Carib Scope

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  • Former Minister Cannot Escape Corruption Charge, Court Rules

    Former Minister Cannot Escape Corruption Charge, Court Rules

    In a historic decision that reshapes the landscape of executive accountability in Belize, the Supreme Court has rejected a legal bid by former Cabinet Minister Rene Montero to dismiss corruption-related charges against him, confirming that sitting and former government ministers can be held criminally liable for abuses of power under the nation’s Criminal Code.

    The case centers on allegations first brought in April 2024, when Montero—who previously served as the Works Minister under the UDP administration—and George Andrews, a former Assistant District Technical Supervisor at the Ministry of Works, were jointly indicted on charges of wilful oppression under Sections 284(1) and 309 of the Belize Criminal Code. Prosecutors allege that between April 2016 and November 2020, the pair deliberately misused their authority to direct and permit the improper diversion of public government resources, causing direct harm to the Belizean public.

    Montero’s legal team launched a pre-trial challenge to have the entire indictment thrown out, grounding their argument in a technical constitutional interpretation. They pointed to Section 131(4) of the Belize Constitution, which explicitly excludes political Ministers from the formal definition of the “public service.” Counsel argued this exclusion should extend to the Criminal Code, placing elected ministers beyond the reach of Section 284(1) which only applies to “public officers.” They further contended that the Constitution intentionally draws a clear line between the political executive—held accountable primarily through electoral democracy—and the permanent public service, which is subject to administrative law oversight; erasing that distinction, they argued, was constitutionally invalid, especially in criminal law where status-based liability must be clearly defined.

    The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) pushed back forcefully against this interpretation, noting that the Section 131(4) exclusion opens with the limiting phrase “In this Constitution,” meaning it was only intended to apply to the internal operational provisions of the constitutional document itself. The DPP argued Parliament never intended this narrow constitutional definition to override how criminal statutes define liability for public officials.

    In her ruling delivered in late March 2026, Justice Natalie Creary-Dixon sided squarely with the prosecution. She emphasized that Section 299 of the Belize Criminal Code contains its own independent definition of “public officer, created explicitly for criminal law purposes and separate from any definitions laid out in the Constitution. Under the Criminal Code’s wording, a public officer is any person holding a civil office whose appointment and removal falls to the Governor-General or other specified official authority. Since all government ministers are formally appointed by the Governor-General under Section 40 of the Constitution, and hold non-military civil positions in the government, they clearly meet the plain language definition of public officer under the code.

    The judge stressed that the Constitution’s exclusion of ministers from the definition of “public service” applies only to matters covered by the constitutional text itself, and does not grant ministers any blanket immunity from prosecution under ordinary criminal law. In a key passage of the judgment, Justice Creary-Dixon wrote: “The Constitution does not confer immunity upon Ministers from the application of criminal law. On one view, interpreting section 299 so as to include Ministers arguably advances the constitutional value of the rule of law by ensuring that holders of significant executive authority remain subject to legal standards governing abuse of public power.”

    With Montero’s application to quash the indictment rejected, his criminal trial will move forward as scheduled. Legal analysts across Belize widely agree that this ruling will carry far-reaching implications for future cases of ministerial misconduct, establishing a clear precedent that no senior elected official is above the reach of criminal law when accused of abusing public office.

  • Your digital world can be safe when you know the signs

    Your digital world can be safe when you know the signs

    A new digital literacy resource targeted at senior citizens across the Caribbean region has been launched, accessible via the dedicated portal cardtpconnect.org/digitalseniors. The initiative is tied to the Caribbean Digital Transformation Project (CARTDP), a regional development effort backed by the World Bank, with support from regional bodies including the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

    Focused on equipping older adults with critical digital safety skills, the project addresses rising threats that disproportionately impact senior internet users, including cybercrime, fraudulent schemes, unauthorized hacking, and online harassment. Key topics covered through the resource include best practices for secure password management, the importance of enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA), and guidance on how to recognize and avoid common digital scams. Regional cybersecurity bodies such as the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) have contributed expertise to develop age-appropriate, accessible content for the platform.

    In a standard content disclaimer, platform administrators from NOW Grenada, the hosting outlet for the announcement, note that they do not assume responsibility for opinions, statements, or third-party contributor content shared through the initiative. The organization has also established a formal reporting channel for users to flag any abusive content encountered on the platform, aligning with regional digital safety standards.

  • JCA, WCLA call for gov’t to provide timeline for body-worn cameras

    JCA, WCLA call for gov’t to provide timeline for body-worn cameras

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Two major Jamaican church coalitions have ramped up pressure on the Andrew Holness administration to outline a definitive national stance and binding implementation timeline for equipping police officers with body-worn cameras, amid growing public friction over inconsistent official statements and a persistent high rate of fatal police shootings.

    In a joint public statement released Friday, the Jamaica Umbrella Groups of Churches (JUGC) and the Watchman Church Leaders Alliance (WCLA) are not only pushing for policy clarity but also calling for a broad, inclusive national roundtable. The proposed dialogue would bring together key stakeholders spanning civil society organizations, the Independent Commission of Investigation (INDECOM) — Jamaica’s independent police oversight body — religious leadership, the Ministry of National Security, and senior command of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to tackle the urgent issue of deadly police use of force.

    The coalition pointed out that the current conflicting public positions from top government officials have created crippling policy ambiguity that erodes public confidence in national security. Specifically, the groups highlighted the open divergence between Prime Minister Andrew Holness and National Security Minister Horace Chang on the value and deployment of body-worn cameras. Holness has repeatedly stated publicly that his government is committed to rolling out the surveillance devices to frontline officers. But Chang has consistently pushed back against the policy, voicing repeated skepticism over more than two years.

    Chang first questioned the utility of body-worn cameras during a post-Cabinet media briefing in November 2024, arguing that the devices offer minimal value in the context of fatal police shootings. He claimed at the time that officers engaged in gunfire would prioritize taking cover, making it unlikely the cameras would capture clear, usable footage. In an April 2026 post-Cabinet update, Chang doubled down on his criticism, questioning the practicality of deploying cameras during confrontations with heavily armed criminal gangs and repeating concerns that the devices could put officers at greater risk. He also argued that persistent public demands for body-worn cameras reinforce widespread public mistrust of the JCF.

    In his most recent public comments on the issue, reported this week, Chang added a new objection: claiming that the design of standard police uniforms creates an inherent physical barrier to mounting and using body cameras effectively. He also noted that other systemic reforms are needed to improve policing beyond the introduction of body-worn devices.

    The church coalitions said they do not disagree that additional reforms are necessary to strengthen Jamaican policing. It is precisely because multiple improvements are needed, they argue, that body-worn cameras should be implemented as a core measure to boost both accountability and officer protection.

    The groups emphasized that they recognize the extraordinary occupational pressure and safety risks that Jamaica’s police officers face amid high rates of violent crime and gang activity. Even so, they maintain that greater transparency through mandatory body camera use does not undermine effective law enforcement — instead, it strengthens it. They pointed to the country’s persistently high number of fatal police shootings as evidence that more, not less, independent oversight is needed to rebuild public confidence.

    “Where operations lack clarity, suspicion replaces trust, and the divide widens,” the groups wrote in their joint statement, warning that continued policy inaction will only deepen the rift between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

  • US sanctions are ‘collective punishment,’ says Cuba during May 1 marches

    US sanctions are ‘collective punishment,’ says Cuba during May 1 marches

    HAVANA, CUBA – Fresh economic sanctions imposed on Cuba by former United States President Donald Trump have sparked fierce condemnation from Cuban officials, who label the new measures an act of collective punishment against the island’s civilian population. The sanctions took effect Friday, coinciding with Cuba’s annual May 1 celebrations that drew tens of thousands of demonstrators marching to the US Embassy in Havana under the rallying cry of “Defend the Homeland.”

    Geopolitical tensions between Washington and Havana have stretched across more than six decades. Ever since Fidel Castro led a communist revolution that seized power in 1959, the US has maintained a near-continuous trade embargo against the island nation, which sits just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. Prior to rolling out the new sanctions, Trump had publicly mused about the possibility of taking full control of Cuba.

    Under the executive order signed Friday, the Trump administration expanded sanctions coverage to target any individual linked to major sectors of Cuba’s state-controlled economy. The new measures apply to actors operating in energy, national defense and materiel production, metal and mining, financial services, and public security, as well as any other economic segment deemed relevant by the US. The order also targets Cuban government officials accused of involvement in serious human rights violations and systemic corruption.

    Cuba’s top diplomat Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez immediately pushed back against the new measures. In a public post on X, written in English, Rodriguez stated: “We firmly reject the recent unilateral coercive measures adopted by the #UnitedStates government. These actions demonstrate an intention to impose, once again, collective punishment on the Cuban people.” In a follow-up Spanish-language statement, he further characterized the sanctions as both illegal and abusive.

    For Cuba, the new sanctions come as the country already grapples with a deep and prolonged economic crisis that has been compounded by recent US pressure. A US fuel blockade implemented in January has drastically cut the country’s access to energy imports, with only a single Russian oil tanker successfully reaching Cuban ports since the blockade went into effect. Chronic supply shortages and routine rolling blackouts have become daily realities for most Cuban citizens, and tourism — long the country’s highest-revenue industry — has collapsed to historic lows.

    Notably, the new sanctions were announced just weeks after a significant diplomatic shift: senior US officials traveled to Havana for bilateral dialogue in April, raising tentative hopes of reduced tensions between the two nations.

    Friday’s mass rally outside the US Embassy was led by Cuba’s sitting President Miguel Diaz-Canel and former revolutionary leader Raul Castro, drawing massive crowds of Cuban citizens who turned out to demonstrate against US policy. The day before the rally, Diaz-Canel had already called on all Cubans to mobilize against what he described as “the genocidal blockade and the crude imperial threats to our country.”

    Throughout the rally, Cuban officials announced that more than six million signatures had been collected across the country over the past six weeks as part of a “for the homeland and for peace” campaign opposing US policy. Cuban opposition figures have, however, raised public questions about the transparency and methodology of the signature collection process.

    State-run Cuban television broadcast parallel mass gatherings in cities across the island, showing thousands of additional protesters turning out to voice opposition to the new sanctions.

  • Why Radio Endures: Jamaican execs point to cost, connection and listener loyalty

    Why Radio Endures: Jamaican execs point to cost, connection and listener loyalty

    Against a backdrop of sweeping digital transformation that has upended traditional media ecosystems around the globe, Jamaican radio has stood out as a surprisingly resilient medium, industry leaders say, crediting its unique accessibility, low cost, deep cultural integration and unrivaled public trust for its steady performance against struggling legacy competitors.

    The 2023 All Media Survey confirms that while radio has experienced a modest dip in overall listenership, its audience retention remains far stronger than that of television and print media, two other long-standing traditional platforms that have faced far steeper declines amid shifting consumer media habits.

    Industry executives made the case for radio’s enduring strength during a Thursday panel discussion titled *Why Radio still Wins*, hosted at the IMPACT x Mystique marketing conference held at Kingston’s AC Hotel.

    Brian Schmidt, acting managing director of popular Jamaican station Irie FM, emphasized that radio is far more than a media platform in Jamaica—it is interwoven into the fabric of the nation’s cultural identity. “We have an oral society and an oral tradition, and because of that, radio is interwoven into our society in a way that no other media has been, and that’s very, very important,” Schmidt explained during the discussion.

    D’Adra Williams, general manager of Zip 103 FM, echoed that perspective, noting that radio has carved out a permanent, unassuming space in the daily routines of Jamaican listeners. “[Radio] is a thing that’s [always] in the background, it’s a thing that people rely on, and it’s not so much something that we think of,” Williams said. “We’re interwoven into what we do in our daily space. And we may not be the new girl in town, but we are still very much there.”

    Beyond deep cultural roots, the medium’s low barrier to access has been another core driver of its stability. Unlike streaming platforms or social media that require mobile data or Wi-Fi connectivity, AM and FM radio comes pre-installed in nearly all vehicles at no extra cost, and can be accessed without any internet connection at all.

    Schmidt pointed to the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, which devastated large swathes of western Jamaica, as a stark demonstration of this unique accessibility advantage. “The only thing that was serving the west was [radio] because everything else went,” he said.

    Trust, industry leaders add, is another foundational pillar of radio’s resilience. Citing recent research, Schmidt noted that 87% of consumers trust radio as a news and information source—making it the most trusted media platform in Jamaica, while social media trails as the least trusted, with approval ratings below 50%. “That’s a big part of the resilience,” Schmidt said.

    Dahlia Harris, head of radio business at the RJR Communications Group, echoed that finding, arguing that radio’s greatest strength lies not in raw reach and frequency of content, but in its unmatched influence built on public confidence. “Radio is not so much about reach and frequency as it is about trust and influence,” Harris said. “When people tune into radio, they believe what they hear, they trust what we tell them, and we impact the decisions they make more than anything else.”

    Even with its relative stability, radio has not escaped the pressure of digital competition, which has chipped away at the medium’s overall market share in recent years. But forward-thinking Jamaican radio networks have adapted to the new digital landscape by integrating podcasting and streaming into their offerings, turning the digital boom into a growth opportunity rather than a threat.

    Jheanelle Hughes-Headley, sales and marketing manager at Nationwide News Network (NNN), explained that her outlet has expanded far beyond traditional over-the-air broadcasting to build a multi-platform presence. “We are streaming live visually on Youtube, our audio is on our website and also on our app; so, when you come to Nationwide, you’re just not getting airplay, you’re getting multi-platform reach,” Hughes-Headley said, adding that on-demand streaming has exponentially expanded the network’s overall reach. “Unlike just radio, where you have to be listening to catch it, when it streams, you can go back on, rewatch it, share it, and so the reach expands.”

    For marketers looking to tap into radio’s unique influence, Schmidt advised leaning into long-term brand building campaigns, a strategy he says many modern brands have abandoned to their detriment. “Brand awareness is very critical, and I see that a lot of marketers are not doing brand awareness campaigns anymore and you see it reflected in the results of their companies,” Schmidt said. “One of the important things you always want to get is top of mind … no matter what category of business. Marketing is competing for people’s head space… It’s something you should do perpetually.”

  • GHN launches global campaign to support primary education initiative

    GHN launches global campaign to support primary education initiative

    In a major push to tackle systemic educational inequity for young learners across Jamaica, US-headquartered non-profit Global Humanity Network Inc (GHN) has kicked off a worldwide fundraising campaign to back its flagship education program, Beyond the Backpack. The initiative is crafted specifically to break down long-standing barriers that prevent thousands of Jamaican primary school students from accessing consistent, quality learning opportunities.

    GHN is extending a call to action to a broad coalition of supporters: individual donors, private sector corporate partners, established philanthropic organizations, and members of the large Jamaican diaspora spread across the globe. Unlike many one-off charity drives, the project is framed as a long-term, structured intervention that moves beyond temporary band-aid solutions to create lasting change for vulnerable communities.

    The project is a collaborative effort, led jointly by GHN vice-president Dr Binzie Roy Davidson – who also serves as an advisor to the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council – and the local advocacy group A Collision With Purpose Movement. For GHN’s top leadership, the initiative marks a deliberate departure from the short-term charitable aid that has long dominated development work in the region.

    “This initiative reflects the power of aligned leadership and global collaboration. It is a movement built not only on vision, but on execution,” noted Dr Laxley W Stephenson, GHN’s president and CEO, who was born and raised in Jamaica. Speaking on the core gaps the program seeks to fill, Stephenson emphasized that the supports provided by Beyond the Backpack are not optional extras for low-income students, but non-negotiable basics. “These are not luxuries. These are necessities. No child’s future should be determined by the absence of these basic supports,” he added.

    Beyond the Backpack targets a set of interconnected, often overlooked barriers that drag down student attendance and academic performance: a lack of reliable transportation to school, inability to afford required school uniforms, consistent food insecurity, and the absence of adult guidance and mental health support. To address these needs holistically, the program has designed a three-year structured support pathway for participating students, covering everything from transportation stipends and essential school supplies to daily nutrition access, one-on-one mentorship, professional psychosocial support, and youth leadership development training.

    For Dr Davidson, the campaign also serves as a critical rallying cry to activate the Jamaican diaspora to turn awareness of domestic educational challenges into tangible action. “This is a call to move beyond awareness and into action. When we invest in a child’s education, we strengthen families, communities, and the future of our nation,” he explained.

    To streamline participation for donors, GHN has established clear sponsorship tiers ranging from $2,000 USD to $10,000 USD and higher, with a commitment to tracking and publishing measurable outcomes for every investment made. The initiative will launch first in four Jamaican parishes: Westmoreland, Trelawny, St Elizabeth, and Hanover. Organizers have laid out long-term plans to expand the program across the entire island of Jamaica before scaling to other underserved communities around the world.

  • Lebanon says 13 killed in Israeli strikes in south

    Lebanon says 13 killed in Israeli strikes in south

    BEIRUT, LEBANON – Fresh Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon have killed 13 civilians and wounded dozens more on Friday, in attacks carried out even after a regional ceasefire was meant to de-escalate months of cross-border violence between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health updated casualty figures, confirming that eight people – including one child and two women – died in strikes on the town of Habboush, where the Israeli military had issued an urgent evacuation order to residents just hours before the bombing. The updated death toll marked an increase from initial lower estimates, with 21 additional people left injured in the Habboush attacks. Separate strikes in the southern Lebanese town of Zrariyeh killed four more people, two of whom were women, and left four others wounded, according to the health ministry. A third strike in Ain Baal, a town located near the coastal Lebanese city of Tyre, killed one person and wounded seven others. An Agence France-Presse photographer on the ground in Habboush observed thick plumes of smoke billowing into the sky shortly after the raids concluded. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) confirmed that Israeli warplanes launched a sustained wave of heavy strikes on the town less than 60 minutes after the evacuation order was issued. The Israeli military had announced prior to the attacks that it would respond with force to what it described as repeated ceasefire violations by Hezbollah, ordering all Habboush residents to evacuate to areas at least one kilometer away from the town’s built-up zones. NNA also reported additional Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling across other locations in southern Lebanon, including the outskirts of Tyre. Even after the April 17 ceasefire deal that was negotiated to end more than six weeks of open conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli forces have continued to carry out lethal strikes across southern Lebanon. The text of the ceasefire agreement explicitly allows Israel to take military action in response to planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks against its territory. Currently, Israeli military personnel are operating inside the so-called “Yellow Line,” a buffer zone extending roughly 10 kilometers into Lebanese territory along the shared border, where they have carried out large-scale controlled detonations and demolition of residential and public structures. NNA reported that Israeli troops carried out controlled blasts in the southern town of Shamaa, and demolished a monastery and a school operated by a local religious order in the town of Yaroun, after earlier detonating residential homes, commercial shops, and public roads in the same area. In a response to Friday’s strikes, Hezbollah announced it had carried out a series of coordinated attacks on Israeli military positions and troops across southern Lebanon, framing the operations as retaliation for Israeli violations of the ceasefire. The militant group first pulled Lebanon into the broader ongoing Middle East conflict in March, when it launched rocket attacks against Israeli territory to avenge the US-Israeli killing of a top Iranian official aligned with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. As of Friday, Lebanon’s health ministry has raised the total death toll from Israeli strikes across the country since March 2 to more than 2,600 people. That toll includes 103 emergency responders and paramedics who have been killed while carrying out rescue operations. Xavier Castellanos, under-secretary general for national society development and coordination at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), spoke to reporters near Beirut this week, noting that Lebanese Red Cross volunteers face constant mortal danger every time they deploy on a rescue mission. Two Lebanese Red Cross paramedics are among the more than 2,600 people killed in Israeli strikes to date. “That a person that is trying to save lives, is trying to alleviate human suffering, might be targeted, might be killed… this is something that I found absolutely unacceptable,” Castellanos told reporters. The ongoing violence has deepened humanitarian crisis across southern Lebanon, with tens of thousands of residents displaced from their homes and medical services stretched beyond capacity.

  • Jamaica welcomes Porter Airlines new direct service to MoBay

    Jamaica welcomes Porter Airlines new direct service to MoBay

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s tourism sector has secured a major boost with Canadian low-cost carrier Porter Airlines announcing three new non-stop routes linking major Canadian population centers to Montego Bay, set to launch ahead of the 2026–27 winter travel season. The new service will connect Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport directly to Toronto Pearson International Airport, Ottawa International Airport, and John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, marking the first time any airline has offered non-stop service between Hamilton and the popular Jamaican resort destination.

    Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, has praised the expansion as a landmark win for the country’s tourism industry, highlighting the years of targeted work to grow airlift connectivity with Canada, one of Jamaica’s largest and most consistent source markets for winter travel. “This new airlift from Porter Airlines is a powerful affirmation of Jamaica’s standing as Canada’s premier winter sun destination,” Bartlett said in an official statement following the announcement at JAPEX 2025, Jamaica’s major annual tourism trade exhibition. “Connecting Montego Bay directly to Toronto, Ottawa and — for the first time for Porter— Hamilton opens our island to an even wider circle of Canadian visitors. Jamaica is open, vibrant and ready to welcome every traveller who steps off these new flights.”

    Porter, one of Canada’s fastest-expanding commercial airlines, has laid out a clear operating schedule for the new routes, pending final regulatory approval. Starting November 23, 2026, the carrier will run up to five weekly flights from Toronto Pearson. The Ottawa route will launch two days later on November 25, with two weekly flights, while the pioneering Hamilton service will commence on December 20, 2026, also with two weekly flights.

    The addition of these Jamaican routes forms a core part of Porter’s broader strategic expansion into warm-weather winter getaways, which will grow the airline’s sun destination network by more than 150% year-over-year, adding four new countries and over 15 new routes across its Canadian domestic network. This aggressive growth reflects the unmet demand for non-stop access to Caribbean destinations from mid-sized Canadian markets that have previously relied on connecting flights through major hubs like Toronto.

    For Jamaica, the Hamilton route is particularly transformative: the airport serves the Greater Golden Horseshoe, a densely populated region of southern Ontario that has never before had direct access to the island. Donavan White, Director of Tourism at the Jamaica Tourist Board, noted that the new routes will open Jamaica’s world-famous beaches, vibrant culture, and signature hospitality to a far broader base of Canadian travelers. “Canada consistently ranks among Jamaica’s most important source markets, and this announcement from Porter Airlines reinforces why,” White said during a media breakfast at JAPEX 2025 held in Montego Bay. “Three new non-stop gateways to Montego Bay give Canadian travellers unprecedented ease of access to our island.”

    Angella Bennett, Regional Director for Canada at the Jamaica Tourist Board, echoed that sentiment, noting that sustained strong demand from Canadian travelers for Jamaican vacations has driven this industry growth. “Canadian travellers have a deep and enduring love for Jamaica, and demand from markets like Toronto, Ottawa and southern Ontario has never been stronger,” Bennett said. “Porter’s decision to add Montego Bay to its winter network — including that pioneering Hamilton route — reflects the confidence the airline community has in Jamaica as a destination that delivers. We will be working with Porter and our trade partners across Canada to ensure these seats fill quickly and that every passenger arrives in Jamaica ready to experience everything the island has to offer.”

    Industry analysts note the expansion is a win-win for both sides: it meets growing Canadian demand for accessible winter sun travel while providing Jamaica with a steady stream of new visitors that will support the island’s $6 billion tourism industry, which accounts for roughly a third of the country’s total GDP.

  • TAJ says intermittent issues affecting eMVRC transactions

    TAJ says intermittent issues affecting eMVRC transactions

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) has announced that its dedicated platform for electronic motor vehicle registration certificate (eMVRC) transactions is currently facing an unexpected partial service disruption. In an official press statement issued this Friday, the agency confirmed that some motorists and vehicle owners attempting to access or finalize eMVRC-related services are running into technical difficulties. The tax authority clarified that the outage is not widespread across the entire system, meaning only a limited group of users are currently encountering access interruptions. According to the release, the organization’s technical service partners have already been alerted to the glitch, and engineering teams are working around the clock to fully restore normal system operations as quickly as possible. For users who cannot load the payment portal or get stuck during the payment step of the application process, TAJ is advising them to visit their closest local tax office to get in-person support to complete their transactions. For another group of users who have already successfully submitted their applications and completed online payment but still cannot generate their digital eMVRC, TAJ has noted that agency staff will manually complete the certificate generation process on behalf of applicants, eliminating the need for any extra steps from the user. Once the certificate is ready to access through the Certificate Generation Distribution System (CGDS) online portal, applicants will receive an automatic email notification alerting them to the completed process.

  • Guyana remains confident of victory in its border dispute with Venezuela

    Guyana remains confident of victory in its border dispute with Venezuela

    GEORGETOWN, Guyana — As the International Court of Justice (ICJ) prepares to open public oral hearings on a decades-long territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela, the Guyanese government has issued a clear statement of unwavering confidence in the strength of its legal case, days ahead of the proceedings scheduled to begin in The Hague on Monday.

    The long-simmering border conflict traces its origins back to the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the formal boundary between the two neighboring South American nations. That ruling stood unchallenged for more than six decades, until Caracas formally declared the award null and void in 1962 and reactivated its territorial claim to the 159,000-square-kilometer Essequibo region, a resource-rich territory that makes up roughly two-thirds of Guyana’s total land area.

    In accordance with the terms of the 1966 Geneva Agreement, which lays out a framework for peaceful negotiation of the dispute, the two nations held years of bilateral talks aimed at reaching a mutually acceptable resolution. When those diplomatic efforts failed to produce a breakthrough, the United Nations Secretary-General referred the matter to the ICJ for binding adjudication. Guyana formally brought the case before the court in 2018, requesting a formal ruling confirming the full legal validity of the 1899 border award.

    The ICJ has already cleared two key procedural hurdles for the case, twice upholding its jurisdiction to hear the merits of the dispute in rulings issued in December 2020 and April 2023. The court also granted two provisional measures orders at Guyana’s request, requiring Venezuela to refrain from interfering in Guyana’s lawful governance and administration of the disputed territory while proceedings remain ongoing.

    Oral hearings on the core legal merits of the case are scheduled to run from May 4 to May 8, with a possible extension into the following week, according to Guyana’s Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall. Both sides will present their full legal arguments before the court during these proceedings.

    In its official statement released Friday, the Guyanese government reaffirmed its optimistic stance ahead of the hearings. “Guyana approaches these hearings with full confidence in the strength of its case, which is supported by the historical record and the applicable legal principles relating to the binding nature of arbitral awards, the sanctity of treaties, the respect for the rule of law and the stability of boundaries,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said.

    The long-running dispute has spilled into public diplomacy in recent weeks, sparked by a small but symbolic controversy surrounding a brooch worn by Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez during talks with the heads of government of Barbados and Grenada earlier this month. The brooch featured a map of Venezuela that explicitly included the Essequibo region as part of Venezuelan territory.

    Guyanese President Dr. Irfaan Ali publicly expressed “grave concern” over the display, and the 15-member Caribbean Community (Caricom), a regional bloc that has repeatedly backed Guyana’s position, also noted its objection to the public presentation of material asserting Venezuela’s territorial claim during an official regional engagement.

    Rodriguez dismissed the concerns during an anti-sanctions rally held at the Municipal Theatre of Valencia in Venezuela’s Carabobo state, insisting that Caracas would not back down from its long-held claim. She framed the criticism as an overreaction, saying, “You know that the president of Guyana is now causing a scandal because I always wear the pin with the map of Venezuela. The only map I have ever known. Now they are even bothered by how I dress.”

    Moving forward, Rodriguez said Venezuela would use its time before the ICJ to reaffirm its longstanding position, which she framed as aligned with international law and the terms of the 1966 Geneva Agreement. “We will soon be at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the coming days to reaffirm our historic position, which is international law and respect for the Geneva Agreement. It is outrageous when Venezuela is attacked, and that is why we are undertaking this entire process of spiritual revitalisation for the good of our nation,” she added.