Carib Scope

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  • Guevarro: Fear more than crime damaging economy

    Guevarro: Fear more than crime damaging economy

    In an address to leaders of Trinidad and Tobago’s business community on Wednesday, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro sounded a stark warning: the pervasive public fear of crime has become a more corrosive threat to the nation’s economy and public confidence than the actual crime problem. Speaking at the headquarters of the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Westmoorings, Guevarro pushed back against widespread negative narratives around crime, pointing to recently compiled police data that shows sharp, measurable declines in violent and major offenses across the country.

    Guevarro framed fear not as a passing subjective emotion, but as a tangible, behavior-shaping force that warps decision-making and undermines progress long before any criminal act occurs. “Economic stability and public confidence are more interconnected than ever. This morning, I want to speak to you not just about crime itself, but about something that is far more corrosive, persistent and economically damaging, which is fear,” he told attendees.

    Official statistics compiled by the T&T Police Service tell a story that diverges sharply from dominant public perception, Guevarro explained. For 2025, the nation recorded 370 homicides, marking the second-lowest annual homicide total recorded across the last 18 years of available data, stretching from 2008 to the current year. That figure represents a 42% annual drop in homicides, a decline Guevarro noted ranks as the second-largest annual percentage reduction in the world, only trailing the progress seen in El Salvador. Broader crime trends follow the same downward trajectory: reported serious offenses dropped 30% nationwide, falling from 3,413 incidents to 2,397 in comparative reporting periods. Every police division across the country recorded improvements, with drops ranging from a 55% reduction in the North Eastern Division to a 32% reduction in the Southern Division. “These are not opinions or political talking points. These statistics tell a different story,” he emphasized.

    Yet despite these measurable gains, Guevarro said public discourse remains dominated by widespread anxiety, a phenomenon he argued is intentionally amplified by actors with self-serving interests. “Fear has become a kind of currency amplified and galvanised by those who profit from insecurity and those who build their platforms on negativity,” he said. Guevarro openly questioned whether distorted narratives around crime stem from deliberate strategic choices: “Is it because their business model depends on crime? Is it because a safer country threatens your influence, your narrative or your revenue streams?”

    The economic harm of this inflated fear is already tangible for local businesses, Guevarro warned. Fear pushes businesses to overinvest in unnecessary security measures — from extra alarms and high-resolution cameras to reinforced gates and other specialized gadgets — that drive up operating costs without meaningfully improving safety. Beyond direct costs, widespread anxiety keeps customers at home, erodes workforce confidence, and discourages outside investment, as potential investors focus only on outdated negative narratives rather than the nation’s improving trajectory.

    Guevarro also used the address to defend the current state of emergency (SOE) implemented to curb violent crime, pushing back against claims that the extraordinary measure harms legitimate business activity. “The SoE does not negatively affect law-abiding citizens, and there is no interference with business operations. The only people affected are those who terrorise communities, extort businessmen and traffic firearms,” he said. He outlined early results from the SOE, noting that over 42 days of enforcement, police carried out more than 3,500 targeted operations, arrested over 1,500 individuals, and secured charges for 340 people. “These are not the results of failure. They are the results of disruption and relentless enforcement,” he said.

    Looking ahead, Guevarro outlined the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s ongoing strategy to sustain declining crime rates: the service is prioritizing intelligence-driven operations, expanding modern public safety surveillance infrastructure, and strengthening coordination across multiple government agencies to disrupt criminal networks. “We are not guessing. We are not hoping. We are executing a clear strategy,” he stressed.

    In closing, Guevarro appealed to the business community to partner with law enforcement to rebuild public trust, not by ignoring the reality that crime remains an ongoing challenge, but by acknowledging the progress that has already been made. “We are not asking you to ignore the reality. We are asking you to recognise progress, support the systems that are working, and partner with us to accelerate healing,” he said. Reaffirming that the nation’s overall trajectory is positive, Guevarro warned that if unfounded fear continues to dominate national conversation, it will erode all the progress that law enforcement and the nation have worked to achieve. “The truth is, crime is real, but the fear of crime is not always rooted in fact. If fear continues to dominate the national conversation, it will undermine every single piece of progress that we have made,” he said.

  • 7 YEARS OF STRUGGLE

    7 YEARS OF STRUGGLE

    The shocking rescue of 42-year-old Sabita Basdeo, who authorities allege was held captive and systematically tortured for seven years at a private residence in San Francique, Trinidad, has pulled back the curtain on a devastating saga of survival that has unfolded across one working-poor family for nearly a decade.

    When Basdeo vanished from her home in Barrackpore, her two sons were just four and nine years old. For seven years, her husband 55-year-old Krishendeo Basdeo has carried the full weight of raising their boys alone, fighting poverty and relentless uncertainty to keep his family intact. In an interview with local outlet the Express at his cramped one-room shack — tucked at the end of an overgrown dirt track far from paved main roads — Krishendeo recalled the quiet, joyful life his family once shared, described his years of struggle to make ends meet, and opened up about his desperate hope to bring his damaged wife home.

    It all began when Sabita left the family home in search of work to supplement their meager income. A tip led her to a domestic cleaning job with a local family, a opportunity the cash-strapped mother could not turn down. “She did not know this would happen and she wouldn’t see her children again,” Krishendeo said, his pain masked by a faint, weary smile as he spoke.

    Almost immediately after Sabita failed to return, Krishendeo said he turned to police for help, filing a missing person report and pleading for investigators to intervene. He even traveled to the San Francique property himself, begging the residents there to release his wife. Instead of cooperation, he was met with public humiliation and verbal abuse, he said.

    Undeterred, Krishendeo built a daily routine centered on keeping his sons fed and educated. He woke long before sunrise to work small plots of farmland, then returned home in time to walk the boys to the local primary school. During school hours, he took odd jobs to earn enough cash to put food on the table, and he always wrapped up his work by 3 p.m. to pick his children up from class. For most nights, their dinner was simple: bread paired with cheese or spiced chickpeas, the cheapest filling meal the family could afford. When the stress of poverty and loss grew too heavy to bear, Krishendeo said he turned to his Hindu faith, praying before his household murtis for strength. Holidays like Christmas passed with no fanfare: no presents, no festive decorations, no special holiday meal. They were just another day of survival for the small family.

    Slowly, even that fragile routine collapsed. Rising school fees pushed the boys out of education, forcing them to take up low-paying odd jobs just like their father to help the family get by. Through it all, Krishendeo never stopped thinking of his wife. “I missed her. I would stay up at night thinking of her and how my sons were suffering without a mother,” he said. He described the Sabita he knew as a warm, loving woman who adored her boys — and the woman he saw after her rescue was almost unrecognizable. “Her face is really bad and her body has burns all over. It wasn’t a nice thing to see. I hope she recovers, but I don’t know. It is bad. I want her to come back home and be with us. But she is not the same,” he said.

    After her rescue, Sabita received urgent medical care at a local hospital and is currently staying with relatives as she recovers from her ordeal. Relatives who knew Sabita from her childhood in Penal said she grew up in deep poverty, born in a remote home accessible only through an abandoned sugar cane field, but was always a joyful young woman who found happiness in her small family after marrying Krishendeo in a traditional Hindu ceremony. “She was happy. She loved her children. I hope she recovers from this,” one relative said.

    Local neighbors who have watched the Basdeo family struggle for years have now called on Trinidad’s Ministry of the People, Social Development and Family Services to step in to support the family. They note that Krishendeo has been a dedicated, loving father to his sons, but systemic poverty has left him unable to improve their living conditions or access the support the family needs to heal.

    In the wake of Sabita’s rescue, law enforcement has already made progress in the case. A 38-year-old woman and her teenage son were arrested last Saturday in connection with Basdeo’s disappearance, and investigators confirmed the pair could face a raft of serious criminal charges, including felony false imprisonment. Just days after the arrests, on Wednesday morning, the $2 million San Francique property linked to the alleged captivity was destroyed by fire in what authorities are treating as a suspected case of arson.

  • Floating Bridge over Ozama River to close for two hours Saturday

    Floating Bridge over Ozama River to close for two hours Saturday

    Authorities in Santo Domingo have announced a temporary two-hour shutdown of the floating bridge spanning the Ozama River, set to take effect on Saturday, April 18. The Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) confirmed that all vehicle traffic will be barred from the crossing between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. local time to accommodate the passage of a large marine vessel.

    The scheduled closure is directly tied to the transit of the cargo ship MV Green Chief, which is en route to the MYD Marine Repairs facility to undergo scheduled routine maintenance. While the bridge is closed, the key connection between the National District, at the heart of the Dominican capital, and Villa Duarte, located in the municipality of Santo Domingo East, will be completely unavailable to motorists.

    Local transportation officials have issued a public advisory urging all drivers planning to travel between the two regions during the closure window to plan ahead and use alternate crossing points. The recommended alternative bridges for detours are the Matías Ramón Mella Bridge, Juan Pablo Duarte Bridge, and Juan Bosch Bridge, all of which will remain open to accommodate the diverted traffic throughout the two-hour shutdown.

  • Downtown Center reports gas leak, confirms no injuries

    Downtown Center reports gas leak, confirms no injuries

    On the morning of April 17, an unexpected gas leak was detected at the Downtown Center shopping complex in Santo Domingo, triggering an immediate coordinated response from on-site management and local emergency services. As soon as the leak was confirmed, facility leadership rapidly activated pre-planned emergency response and evacuation protocols, moving quickly to clear affected zones and secure the perimeter to prevent avoidable risks to people on the property.

    Thanks to the swift, well-rehearsed action from mall staff and responding authorities, the leak was fully contained in a short timeframe, preventing any harm to the hundreds of visitors, retail employees, and commercial tenants present at the center. In an official statement released following the incident, mall representatives confirmed that no injuries or major secondary incidents had occurred, crediting proactive emergency planning and rapid collaboration for the positive outcome.

    In the days following the containment, specialized technical inspection teams have remained on site, conducting thorough structural and system assessments to pinpoint the root cause of the leak. Inspectors are systematically checking gas lines, connection points, and related infrastructure to identify any flaws, damage, or maintenance failures that may have contributed to the event. Once assessments are complete, teams will carry out any necessary repairs to fully restore safe operating conditions across the entire facility.

    Mall management has confirmed that it will maintain transparent communication with the public throughout the investigation and repair process, releasing regular updates through its official social media channels and website as more details become available.

  • Murder victim’s mother charged with murder, other crimes

    Murder victim’s mother charged with murder, other crimes

    A shocking development has emerged in a string of connected gang-related killings across St. Vincent and the Grenadines: the mother of one of two men gunned down in a public shooting spree last week has been arrested and charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of a 19-year-old found dead in Buccament Bay over the weekend.

    Rosia John, whose 29-year-old son Enrique John — also known by the alias Shoubu — was killed in a two-minute shooting rampage in Stony Ground this past Friday, will appear before the Serious Offences Court this coming Friday to face her charges. She is accused alongside 19-year-old Augustas Matthews, also a resident of Layou, in the fatal shooting of Perrance Matthews, 19, whose body was recovered along Buccament Bay’s river defence with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

    In addition to the violent conspiracy and murder charges, John also faces separate counts of cocaine possession and drug trafficking. Local law enforcement rules in St. Vincent and the Grenadines prohibit bail for individuals accused of murder until a nine-month period has elapsed following arraignment, a restriction that means John will almost certainly be denied temporary release and will miss the opportunity to arrange or attend the funeral of her only child.

    This is not the first time John has made headlines for involvement with the criminal justice system. Nine years prior, police were forced to restrain her outside the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court after she attempted to instruct her son to hide his face as he was led away following an arraignment on statutory rape charges. The victim in that 2015 case was a minor between the ages of 13 and 15. John was a regular presence in court for her son throughout a string of subsequent criminal hearings, and multiple charges against him remained unresolved at the time of his death.

    Enrique John was not the only fatality in last Friday’s Stony Ground violence: his close associate 22-year-old Raheem Guy was also shot and killed on the sidewalk outside the Caribbean Medical Imaging Centre, while John died inside a shop at the Russells Shopping Centre. The spree marked the start of a deadly 24 hours that ended with the discovery of Perrance Matthews’ body in Buccament Bay the next day.

    Local authorities and community observers have linked all three killings to long-running gang warfare across the country. The conflict pits an alliance of factions from Central Kingstown and their Layou-based associates against a rival gang based in West Kingstown. Perrance Matthews, who went by the alias “Suspect”, was reportedly a former member of one of the involved groups who had left the faction and was in the process of attempting to rejoin at the time of his death. At the time of his own killing, Enrique John was still awaiting the verdict on two outstanding attempted murder charges against him.

  • Mother’s Fear Confirmed as Missing Teen Found Dead

    Mother’s Fear Confirmed as Missing Teen Found Dead

    Almost a full week after 17-year-old Alwin Marin Jr. left his Belize City home for a planned fishing trip with a friend, what began as a frantic search for a missing teen ended in unspeakable tragedy on April 16, 2026. Marin’s decomposing body was discovered by his own mother, Patricia Cardinez, in the isolated, bush-covered Dykes area of Belize City, confirming the worst fear she had carried since her son’s disappearance.

    Marin was last seen leaving his Jane Usher Boulevard neighborhood alongside 17-year-old Jaheil Westby. When neither teen returned home after four days, their families filed missing person reports with local authorities. Westby’s bullet-riddled body was recovered in the same region last Friday, launching an immediate, widespread search for Marin that Cardinez never paused, even amid widespread speculation that Marin may have been involved in Westby’s death.

    In an interview with News Five reporter Isani Cayetano, Cardinez described her relentless search through dense, remote brush that ended with the devastating find she had dreaded. “I feel good that I find my son, that I searched. I search eena di bush. I sih jankro, and I search til I find my son,” Cardinez said, speaking in Belizean Kriol. “I hurt fi know that I find my son way da back yah soh cause my son da wah lee bwai weh usually goh and cohn home back. But, at the same time, too, how my son dead now, soh who kill my son?”

    Like Westby, Alwin died a violent death far from his neighborhood, leading senior law enforcement officials to conclude the two killings are connected. ACP Hilberto Romero, head of Belize’s National Crime Investigation Branch, confirmed that investigators have been tracking the linked case from the day Westby’s body was recovered. “The body has been retrieved and taken to the forensic laboratory where it awaits a post mortem examination,” Romero told reporters. “This report was made from last week Friday and from then searches were being conducted in the area and the body of Jaheil Westby was found on Friday. They were together, so it’s case we were following up on from the day.”

    Romero added that evidence at the two discovery sites indicates the teens fled their attacker in separate directions, explaining why Marin’s body was found much farther from Westby’s. This new observation has forced investigators to discard earlier theories that suggested Marin was involved in Westby’s killing—a conclusion Cardinez pushed back on forcefully even before her son’s body was found.

    “Di policeman dehn weh gaan da my house and di search fi my son, how I wah di hide my son when I still yet deh pan di news and still yet di search fi my son. Now I find my son now, soh who kill my son?” Cardinez said.

    Cardinez alleges the double murder is tied to a long-simmering public nuisance that has increasingly turned violent across Belize: stolen and stray horses. She says the two teens were together on a horse when they were attacked, a motive that aligns with growing community frustration over the persistent problem of unauthorized horse grazing and horse theft in the area.

    Now that both bodies have been recovered, investigators are reworking their case strategy to pursue new leads tied to the possible horse-related motive, as they work to identify and arrest those responsible for the killings. Cardinez has called for immediate action from authorities, urging police to hold all involved in her son’s killing accountable.

  • Work Begins on Belize’s Youth Development Policy

    Work Begins on Belize’s Youth Development Policy

    Nearly three years from now, in 2026, Belize has officially launched the development process of a refreshed National Youth Development Policy and Strategy, a framework designed to more accurately align with the evolving daily realities, long-term aspirations, and pressing challenges that shape the lives of the country’s young population.

    To kick off this multi-stage policy drafting process, 17 stakeholders drawn from four key groups — government bodies, domestic civil society organizations, grassroots youth collectives, and international cooperating partners — gathered in Belize City for the first ever Youth Policy Round Table. This round table has been tasked with guiding and overseeing every step of the policy development effort to ensure accountability and inclusive direction.

    The entire initiative is being led by Belize’s Ministry of Tourism, Youth, Sports and Diaspora Relations, with Nicole Usher-Solano, the Chief Executive Officer of the ministry, serving as chair of the inaugural round table. To ground the policy in rigorous, context-specific research, the ministry has contracted the University of Belize’s Policy Research Institute (BELPRI) to coordinate all drafting work, with technical and financial backing from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

    A research team led by BELPRI Executive Director Dr. Dylan Vernon will carry out a full suite of outreach and data collection activities: from comprehensive background research and national public surveys to one-on-one stakeholder interviews and regional consultation workshops across every district of Belize. The core purpose of this broad engagement strategy is to ensure that the perspectives, needs and priorities of young Belizeans directly shape the final policy framework, rather than the document being designed exclusively by adult policymakers in closed sessions.

    Organizers behind the initiative have emphasized that the end goal is not a superficial, ceremonial policy document. Instead, they aim to deliver a practical, forward-looking roadmap that expands accessible opportunities for Belizean young people to pursue education, build meaningful careers, take on leadership roles in their communities, and contribute tangibly to the country’s long-term national development goals.

  • Truck Crash Brings Five Islands to a Standstill, Power Lines Down and Motorists Trapped

    Truck Crash Brings Five Islands to a Standstill, Power Lines Down and Motorists Trapped

    A severe truck crash has thrown the daily operations of five regional islands into complete disarray, leaving critical infrastructure damaged and dozens of road users stranded in an unexpected emergency. The incident, which unfolded on a key inter-island arterial roadway, caused the heavy-duty commercial vehicle to collide with and bring down a major overhead high-voltage power line, triggering cascading disruptions that rippled across multiple island communities. Emergency response teams were dispatched to the scene immediately after the first emergency calls were placed in the early hours of the incident. First responders confirmed that the downed power lines not only cut electricity service to residential and commercial areas across all five islands but also completely blocked the only paved roadway connecting the island communities to the mainland. The road blockage left hundreds of motorists who were traveling between the islands trapped in their vehicles, with many stuck for several hours before emergency access routes could be cleared to extract them. Local power utility crews have been working around the clock to repair the damaged transmission infrastructure, restore service to affected households, and clear the debris from the roadway. As of the latest update, partial power has been restored to the most populated islands, though full service is not expected to resume for at least 24 more hours while crews work to replace broken transmission towers and restring power lines. Local transportation authorities have implemented temporary ferry services to move stranded motorists off the affected islands and have advised all non-essential travel to the area to be postponed until the roadway is fully reopened. Investigators have launched a probe into the root cause of the crash, with initial reports suggesting that driver fatigue and wet road conditions may have been contributing factors.

  • Bus Strike Averted?

    Bus Strike Averted?

    A threatened total shutdown of bus services across Belize scheduled for this coming Monday will not go ahead as planned, at least temporarily, following a negotiating session held earlier this morning between leaders of the Belize Bus Association (BBA) and senior officials from the country’s Ministry of Transport. The last-minute negotiations have averted immediate disruption to commuters, freight services and daily economic activity across the nation, but the fundamental disagreement that pushed private bus operators to plan industrial action remains unresolved, pending a final decision from Belize’s Cabinet and Transport Minister Dr Luis Zabaneh.

    In an exclusive interview with News 5 immediately after the meeting concluded, BBA President Phillip Jones confirmed that while hours of discussion were held between the two sides, no agreement was reached. The core sticking point centers on a longstanding demand from private bus operators for a rate adjustment that would align their pricing with that of the state-run National Bus Company. Currently, private operators face a five-cent-per-mile gap in allowed rates that they argue has created an unsustainable financial strain, threatening the long-term survival of many small, independent private bus operations across the country.

    Prior to this week’s negotiations, Belize’s government had publicly stated that the operators’ demand for rate alignment was “off the table”, a position that left private operators with no option but to threaten a full service shutdown. Despite the lack of a final resolution, Jones confirmed that private bus operators have agreed to continue running all scheduled services on Monday and Tuesday in a show of good faith, while Cabinet deliberates on the request. Operators are now waiting in expectation of an official response from the government body following its upcoming scheduled meeting, with the threat of a strike still looming if their demands are rejected.

  • Wait, Somone’s Job is Actually Flying into Hurricanes?

    Wait, Somone’s Job is Actually Flying into Hurricanes?

    Against the backdrop of annual Atlantic hurricane season preparations, a unique team of daredevil aviation specialists known as the Hurricane Hunters has touched down in Belize, bringing one-of-a-kind storm-tracking aircraft as a key stop on the 2026 Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour.

    Jordan Mentzer, an experienced pilot with the Hurricane Hunters, explained that the tour blends three core goals: raising public knowledge of hurricane risks, strengthening regional preparedness, and engaging local stakeholders while opening the specialized aircraft to public tours. For the teams that regularly fly directly into the core of active hurricanes, the outreach mission is just as important as the data collection work they carry out during storm season.

    Unlike satellite observation, which can only track storm systems from space, these reinforced aircraft fly directly into the heart of hurricanes to gather hard-to-access atmospheric measurements that satellites cannot capture. The real-time data they collect is fed directly into forecasting models used by every national meteorological service across the Caribbean, helping forecasters refine predictions of storm track, strength and landfall timing.

    Having flown these dangerous missions for decades, Mentzer noted that the team has built up decades of knowledge to operate as safely as possible in the extreme conditions of a hurricane. “We have learned which maneuvers work, what hazards to avoid, and how to navigate storm systems with the highest possible level of safety we can achieve,” he said.

    Robbie Berg, a warning coordinator meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center, emphasized that the in-storm data collected by the Hurricane Hunters is irreplaceable for life-saving forecasting. “Having these aircraft is absolutely critical to our work,” Berg explained. “They deliver observations directly from the center of the storm, so we can pin down exactly how strong the hurricane is, where it is positioned, and what its central barometric pressure is. That detail is what allows us to produce far more accurate forecasts that help communities prepare and evacuate on time.”

    During the Belize stop, local government officials and dozens of students got a rare, close-up look inside the converted aircraft, which doubles as a flying atmospheric research laboratory. Henry Charles Usher, Belize’s Minister of Public Service and Disaster Risk Management, highlighted that including Belize in this year’s tour carries long-term meaning beyond immediate preparedness. He noted that initiatives like this can spark interest in STEM and emergency management careers, helping cultivate “the next generation of Belizean scientists, pilots, meteorologists, and engineers” who will lead the country’s climate and disaster resilience efforts in the coming decades.

    Local outlet News Five has announced it will air a full, in-depth walkthrough of the Hurricane Hunters’ aircraft during its 6 p.m. newscast tonight, inviting audiences to tune in for a closer look at the unique mission.