分类： society

A transformative new collaborative livestock training initiative, led by Belize’s Ministry of Agriculture and Mexico’s international development agency AMEXCID, kicked off this week in Cayo District, marking a key step forward in Belize’s push to strengthen and diversify its national agricultural sector.

Over five days, participating agriculture extension officers, technical specialists from the University of Belize, and representatives from the Belize Livestock Producers Association will gather at the Central Farm Extension Office to learn evidence-based modern approaches to cattle rearing. The comprehensive training curriculum covers three core, high-priority areas: sustainable pasture management, targeted nutritional conditioning to boost cattle productivity, and efficiency-focused strategies to cut production waste in both the local beef and dairy segments.

For Belizean smallholder and commercial farmers alike, the program promises tangible long-term benefits: participants are expected to leave with the skills to raise healthier cattle and deliver higher-quality beef and dairy products to both domestic and regional markets. This initiative aligns directly with a recent call for agricultural diversification from Belizean Prime Minister John Briceño, who urged the nation’s large community of sugar cane producers to expand into cattle farming just weeks before the training launched.

Speaking to reporters earlier this month, Briceño emphasized the economic logic behind diversification, noting that stakeholders have spent decades encouraging sugar cane farmers to avoid over-reliance on a single commodity. “We’ve been talking with cane farmers for decades about diversifying, that don’t put all your eggs in one industry, in sugar,” the prime minister said. The new training program turns that policy priority into actionable support, creating clear pathways for sugar producers to build new income streams through cattle rearing while shoring up Belize’s overall agricultural resilience.

Nearly two weeks after a violent machete attack inside a family residence in San Marcos Village, Toledo, a bitter dispute has erupted over the lack of arrests and conflicting accounts of what unfolded on May 14. The attack has left one man hospitalized with a serious neck wound and a local family questioning the integrity of local law enforcement and village governance, while community leaders have pushed back against allegations of obstruction.

Mario Makin, a family representative, told local outlet News Five that the incident began when a group of unidentified men forced entry into his parents’ home. The intruders targeted Makin’s brother, delivering a deep machete wound to his neck, and directly threatened Makin’s mother during the attack. First responders from the local police force transported the injured man to a medical facility for urgent treatment, but no suspects were taken into custody at the scene or in the immediate aftermath, Makin says.

The following day, Makin’s mother submitted a formal incident report to authorities and formally requested legal proceedings against the attackers. But according to Makin, almost two weeks later, no law enforcement action has been taken. “Up to now, the people that did the chopping, they’re still walking free on the road with the machete in their hand… I don’t know if the police, they afraid to arrest those people,” Makin stated in his interview. He added that his mother now lives in constant fear, unable to feel secure in her own home after the attack.

Makin further alleged that the local village Alcalde was present during the attack, and suggested that political influence from village leaders is the root cause of police inaction. He explained the violence grew out of an earlier altercation between his brother and the village chairman’s brother, creating a conflict of interest that has derailed the investigation.

But village leadership has offered a completely contradictory version of events, rejecting all claims of interference and tying the incident to a confrontation that began far from the Makin family home.

Juan Caal, secretary to the Alcalde, explained that when the incident occurred, both the village chairman and the Alcalde were attending an off-site meeting. They received an emergency report that two intoxicated men were assaulting the chairman’s brother on a remote backstreet within the community. Caal says the Alcalde rushed to the scene immediately and attempted to take the two suspects into custody, but the pair managed to flee before they could be detained.

Due to the severity of the incident, which involved a deadly weapon and explicit threats of violence, the Alcalde’s office referred the entire case to the national police force to lead the investigation, Caal said. “We handed over to the police so that they can handle the matter from there because it involved a machete, it involved threatening words. And all we know is that someone tried to attack the chairman’s brother,” Caal explained. He also suggested the incident may have been a case of self-defense, raising the unsubstantiated possibility that the injured man’s neck wound was self-inflicted during the physical struggle.

Caal explicitly denied two core allegations from the Makin family: he refuted claims that Chairman Muku was present during the home attack, and rejected suggestions that any village leader interfered to block police from making arrests. He stressed that referring the case to police was a deliberate recommendation from the Alcalde’s office.

Despite these denials, the Makin family stands by their original account, pointing out that police have the names of the suspected attackers and a formal incident report on file – and still have not taken any suspects into custody. “I don’t know what they’re investigating when they already received the report and they’re not acting on it,” Makin said. The ongoing lack of resolution has left the family feeling failed by the institutions meant to protect them, and has cast a spotlight on potential gaps in local law enforcement response in rural Toledo.

A devastating traffic tragedy on Staten Island, New York has left the tight-knit Belizean immigrant community and the family of 72-year-old Leton Meyers in mourning, as loved ones push the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to release full transparency about the circumstances that led to his fatal death on May 15.

Originally from Burrell Boom, Belize, Meyers had built a life in New York City for decades, settling in the West New Brighton neighborhood of Staten Island after immigrating. According to initial investigations from the New York Police Department’s Collision Investigation Squad, the fatal incident unfolded at a local bus stop. As the MTA bus began pulling away from the curb, Meyers stumbled backward into the roadway, and the vehicle’s rear tires struck him, causing catastrophic injuries. The family confirmed he died from severe blunt force trauma sustained in the collision.

To date, the MTA has not released a full public disclosure of the incident’s details, leaving the grieving family to navigate their loss while demanding a complete explanation of how the preventable tragedy unfolded. In a heartfelt public statement, Meyers’ family remembered him as a generous community builder who dedicated his life to opening his home to anyone in need. “This was a man who spent his life opening his home to everyone and building community,” the statement read. “To lose him in such a violent and horrific way has shattered our family. We are grieving while also searching for accountability and answers from the MTA about how this happened.”

Meyers was born and raised in Burrell Boom, where he completed his education at St. John’s Technical School before moving to the United States to build his career. A skilled and knowledgeable technician, he spent decades working for major industry firms including Ricoh and Ikon, earning a reputation across his field for unwavering dedication and sharp technical expertise.

Alongside his wife Effie, Meyers turned their Staten Island home into a safe haven for neighbors, friends, extended family, foster children, and any person seeking support or a sense of belonging. Effie shared that her husband’s core value was making everyone feel like part of the family: “He wanted people to feel like family. No one left our home hungry, unwelcome, or alone.”

Meyers is survived by his wife Effie, two adult children Samantha and VaSeann, and granddaughter Jaslene. Jaslene emphasized that the family wants Meyers remembered for the kind, generous man he was, not the violent circumstances of his passing: “My Grandpa didn’t deserve to die that way. We want him to be remembered for who he was, not how or why he died.”

Notably, Samantha Meyers described the incident as a tragedy that impacted all parties involved, extending quiet empathy to the bus driver as well as her father. “It was a tragic accident for both parties, for the driver of the bus and for him,” she told the New York Daily News.

A well-known and beloved figure in Staten Island’s growing Central American immigrant community, Meyers leaves behind a legacy of radical generosity, warm hospitality, and deep pride in his Belizean heritage that touched dozens of lives across the city.

In the wake of his sudden passing, Jaslene has launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to cover the cost of funeral arrangements and end-of-life expenses, explaining that the goal is to give her grandfather the dignified burial he was denied: “Every person deserves a dignified end of life. He was robbed of that and we want to make sure we give him that as we lay him to rest.”