation - and police would also have to get Guatemalan assistance to interview Chub's brother who was reported to have been injured as well. As we said, a complex, unprecedented type of investigation, and it will be interesting to see how the tough technical details are worked out.
But - at the official level - both sides are committed to working it out and that's because Caballeros - who has been Foreign Minister for just two weeks, said he wants to put the Belize Guatemala dispute behind him:
Hon. Sedi Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs "I was very pleased by the expression by which the Foreign Minister used this morning. What he said essentially is that Guatemala is tired of this age-old dispute. They want to get rid of the dispute and bring it to an end so that they can have the kind of relationship with Belize that they have with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and all the countries."
Embajador Harold Caballeros - Guatemalan Foreign Minister "We want a closer relationship as the Minister said. We want to leave this conflict behind us, to look for a better future for our people."
Caballeros came to power with the Government of Otto Perez Molina, which took office on January 14, 2012.
Last night we broke the news that that the referendum triggered by the coalition to save our natural heritage was DOA, dead on arrival.
Dead because the elections and boundaries office found that 8000 of the signatures could not be verified. That means the signatures on the petitions could not be matched against those in the binders at the elections and boundaries office.
But 8000 signatures of the 20,000 collected scratched? How could that be? That's almost 1 out of every 2! Was it mass fraud or mass confusion? Or just bad penmanship? Or did people simply not remember how they had signed on voter's ID?
Whatever the case, the elections and boundaries held a conference this afternoon in Belmopan to explain it all to the media and offered examples of the discrepancies.
It was a high powered event with CEOs from many prominent ministries, but the explaining was left to the chief elections officer Josephine Tamai. Here's what she had to say:..
Josephine Tamai, chief elections officer "In all a total of 20,160` signatures were reviewed by the department. They do not include those which OCEANA identified as duplicates. Of the total signatures that were reviewed, a total of 12,113 were accepted as those signatures match those that we have on the record cards."
"In order to do the verification process, what we had to do was to individually take out the record cards that we have on file to verify those signatures because those are what we used. When a person goes in to register, the information is placed on a record card and they need to sign it."
"A total of 12,113 of the signatures that we reviewed were accepted. This was 7.07% of the total number of registered voters, and this is also 60% of the total signatures that were reviewed."
"A total 8,047 signatures were rejected which makes up the other 40%."
"Signatures that were reviewed were rejected for reasons mainly - majority of them was that the signatures just didn't match the signatures that we have on the record card. From those rejected we found a total of 1,180 persons were not registered any at all in our system. We had 127 persons who signed 2 times. We had 2 persons who signed 3 times."
"Under the referendum act - for those persons who signed more than once, that's an offence under the referendum act and these persons actually are guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a tern not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment."
"I would want to give an advice to anybody wanting to present a referendum for the Elections and Boundaries Department in order for it to go through, because at the end of the day we are all Belizeans; I am a Belizean and we want to see things go the right way, so signing or not signing the petition as professional public officers that we are - our job is to simply deal with the information that is presented to us."
"We have to go according to the signatures that are presented and the signatures that we have on file. That's as far as we go because, according to the referendum act, the job of the chief elections officer is to verify those signatures."
Jules Vasquez "Let's say I registered in 1998 but my signature is no longer what it was then, and that happens to many people, as they get older their signatures change. Is there any way to address such a discrepancy? I ask because I can see a similarity in penmanship between the signatures that did have a discrepancy, but you can see that (I am no expert) there are similarities in the shaping of the letters, the style of writing. a) is there any way to fix a problem like mine and b) what is the tolerance for discrepancies that your people showed - being themselves not hand writing experts?"
Josephine Tamai "I will have to agree with that; for me, I am no hand writing expert and our officers at the department similarly. We are no hand writing experts. But what we did was we looked very closely at each and every single one of them and as long as we could satisfy ourselves that yes; sometimes we even go look at the age of the person because, like you said, with age sometimes the signatures vary a little. We look at those things. We used our best judgment for every single one. Some of them we had to give the benefit of the doubt."
Louis Wade, PLUS TV "Was there any independent organization or vetting crew that was brought in to verify that your elections and boundaries commission was being fair in carrying out its duties?"
Josephine Tamai "As we mentioned when we started that, what we did was request additional staff from the Ministry of Public Service, and those persons included persons from within the wider public service who are not election and boundaries department employees. So those are the independent persons that we used in order to assist in this exercise."
Louis Wade, PLUS TV "I wouldn't consider that to be independent. My second question refers to: will your department release those 8,000 names so that the individuals whose names were rejected will themselves be able to determine publicly whether their signatures are indeed the same or different from the registration cards?"
Josephine Tamai "Those will definitely be released, but it's not to say that the persons will be able to say if they signed or not because at the end of the day, we have to go by the documents presented to us."
Charles Gibson, CEO - Ministry of Public Service and Governance "The second thing which I think is coming out here quite clearly is the matter of a signature and who is an expert to determine a signature. I clearly agree with what has been said earlier because I know my own signature. Over the 10-12 years has evolved, whether its age or maturity of whatever I don't know, but clearly it has changed and those are some of the things I think we need to look at. But please let's be fair here for a minute. This is the first time we are doing verification of signatures, and we have to go by what the law says, and in the event that the law needs to be amended and needs to be modernized then that is the case."
"The chief elections officer also indicated - and I want to point this out clearly - that she is saying that also with those signatures that were accepted, even those got the benefit of the doubt. So we have to bear that in mind and, yes, I do agree with you that maybe perhaps the process has to be reviewed. The process has to be a little bit more that where the time is given that in the event that the chief elections has to go outside to houses to visit, to verify signatures, to call people and come in clearly but she would not have had the time to do that on the two months which is given under the law."
Josephine Tamai "In order for us to do that, we will have to change the referendum act because the act specifically states verify signatures and that's what we do. We verify what is presented to us."
Reporter "Employees in the elections and boundaries department had been instructed to disqualify as many signatures as possible. Can you assure us that that categorically has not happened?"
Josephine Tamai "As the chief elections officer, I can categorically deny that because at the end of the day, I know nobody told me that signatures should be disallowed for any reason, and to go further, they can ask any of the officers who have been assigned to that department because I have stressed - because like I said - we are also citizens of Belize and we want to see the best for our country."
A few points: the Elections and Boundaries Office had to take on 14 staff to finish within the two month timeline, and according to Tamai, they worked right through Christmas and New Year's. One thousand four hundred and forty of those signing the referendum petition were not registered, or they signed more than twice or as many as three times.
So with ten thousand signatures verified and 17 thousand needed to trigger a referendum, can The Coalition re-submit those same ten thousand names? Well, the law is silent on that - so presumably, they can. Presumably, all the names will be sent back to OCEANA - which made the submission on behalf of the Coalition for its review and records.
Today a man was executed with ruthless and brazen efficiency on the north side of Belize City. It happened in front of Belize Healthcare Partners Limited, which is at the entrance to an upscale residential neighborhood.
But when the bullets started flying - the location didn't matter: the lone gunman had his targets set on Mark Lewis.
You may recall his name; the Faber's Road resident is the uncle of Marquis Mahler - the 8 year old who was killed in July of 2010.
And today, just as gunmen had traced his family home with bullets before - they now went looking for him - in a quiet neighborhood.
Monica Bodden was on the scene:...
Monica Bodden reporting
This is where the shooting happened, in front of the Belize Healthcare Partners Limited, corners Chancellor Ave. & Blue Marlin Blvd - at around 3:30 this afternoon.
The scene of crime team processed the area searching for expended shells around this ford van where 38-year-old Mark Lewis was seated inside.
Meanwhile, bystanders looked on, shaken in disbelief - People that were around the area at the time say they heard as many as 10 shots being fired.
38-year-old Mark Lewis was inside the van when he was shot at least 6 times.
He was quickly rushed through the hospital doors just feet away - but he didn't survive the gruesome attack.
Bernadine Lewis - Sister of Decease "I was on my way back home from EP Yorke; I went to pick up my daughter's report card, and I was going home when my sister in law and two of my nephews stopped me and told me that they just shot Mark. I jump in the car and asked them where, they told me at the Healthcare Partners. My sisters-in-law stopped off at Pallotti to get his daughters, and my nephews brought me half way. I jumped out the car and ran here, when I got here, they already moved the body from the vehicle."
"I asked the police officers 'where is he?' and they told me that I need to speak with Mr. Alvarez. I went and identified him for the doctors. I asked if he is dead, and they said yes."
Monica Bodden "So he died on the spot?"
Bernadine Lewis - Sister of Decease "The amount of shots on his body; he died on the spot. There were like 7 shots that went through his body. They were close range."
Mark Lewis was seated inside his van and was accompanied by a friend of his - who told police he was under the van when the shooting happened.
Lewis's family believes their loved one was taken to be killed. So far, the young man that was along with him is being questioned by police. He is identified as one of Lewis's family member's boyfriend.
Bernadine Lewis "At this time they don't have any suspects. But the person that was with him, they took him into custody because he must know something. He must have seen something because the amount of bullets that my brother took, he must have seen something because if you are under a vehicle, somebody must see you under there."
Monica Bodden "Was the person that was with him a family member?"
Bernadine Lewis "He is one of my niece's boyfriend."
Monica Bodden "Many people are speculating that Mark may have been lead to his death?"
Bernadine Lewis "Yes that's what we believe. He got a phone call or something like that and they came here. I don't know why they came to this specific area in the van. I am not sure why the young man was under the van; they are saying that he had a rock in his hand hitting the starter for the vehicle to start, but my other brother and brother in law say that the vehicle never had any problems like that."
Monica Bodden "Was the vehicle for sale?"
Bernadine Lewis "I don't know if the vehicle was for sale or anything like that. But what I want to know is why did they kill him? Why did they take away his life?"
Monica Bodden "You think you are going to get justice?"
Bernadine Lewis "Right now justice here in Belize - I haven't seen justice being done. I haven't seen justice being done for my nephew who has been at killed at 8 years old. There are so many things that happen not only to my family but other families and I haven't seen any justice done to them."
"I just hope that something could be done and that the guy or whosoever had done it, that they can live with their life. I hope they have kids and that they could say 'I took away bread form somebody, I took away a father, a son, a brother, a uncle' because all my nieces and nephews love their uncle. I love my brother and he was a loving brother to us."
Some of Lewis's family members told us he was in that area because someone was interested in buying his van.
Mark Lewis was the father of 6 and is described by his sister as a loving person.
Bernadine Lewis "Well I hope after this it stops for my family because I am not sure what they wanted with my brother. I know my brother hasn't done anyone anything. Whatever he does, that's his business but I know he hasn't killed or robbed anybody. He is a family man. He takes care of his kids, and he is always at home with his family. He doesn't go anywhere. I am not sure how much my mom and my dad can take. Right now my dad is sick and my mom is holding up a little bit right now, but his kids are the ones that cannot take it right now because now they don't have the person that gives them everything - their education. He provides for his family. Now who will provide for them?"
Monica Bodden "How many children does he have?"
Bernadine Lewis "He has 6 kids - 2 in the US and 4 here. They took away a father of 6, and he was a loving brother and father to his children. I know I will miss my brother because I go to work early in the morning and every morning between 5-5:30, he is there jogging, taking his exercise with his girlfriend. It's very hard."
According to eyewitnesses, it was a lone gunman who fired six shots.
For the past two nights, 7News has been following the story of Justo Lopez, a 33 year-old tour guide of Peter Ashdown Street in Belama Phase 2. On Tuesday, we spoke to him from his hospital bed where he described his ordeal with police who beat him up after he resisted arrest and bit an officer's finger.
But really, he is wanted for the attempted murder of Police Constable Nigel White in March 27 of last year - who was shot and robbed inside the Belama substation.
Today, he was arraigned before Magistrate Hettie Mae Stuart. He was charged with attempted murder, dangerous harm, use of deadly means of harm, and robbery, which he allegedly committed against PC White. The robbery charge arises because he is the one who is being accused of stealing the officer's gun after he was shot, which police believe was the motive of the attack.
Because of the nature of the offences he is accused of committing, no plea was taken and he was remanded to Belize Central Prison until February 27, when a preliminary inquiry into the matter is scheduled to start.
In court, Lopez was unrepresented, but he claims that he has an attorney.
According to Police back in March of last year, PC White was on duty and at 12:30 a.m. that morning when an unknown man ambushed and shot him in the chest. Two accomplices then came in and stole his .38 service weapon.
They fled into the night. It is important to note that two persons have already been arraigned in connection to PC White's shooting.
Last night, we reported on the robbery of businessman Vinod Chawla which netted the assailants over $100,000. Three men ambushed Chawla at his Amara Avenue home on Sunday afternoon and robbed him at gun point of $101,526 in cash and cheques.
Today, two men accused of committing the crime were brought before Magistrate Hettie Mae Stuart; they have been charged jointly with robbery. They are 20 year-old Lloyd Valentine, a CYDP employee of # 15 Trench Alley, Belize City, and a 16 year-old minor of a West Canal Street address.
Due to the nature of the offence, and the fact that it was committed with a firearm, no plea was accepted from the two accused, and nor were they granted bail.
Valentine has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison, while the 16 year-old minor has been remanded at the youth hostel. They are expected to return the court on March 2.
Every night on this newscast you can see the mass parties jostling for political standing with their fancy, forceful, sometimes funny political ads. But you won't see the independent candidates caught up in that gallop. That's because they want to establish that for them, governance and politics is not business as usual.
Those independents have now formally come under one umbrella called the Belize Unity Alliance or the BUA. They come from the VIP, the PNP and the ranks of non- aligned candidates. Presently, they number only nine, just barely enough to make up half of a coalition government - but they say they are gaining mass and moving fast.
Today, in a quick caucus meeting before a press conference, the candidates elected their new leader. It came down to a four-four tie between the VIP representative and the PNP leader - and from that, the VIP's Bobby Lopez became the first party leader to be selected by the flip of a coin. He explained it to the press:..
Bobby Lopez, Leader, Belize Unity Alliance "During that caucus we also had very democratic, elections for leader and deputy leader, myself and Wil were nominated; we then held elections by secret ballet; it emerged as 4/4; we then held the spin of the coin and yours truly emerged as the leader and Wil as the deputy."
"I'm a humbled to move forward with this group and very serious without any reservations that the first task is to clean up corruption."
Wil Maheia, Deputy Leader, Belize Unity Alliance "And I want to say what a historic day this is for the country of Belize. I don't think - ever since this country was born - did you have a group of independent minded people gathered at one table putting up their self for the parliamentary position. So I want to start off by congratulating my colleagues here and declaring that the war is on. And with you the people of Belize, you can help us to win this war."
"We can put an end to corruption; together we could fight the two party system; we could show this country that Belizeans have had enough and if you Belizeans have had enough, enough is enough. You can go to the pole and you can exercise your right to vote."
Roberto Campos, Belize Unity Alliance "My greatest passion has always been to represent and serve my people."
Marcel Bedran, Belize Unity Alliance "It has taken myself and my family almost one year to make this decision, and I am going quite frank and honest with you all, and I hold no apologies to when I saw that we don't have representation in Cayo north. And hence the reason, I offer myself. I offer myself so that you the Belizean public may have the freedom to vote, willingly, conscientiously. Education wise, we need to upgrade to look and start a fresh start."
Fred Hunter, Belize Unity Alliance "Here is a time to make a change, to break up the two party system which divided our country right down the middle, family against family, village against village, victimization from who's in and who's out. "All of us, aal ah we da wan" all of us are Belizeans."
Rufus X, Belize Unity Alliance "I am telling you, red and blue are strong obeah, you don't believe in obeah, believe me brother, sister, they are strong obeah because to have an intelligent man or an intelligent woman walking out there and put an X at the red or an X at the blue."
"What you are saying, your voting against yourself. My parting and my popular radio and television was when the Politician comes to you, looked them squarely in the face and asked them, 'Mrs. Politician if my little vote can do so much for you,buy you the best SUV,buy all the gasoline, send your children to fine university, ave you living in mansion, going for holiday anywhere in the world you please, what will my little vote do for me this time?'"
Charles Leslie, Belize Unity Alliance "I decided that I will come here today and the People of Stann Creek West know that I will run on their behalf. I am not running against anyone; I am running for the people."
Dionicio Choc, Belize Unity Alliance "This third party, if I am the elected as an area representative for the people, I think we can do much better than what has been happening today. Toledo West is without any representation because we can't see the minister around there; Toledo has been neglected for many, many years."
Not pictured is Richard Smith - who will be the Unity Alliance's candidate in Belmopan.
And when asked about the fact that it takes 16 people to form a government - and they only have nine - the party leader says he is inviting Belizeans - especially women to come forward as candidates before nomination day - which is in two weeks' time.
Today in Magistrate's Court, a man received a stiff sentence after he pleaded guilty to the charge of drug trafficking. 41 year-old Steven Smith, a mason living in the Saint Martins area, was charged and arraigned for drug trafficking in connection to 186 grams or approximately 6.56 ounces of marijuana which was discovered on him.
A police constable on patrol saw Smith walking on East Collet Canal yesterday with a black plastic bag. When Smith saw the officer approaching, he allegedly threw the bag to one side.
The officer picked it up and found a container with two smaller bags stuffed with 6.56 ounces of marijuana. Smith was arrested and charged for drug trafficking.
Magistrate Robert Ordonez accepted his guilty plea, and after it was discovered that he has previous convictions for the same offence, Magistrate Ordonez sentenced Smith to 3 years imprisonment and fined him $10,000 dollars.
Smith has to pay the fine by March 31, and if he defaults on payment, he will be sentenced to a second consecutive term of 3 years - a total of 6 years.
There was a fire last night at a popular fast food joint on Albert Street.
Firefighters were called out to the location at around 9:30 last night where they saw Andrea's Fast food stall engulfed in flames. They managed to quickly control the fire, but everything inside was destroyed. 7news spoke with the owner today.
Roxanne Nunez, Owner, Andrea's Fast food "When I came, the entire shop was under fire and the fire engine took about half an hour to reach. I didn't leave on any electricity in my shop. I believe it was someone who lit my shop on fire. I don't have any problems with anyone, so I don't know why someone would. I've lost my business, valued at $12,000 dollars. I would defiantly try to get a next place and start over from scratch."
The owner told us that the establishment was not insured, and that the total loss is roughly 12 thousand dollars.
Today, a photo-voice exhibit was launched at the Institute of Mexico. It's different because it shares the perspectives of people with diverse abilities.
"Picture This: Our Diverse Reality" is a project which began in August of last year, and it features a collection of photos which catalogue three issues: how they get around; what their talents are; and what services they should have access to.
Mexico has made significant efforts to protect persons with diverse abilities, and the Embassy welcomed the exhibition to promote protection of persons with diverse abilities in Belize.
Mexican Ambassador, Mario Velasquez, officially opened the exhibit by sharing Mexico's advances made in protecting the rights of those with disabilities.
H.E. Mario Velasquez, Mexican Ambassador "We must say that discrimination denies the equal services of rights and opportunities to any person. The persons cannot develop by him or herself, and that's why the government and society have to create mechanisms, spaces and rules to respect people with diverse abilities."
"Mexico is fighting this very big battle; this battle is the fight against discrimination - discrimination against persons with disabilities."
Robin Schaffer "So can you tell me how did this idea come about for this photo voice?"
Sister Beverly Hoffman, SCN, Exhibit Coordinator "Well I have been in Belize for about 10 years and felt that the voices of people with disabilities or diverse abilities have not really been heard, so when I went back to school for my master's degree I decided to try a technique called photo voice as my research methodology."
"My messages for this exhibit include seeing 1) that people with diverse abilities are just like everyone else. The second goal in this exhibition is to really provide information to the public to become aware to the fact that accessibility is a big issue here, that curbs and steps can really bar and exclude people in wheel chairs."
"Right now the time is right. Belize has signed to the UN conventions to the right of persons with disabilities, and so this exhibit kind of raises awareness of the public and to the policy makers that changes needs to be made."
Robin Schaffer "How does it feel to be chosen as one of the participants for this photo voice?"
Kent Young, Artist for the Exhibit "They put me in the front line, and I accepted."
Robin Schaffer "What did you do to be chosen as one of the participants for this?"
Kent Young, Artist of the Exhibit "They put me in the front line."
Robin Schaffer "And what did you consider when taking the pictures? I know you are given guidelines but what exactly prompted you to choose the pictures that you chose?"
Kent Young, Artist of the Exhibit "You've got to express your deepest admiration to take the picture close and stuff like that."
Robin Schaffer "And which one was your favorite picture?"
Kent Young, Artist of the Exhibit "DJ Hill."
Robin Schaffer "Why was that your favorite?"
Kent Young, Artist of the Exhibit "Well, all these types of display take one shot - and that's DJ Hill - to speak out the words of truth in Belize society."
Robin Schaffer "What message would you like to impart through these photos? Which one do you think is the most important message, through these photos?"
Kent Young, Artist of the Exhibit "Speak out to the public to acknowledge the atmosphere of life is within us that makes the difference in life."
Sharon Craig, Artist of the Exhibit "Well it was and honor and a privilege for me to be chosen, as a participant in the project."
Robin Schaffer "And what did you consider when taking the pictures?"
Sharon Craig, Artist of the Exhibit "We took into consideration the various questions asked, and we wanted to make sure that the pictures that we took really express what we are experiencing."
Robin Schaffer "What main reactions do you hope to get from the public who are viewing your pictures?"
Sharon Craig, Artist of the Exhibit "I would hope that the public would take into consideration the fact that we are human beings as well; they would get a feel of the factors that are affecting us and that are influencing us at this time."
The artists were chosen randomly from a list of 8 members of the Belize Assembly of Persons With Diverse Abilities who volunteered for the project, but only two were selected due to limited funding. The exhibition will be open Monday from 8:30am to 5p.m and will end February 10th. The public is invited; the entrance is free, and the venue is wheelchair accessible.
Last night you heard from Celia Munnings - the woman accused of theft from Hazel Lord who says the position of Lord's Husband, Justice Herbert Lord influenced her being charged. Additionally, she said that Judge Lord directly accused her.
Well, a representative of the Judge called us to say that he said nothing to Celia Munnings, and that he didn't interfere when he learned of the accusation. According to the representative, Lord had only gone to the police station to pick up his wife.
Lord was of the opinion his character was unfairly questioned because he maintains that he is not pushing this case.
Finally, the representative of the judge said that since it was reported to the police, they have had no further involvement with the police process, and he has not used his influence in any way for special attention in the Munnings investigation - which took over a month to conclude.
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"First of all, let me tell you that we came to Belize after visiting Adjacency Zone because we wanted to see the Minister of Foreign Affairs and to find ways to have a better and closer relationship."
"Once the result is concluded - it's just like any other criminal investigation; the police will go out there and do their job, and then if in fact it is suspected - if we have reasonable grounds to believe that any in Belize in at fault - then of course the due process will be taken. The legal action will be taken against them. If it is necessary, they will be arrested and charged, and the matter will go to our courts."
"The investigation is showing that the BDF was fired upon in Belizean territory - that's the main thing that we have established - away from the Adjacency Zone and we returned fire. But at each point that we returned fire, we did not pursue. We just withdrew, and so the knowledge of somebody getting wounded or killed according to the Guatemalan side - we did not know until Monday when we had linked-up patrol with the Guatemalan military."
"In all a total of 20,160` signatures were reviewed by the department. They do not include those which OCEANA identified as duplicates. Of the total signatures that were reviewed, a total of 12,113 were accepted as those signatures match those that we have on the record cards."
"The second thing which I think is coming out here quite clearly is the matter of a signature and who is an expert to determine a signature. I clearly agree with what has been said earlier because I know my own signature. Over the 10-12 years has evolved, whether its age or maturity of whatever I don't know, but clearly it has changed and those are some of the things I think we need to look at. But please let's be fair here for a minute. This is the first time we are doing verification of signatures, and we have to go by what the law says, and in the event that the law needs to be amended and needs to be modernized then that is the case."
Today a man was executed with ruthless and brazen efficiency on the north side of Belize City. It happened in front of Belize Healthcare Partners Limited, which is at the entrance to an upscale residential neighborhood.
"I was on my way back home from EP Yorke; I went to pick up my daughter's report card, and I was going home when my sister in law and two of my nephews stopped me and told me that they just shot Mark. I jump in the car and asked them where, they told me at the Healthcare Partners. My sisters-in-law stopped off at Pallotti to get his daughters, and my nephews brought me half way. I jumped out the car and ran here, when I got here, they already moved the body from the vehicle."
For the past two nights, 7News has been following the story of Justo Lopez, a 33 year-old tour guide of Peter Ashdown Street in Belama Phase 2. On Tuesday, we spoke to him from his hospital bed where he described his ordeal with police who beat him up after he resisted arrest and bit an officer's finger.
"During that caucus we also had very democratic, elections for leader and deputy leader, myself and Wil were nominated; we then held elections by secret ballet; it emerged as 4/4; we then held the spin of the coin and yours truly emerged as the leader and Wil as the deputy."
"And I want to say what a historic day this is for the country of Belize. I don't think - ever since this country was born - did you have a group of independent minded people gathered at one table putting up their self for the parliamentary position. So I want to start off by congratulating my colleagues here and declaring that the war is on. And with you the people of Belize, you can help us to win this war."
"My greatest passion has always been to represent and serve my people."
"It has taken myself and my family almost one year to make this decision, and I am going quite frank and honest with you all, and I hold no apologies to when I saw that we don't have representation in Cayo north. And hence the reason, I offer myself. I offer myself so that you the Belizean public may have the freedom to vote, willingly, conscientiously. Education wise, we need to upgrade to look and start a fresh start."
"Here is a time to make a change, to break up the two party system which divided our country right down the middle, family against family, village against village, victimization from who's in and who's out. "All of us, aal ah we da wan" all of us are Belizeans."
"What you are saying, your voting against yourself. My parting and my popular radio and television was when the Politician comes to you, looked them squarely in the face and asked them, 'Mrs. Politician if my little vote can do so much for you,buy you the best SUV,buy all the gasoline, send your children to fine university, ave you living in mansion, going for holiday anywhere in the world you please, what will my little vote do for me this time?'"
"I decided that I will come here today and the People of Stann Creek West know that I will run on their behalf. I am not running against anyone; I am running for the people."
"This third party, if I am the elected as an area representative for the people, I think we can do much better than what has been happening today. Toledo West is without any representation because we can't see the minister around there; Toledo has been neglected for many, many years."
Today in Magistrate's Court, a man received a stiff sentence after he pleaded guilty to the charge of drug trafficking. 41 year-old Steven Smith, a mason living in the Saint Martins area, was charged and arraigned for drug trafficking in connection to 186 grams or approximately 6.56 ounces of marijuana which was discovered on him.
"When I came, the entire shop was under fire and the fire engine took about half an hour to reach. I didn't leave on any electricity in my shop. I believe it was someone who lit my shop on fire. I don't have any problems with anyone, so I don't know why someone would. I've lost my business, valued at $12,000 dollars. I would defiantly try to get a next place and start over from scratch."
Today, a photo-voice exhibit was launched at the Institute of Mexico. It's different because it shares the perspectives of people with diverse abilities.
"We must say that discrimination denies the equal services of rights and opportunities to any person. The persons cannot develop by him or herself, and that's why the government and society have to create mechanisms, spaces and rules to respect people with diverse abilities."
"Well I have been in Belize for about 10 years and felt that the voices of people with disabilities or diverse abilities have not really been heard, so when I went back to school for my master's degree I decided to try a technique called photo voice as my research methodology."
"They put me in the front line, and I accepted."
"Well it was and honor and a privilege for me to be chosen, as a participant in the project."
Last night you heard from Celia Munnings - the woman accused of theft from Hazel Lord who says the position of Lord's Husband, Justice Herbert Lord influenced her being charged. Additionally, she said that Judge Lord directly accused her.
Well, a representative of the Judge called us to say that he said nothing to Celia Munnings, and that he didn't interfere when he learned of the accusation. According to the representative, Lord had only gone to the police station to pick up his wife.
Lord was of the opinion his character was unfairly questioned because he maintains that he is not pushing this case.
