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
Garifuna flags and drums could be seen and heard in King's Park today as the National Garifuna Council held a small and brief protest to support their people in Honduras.
The Garinagu people in that country have faced aggression from the government for decades, and now the tension is heating up again-as they are being pushed off coastal lands that they have traditionally occupied.
The NGC warns that if this enforced displacement is allowed to continue, the fallout could easily spill over into Belize. Courtney Menzies was there today and has this story.
In a rare and striking scene along Princess Margaret Drive, the rhythmic roll of Garifuna drums and the soaring harmonies accompanied a procession draped in traditional yellow and black. But, they weren't marching for festivities, the National Garifuna Council protested in solidarity with the Garinagu of Honduras. According to the president, the Garifuna communities in and near San Juan are facing major aggression by the Honduran government.
Alex Nolberto, President, NGC Belize "I don't have all the details but there are a series of adjoining communities along the coast, Garifuna communities in particular and so these lands, our people are being dispossessed for agricultural purposes, for tourism and so on so the special interest groups are being protected by the government and so that is a continuous situation where we have been pushed off our land. It's the same thing in Belize, you are aware of the Hopkins/Sittee situation where Sittee is claiming the northern end of Hopkins, which is high value because of it's tourism value, the same thing in Seine Bight and all the other Garifuna communities, so we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Honduras because what is happening in Honduras can happen in Belize and we need to be aware that we are next and if we don't put a stand in Honduras then we will have to put a stand in Belize."
The NGC also stressed that they do not want a repeat of the massacre of 1937.
Ifasina Efunyemi, Assistant Treasurer, NGC "We had many Garinagu who fled from that very community back in 1937 as a result of a massacre by the government and so this threat, we saw the videos coming out of San Juan last week. We saw military, very strong and aggressive military presence in San Juan and all our people could do was lift up their phones, that was all they had in their defense, is letting the world know what they were facing."
"This is not like Garinagu came and squatted on these lands, these are lands that our ancestor are buried on."
"We have been very great stewards of the land as indigenous people, we have protected those lands and this is the same situation we face here in Belize, we have consistently protected these lands that initially the colonizers saw no value or merit in and because of how we have taken care of these lands, now they are prime property."
Alex Nolberto, President, NGC Belize "The militarization, particularly in San Juan and those adjoining villages is a very frightening situation and all it takes is one person to make a mistake, pull the trigger, and we have another massacre so we are concerned about that."
And as a part of their protest, they presented a letter to the Honduran ambassador following the march.
Alex Nolberto, President, NGC Belize "That's a letter that we wrote to the ambassador to present to the president of Honduras expressing our discontent with what is taking place, reminding him that we do not want history to repeat himself and also imploring on him to respect the rule of law to respect the conventions that have been passed to protect our rights for judicial spaces and to alert him that Belize is paying attention and the international community is paying attention so it is in their best interest to do what is proper."
What the demonstration lacked in numbers, it made up for in solidarity - reinforced by a lively crowd that included Councillor Allan Pollard.
But the president says this is just the beginning for them.
Alex Nolberto, President, NGC Belize "This was a very good showing, this is an ongoing fight so it's not just about today, it's ongoing if you continue and so we have to continue to maintain the momentum, we have to continue to educate our people, we have to continue to collaborate regionally and internationally so that the governments that have run afoul of the law are brought to task and so this is ongoing and it will not stop until everybody understands what's going on and puts and end to it."
A man found guilty of a Christmas Eve murder will spend at least the next three decades behind bars for it.
This morning, Justice Nigel Pilgrim sentenced 31-year-old Shaquille Perrera to life imprisonment for Darnell Puerto's murder, with the possibility of parole only after serving 30 years. He also imposed a 17-year sentence for the attempted murder of Jehvon Ramclam, ordering that both sentences run concurrently and be backdated to December 28, 2023, when Perrera was first remanded to prison.
In delivering sentence, Justice Pilgrim noted that the murder was committed in public view, requiring the court to consider the public interest, the need for deterrence, and the country's ongoing struggle with violent crime.
Justice Pilgrim described the offence as particularly grave, noting that Perrera invaded the Ramclam family's home during a Christmas gathering armed with an illegal firearm. The judge said the sanctity of the family's home was violated by an act of violence that left one man dead and another seriously wounded.
He also highlighted the planning involved in the attack and stressed that the courts must send a clear message that firearm offences will attract severe consequences.
The court also considered victim impact statements. Ramclam told the court he continues to suffer chronic pain after being shot four times, has difficulty performing physical work, endures sleepless nights, and lives in fear of being targeted again. The mother of the Ramclam family also described the devastating impact Puerto's death had on her family, explaining that she regarded him as one of her own sons.
Justice Pilgrim initially assessed the sentence at the equivalent of 32 years because of the numerous aggravating factors, including Perrera's previous convictions for robbery and a firearm offence. However, he reduced that period after considering mitigating factors, including Perrera's good conduct while on remand and testimony from his mother and sister describing his upbringing and character.
Ramclam and Puerto were socializing outside his Maskall Street home on Christmas Eve when Perrera opened fire. He told the court he saw the gunman's face clearly for up to 30 seconds under a nearby streetlight and immediately recognized Perrera, whom he had seen months earlier and whom he also linked to the shooting of his brother.
Perrera was represented by attorney Joanna Zuniga-Stewart, while the Crown's case was prosecuted by Crown Counsel Kirk Brown from the Office of the DPP.
Orange Walk police responded to a Monday morning in San Lazaro Village, where they responded shortly before 10:00 to reports of a fatal chopping.
Officers found the body of 68-year-old Virgilio Carrillo, a watchman of San Lazaro, lying face down on a sugar road about a quarter mile off the main road leading to the river.
His family says that he left home en route to his farm, but was brutally chopped and left to die in a cane field. ASP Romero gave us more details on the murder in San Lazaro.
ACP Hilberto Romero, HNCIB "Then this morning around 9:30 Am police were called to San Lazaro where information was received that a body had been found, police went to the area near a cane field road where they saw the lifeless body of a male person identified as Virginio Carillo 68 years old he was observed with several chop wounds, police are presently processing the scene at this time."
"No criminal background No"
Reporter: "Motive?"
ACP Hilberto Romero: "We do not know at this time the information just came in this morning and we are dealing with it."
Reporter: "Do you believe alcohol may have been involved?"
ACP Hilberto Romero: "Not that we know he left from his work place and he was going to his farm."
ACP Hilberto Romero: "Somebody who was going to one of the cane fields saw the body and he called the police."
Police have detained one suspect for the murder, and the son of the deceased spoke with our colleagues over at CTV3 today. He explained in Spanish that it could not have been a murder motivated by robbery because his father does not carry any valuables with him.
Voice of: Ronald Carillo, Son of the Deceased "Honestly, I don't know why-my dad never messed with anyone, never had enemies, and… I don't know, I didn't know what to say; my dad was friendly with everyone."
Reporter "And the guy? Is he's known for trouble?"
Voice of: Ronald Carillo, Son of the Deceased "The guy mostly kept to himself; I hardly ever saw him. They say he works for someone else, but… I don't know the truth about why he did that to my dad. I'd like to know, too."
Reporter "Did your dad have anything of value on him? Or did they know he had money?"
Voice of: Ronald Carillo, Son of the Deceased "No, not my dad; my dad never carried anything valuable nothing. He just carried his flip phone in his bag."
San Ignacio police are monitoring criminal gangs in the western twin towns closely after the murder of Ricky Dawson Jr. on Friday night.
Police say it was drug-related, and there was a suspected retaliatory shooting last night near the Hawkesworth bridge where a vehicle was shot at and a minor seated in the back was grazed.
One main suspect in the murder has been detained on ammunition charges, following a discovery in the Hot Point Area of Santa Elena Town. According to police, he was found in possession of five live .40-caliber rounds, four of them, hollow-points.
In other police news, police are also currently on the lookout for 27-year-old Luis Ku from the Corozal District, who is wanted for questioning.
The Forest Department is currently pursuing the tourists who chased, harassed, and petted a wild jaguar cub in Mountain Pine Ridge over the weekend.
So far, they have not found the men involved, Victor and Ruben Stoll. They searched for them up North yesterday but did not meet them. They were reported to have gone birding but authorities could not find them at 'La Milpa' where the investigation led them.
And while the tourists have deleted their post on Facebook, the disturbing video is still sparking outrage.
However, if the men are caught, the penalty for that crime would be a simple $500 fine. Minister of Sustainable Development, Orlando Habet, told us that they are working to modernize the legislation to increase that fine.
In the meantime though, the Stolls caused major distress to both a mother jaguar and her young cub. When we spoke to the executive director at the Belize Zoo, he said that human interference with wildlife can cause a plethora of problems.
Celso Poot, Executive Director, The Belize Zoo "I believe that wildlife should never be approached, they should never be handled simply to show that you had this experience. Wildlife should be observed from a distance and they should be allowed to continue with their natural behavior. So obviously it was of great concern to me about the animal welfare."
"Predators like jaguars, prey like tapirs, what they do is they try to protect their young by masking any unnatural scent so that any other predator would not detect them. So by human handling a wild cat, a wild jaguar, or a wild tapir, you put your scent on them and you expose them to other prey because somehow the parents are able to mask and you only smell the jaguar scent and you smell the jaguar and you know a predator is around and so you won't go near."
"Another concern is we estimate that cub to be like between two weeks to four weeks and so it's at a very vulnerable stage in its life, it's still developing so its immune system is still weak, and there's a lot of other concerns that you don't see just from handling the jaguar or looking at the video, the concerns like I said overall is just the welfare of the animal."
"Most people think that to hunt means to kill, the Wildlife Protection Act clearly defines hunting or to hunt to mean to take, to kill or molest by any method. So hunting is not just you going out and killing the animal and bringing it back in."
And while Poot pointed out that he does not have the authority to deem whether a crime was committed, he explained that education is the way to encourage both tourists and locals to protect wildlife.
Courtney Menzies: "There must be a level of anger, frustration that these tourists, who are hunters, they have pictures of the majestic animals that they have felled in other countries, they come into a country like ours, they come into our reserve, our forests, and they just do what they want. They're acting entitled in a country that's not theirs. There must be some level of frustration."
Celso Poot: "If you watch international news, just over the weekend, someone in the Yellowstone approached a bison and the bison had its way with that person so everywhere you go, people will act in contravention to the law, in contravention to what is expected and what we in Belize need to do is educate our public, educate our people and we need to engage with visitors coming to Belize, we need to have these signs that wildlife should not be molested, that it's the law. We have these signs in the zoo, do not harass, molest, and it's because it's the law."
We have reached out to the Forestry Department for comment but up to newstime-had not gotten a response.
So what should you do if you someday cross paths with an animal in the wild? Poot says to simply observe and, if needed, contact the Forest Department.
Celso Poot, Executive Director, The Belize Zoo "One of the biggest challenges we have at the zoo is someone brings in an orphan and they say oh we found it by itself and we brought it because it was in distress right. And a lot of times we try to discourage that because sometimes the parent is out hunting and they would come to feed, they would come back to look after the young, but if you pick it up and you displace it, one hour, two hours later we go back and try find the parent, it's not there anymore, it's looking for the young one and so the young one gets displaced. We have to take that and care for it so we usually encourage people, when you see a young around and it's calling, leave it a while, and if after a few hours you see that it hasn't gotten back with its parents then you report that to the Forest Department and have them decide whether you can remove it or not."
Courtney Menzies: "If you're in these forests and reserves and you happen upon an animal like a jaguar, what do you do in that case so as to not put the animal in distress?"
Celso Poot: "Savor the moment. If you have your camera take a photo, take a video from a distance. 25 feet, 50 feet, you have to be able to know your safe space with these animals. If you're in your vehicle, don't chase them, don't go behind them so you can get a video of them running from you. Stop, give them space to cross the highway, to cross the road or the trail if you're walking, then walk back from them, allow them to cross. You want that animal to continue its natural behavior."
Tonight we have more from our extended interview with the BDF whistleblower who was a former Commanding Officer for the army's Services and Support Battalion-which deals directly with sourcing and distributing supplies for the BDF.
He explained soldiers' frustration with political meddling in BDF procurement-a chronic issue that he can only conclude persists because it enriches those pocketing kickbacks:
BDF Whistleblower, Ex Commanding Officer - Services and Support battalion "The, Belize Defence Force, we know what we want, we know what will work for us. And even though we would send up that recommendation to say, guess what, this is what we want, rarely you would find someone who would say, well, okay, let us get that."
Jules Vasquez: "Why do you think that is?"
BDF Whistleblower: "That is simply because they have people that are themselves that would provide it at a cheaper price so that they could get their, little whatever kickbacks, benefits from, from the transaction that is being made,"
Jules Vasquez: "You have seen this? You have witnessed this?"
BDF Whistleblower: "I've witnessed this a number of times. That is seen when we would purchase boots, for example, when we would purchase uniform, much higher valued items that you can easily, I mean, you've heard in the past whereby soldiers would go on patrol and we call it, one-day- boots. And, you're going on a patrol that you need a boots that will suffice for at least a year or two years. But then it only lasts one year, I mean, one day. And then you would look at boots that would be in the range of 200, 300, $400 that after one patrol, you know, the bottom of these boots would come off."
Jules Vasquez: "Have you seen this? Have seen this? $400 per unit for the boots, and it only lasts for a day?"
BDF Whistleblower: "Yes, I've seen this with my own eyes."
Jules Vasquez: "But what's the problem with it? Is it dry rotten? Is it the inferior quality?"
BDF Whistleblower: "It's surely an inferior quality. It's surely not what is the standard required for the terrain that we have here in Belize. And again, as I mentioned, we've made recommendations based on what we know to be, quality boots, but we don't get what we normally would, recommend to, to be purchased."
On the afternoon of July third, Customs Officers at the Queens Bond Customs Warehouse on Caesar Ridge Road intercepted a shipment of suspected cannabis during a routine examination of a box consigned to a logistics company that came from a shipper based in Oklahoma, U.S.A.
One of the bags had a strong scent of marijuana-and when customs officers looked inside they found 1.2 kilos or two and a half pounds of a high grade premium strain of marijuana known as "GMO Cookies."
While that is one thing, what caught their attention was that it was addressed to a customs officer with his name, address and phone number on it.
The Commissioner of Police told us, quote, "The parcels, which bore strain markings, were accompanied by shipping documents identifying the consignee and a shipper based in Oklahoma, U.S.A. The matter remains under active investigation."
When we asked the Compol about the customs officer's name on the package, he said, quote, "I do not want to discuss any investigative step the investigators have taken or are in the process of taking, so as not to compromise the investigation."
We'll keep following it.
For months, Sargassum has been plaguing the tourist beaches of Belize. But now Belize City has also become a victim of the sargassum swarm and stench. And the Belize City Council is fighting to keep up. Jaleeza Roberts found out more:
It's the new reality, Sargassum isn't only on the coastal and island beaches, it's here on the mainland-and the City Council has one more tall task. Today we found a sanitation team cleaning up the sargassum that has inundated the coastline with harvesters and other machinery.
Ramon Menjivar, Assistant City Engineer - Belize City Council "It is something seasonal, but is coming in every year, you know, and we at the council, as a responsible entity and governing the city, we have acted on it very urgently, as it is a very hazardous element on humans and appliances and the surrounding areas. So, we have ventured into removing it very urgently."
While previous cleanups were done manually, the council is now using a rented sargassum harvester, along with a backhoe and dump trucks to remove the seaweed from hard-to-access locations before transporting it to the dump site.
Ramon Menjivar: "Originally, from previous experiences, we started it manually. But in areas like this here, where the landscape is different and you don't have direct accessibility to the water, we need to use more mechanical equipment."
"Thus far, we have about, yesterday we made about six loads, which is about 100 tons of Sargassum out of this particular area. And we have remaining other areas, like the hangar area, that we did some manual removal. And we have other areas that are being deposited as well, like by the Bird's Isle area. There is a little area by the bridge that accommodates a lot as well."
These are actually peak months for sargassum in this region and the seaweed swarm won't end until October. So for now the council has found a temporary solution to what is looking to be a long term problem. Jaleeza Roberts, 7News.
And, from Sargassum on the coast-to young fishers. We've heard about all kinds of summer camps, from sports to sewing, but in Caribbean Shores, Area Rep Kareem Musa has the fishing camp.
The kids will spend the next 3 days practicing the basics of fishing, how to bait a hook and cast a line. Here is a snippet on how the camp is going so far at Dolphin Park.
Pedestrians and motorists in Belize City may have been wondering why the new sidewalks on the entrance to Belize City leading up to Cemetery Road are being built higher than the adjacent properties.
Well tonight, MIDH says the section of the George Price Highway near the cemetery is being raised as part of a flood mitigation project aimed at reducing flooding, improving drainage, and keeping the roadway accessible during periods of heavy rainfall.
According to the Chief Engineer, the area has long been vulnerable to flooding due to the loss of two natural drainage catchment areas: Krooman Lagoon and a lagoon behind Leslie's Imports, which have largely disappeared over the years because of residential development and informal settlements.
To address the issue, the project includes the construction of lined sidewalks with larger side drains that will collect and channel stormwater into designated outlet canals, requiring the highway to be elevated to achieve the necessary drainage capacity. He acknowledged that some nearby properties will remain lower than the upgraded roadway because they are located within the area's original floodplain, and a secondary earthen drain will be installed where practical to help improve drainage from those properties.
The ministry adds that all affected properties will receive appropriate driveway access to the upgraded highway, while noting that complete drainage improvements for low-lying lots would require those individual properties to be raised.
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Garifuna flags and drums could be seen and heard in King's Park today as the National Garifuna Council held a small and brief protest to support their people in Honduras.
Alex Nolberto, President, NGC Belize
"We had many Garinagu who fled from that very community back in 1937 as a result of a massacre by the government and so this threat, we saw the videos coming out of San Juan last week. We saw military, very strong and aggressive military presence in San Juan and all our people could do was lift up their phones, that was all they had in their defense, is letting the world know what they were facing."
A man found guilty of a Christmas Eve murder will spend at least the next three decades behind bars for it.
Orange Walk police responded to a Monday morning in San Lazaro Village, where they responded shortly before 10:00 to reports of a fatal chopping.
Officers found the body of 68-year-old Virgilio Carrillo, a watchman of San Lazaro, lying face down on a sugar road about a quarter mile off the main road leading to the river.
ACP Hilberto Romero: 
Voice of: Ronald Carillo, Son of the Deceased
San Ignacio police are monitoring criminal gangs in the western twin towns closely after the murder of Ricky Dawson Jr. on Friday night.
The Forest Department is currently pursuing the tourists who chased, harassed, and petted a wild jaguar cub in Mountain Pine Ridge over the weekend.
So far, they have not found the men involved, Victor and Ruben Stoll. They searched for them up North yesterday but did not meet them. They were reported to have gone birding but authorities could not find them at 'La Milpa' where the investigation led them.
"Predators like jaguars, prey like tapirs, what they do is they try to protect their young by masking any unnatural scent so that any other predator would not detect them. So by human handling a wild cat, a wild jaguar, or a wild tapir, you put your scent on them and you expose them to other prey because somehow the parents are able to mask and you only smell the jaguar scent and you smell the jaguar and you know a predator is around and so you won't go near."
"The, Belize Defence Force, we know what we want, we know what will work for us. And even though we would send up that recommendation to say, guess what, this is what we want, rarely you would find someone who would say, well, okay, let us get that."
On the afternoon of July third, Customs Officers at the Queens Bond Customs Warehouse on Caesar Ridge Road intercepted a shipment of suspected cannabis during a routine examination of a box consigned to a logistics company that came from a shipper based in Oklahoma, U.S.A.
For months, Sargassum has been plaguing the tourist beaches of Belize. But now Belize City has also become a victim of the sargassum swarm and stench. And the Belize City Council is fighting to keep up. Jaleeza Roberts found out more:
Ramon Menjivar: 
Pedestrians and motorists in Belize City may have been wondering why the new sidewalks on the entrance to Belize City leading up to Cemetery Road are being built higher than the adjacent properties.
