Carib Scope

分类： society

  • Notice: Works at Fadi Building Supplies to Fresh and Eazy Supermarket

    Notice: Works at Fadi Building Supplies to Fresh and Eazy Supermarket

    Residents and commuters in Antigua and Barbuda are being notified of upcoming overnight infrastructure rehabilitation works along a key stretch of All Saints Road, running between FADI Building Supplies and the Fresh and Eazy Supermarket. The announcement was made publicly by the nation’s Ministry of Works, confirming that the works will kick off with a scheduled detour starting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 20, 2026, running through to 7:00 a.m. the following morning.

    Drivers traveling out of the urban center will follow a marked alternate route: they must turn left onto American Road before reaching the Townhouse Megastore junction traffic light, then continue along the way clearly mapped out by project organizers. For motorists heading into the town center, the detour requires a right turn immediately after passing John I Martin Racetrack, before continuing along the designated route.

    Project organizers have emphasized that some portions of the temporary detour are designated as one-way traffic zones, with all restricted areas clearly marked on the official project map. Directional signage has been placed along the entire alternate route to guide drivers traveling in both directions, reducing the risk of confusion or congestion. Local residents who live in the immediate area surrounding the work zone will retain full access to their properties throughout the construction period.

    To manage on-site traffic flow and ensure public safety, trained flag persons will be stationed near the active work area. Officials are urging all motorists to proceed with extreme caution through the region, as heavy-duty construction equipment will be operating in close proximity to the detour route. Crucially, all commercial businesses located along the affected stretch of All Saints Road will remain open for regular operations during the works.

    This upgrade forms part of the broader All Saints Road infrastructure improvement project, which is being executed by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to upgrade the corridor’s long-term functionality and safety. Project stakeholders and regular road users are advised to adjust their travel timetables and routes in advance, to account for potential expected delays during the construction window. Any member of the public with questions about the works or detour arrangements can reach the Project Implementation Management Unit directly by phone at 562-9173 for further information.

  • BHTA issues warning on rising violence

    BHTA issues warning on rising violence

    A fresh wave of concern has swept across Barbados’ key tourism sector after a triple fatal shooting near a popular St James beach bar left three men dead, pushing the island’s 2024 murder count to 23. Top industry leaders have issued their most severe warning to date, linking rising gun violence to the long-term survival of the country’s economic backbone.

    The shooting, which unfolded Sunday near the Thunder Bay Beach Bar in the tourist-heavy parish of St James, prompted an immediate and forceful response from the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA). In a public statement released this week, BHTA Chairman Javon Griffith issued a blunt condemnation of the attack, warning that the island can no longer afford to treat repeated outbreaks of gun violence as an unremarkable part of daily life.

    “What is perhaps most alarming is that these violent episodes are now beginning to feel like a regular weekend occurrence in Barbados,” Griffith said. “That is a reality which should concern every Barbadian, every visitor, and every stakeholder with an interest in the safety, stability, and reputation of this country.”

    For decades, Barbados has cultivated a global brand as a tranquil, welcoming, and secure luxury travel destination, drawing millions of visitors annually drawn to its white sand beaches, warm hospitality, and low crime rate. That reputation, Griffith emphasized, is the foundation of the island’s national economy, with tourism accounting for a substantial share of GDP, employment, and foreign exchange earnings. Travelers select Barbados over competing Caribbean destinations not only for its natural beauty and vibrant culture, but for the long-held assumption that it offers a safe, well-governed escape, he added.

    But the recent upward trend in deadly gun crime, Griffith warned, puts that hard-won reputation at existential risk. If authorities and national stakeholders fail to act quickly and decisively to curb the violence, he argued, traveler confidence will erode, potentially causing irreversible damage to the tourism industry that supports tens of thousands of Barbadian jobs.

    Griffith opened his statement by extending sincere condolences to the families of the three men killed in Sunday’s attack, as well as to local communities shaken by the latest outbreak of violence. He also recognized the ongoing work of law enforcement to address the crisis, but stressed that policing alone cannot reverse the growing trend of gun violence.

    “This is not solely a policing matter. It is a societal issue that calls for leadership, enforcement, intervention, community engagement and sustained action at every level,” Griffith said. “Barbados cannot afford to normalise gun violence. We cannot allow fear, lawlessness and indiscipline to gain further ground in our communities.”

    Calling for an urgent, whole-of-society response to the crisis, the BHTA chief urged all relevant national authorities and private and public stakeholders to treat the growing gun violence crisis with the urgency it demands. “The safety of our people must come first, and the protection of Barbados’ reputation as a safe and desirable destination must remain a national priority,” Griffith said. “The time for decisive action is now.”

  • Transport Department Sends New Pickup Trucks to OW and PG

    Transport Department Sends New Pickup Trucks to OW and PG

    In a formal handover ceremony held April 20, 2026 at the Department of Transport’s Belmopan parking lot, two brand-new Nissan pickup trucks were officially transferred to the department for deployment to two regional districts. The new assets are part of a broader ongoing government initiative to upgrade road safety infrastructure and streamline daily operational capacity across Belize.

    Once assigned to the Orange Walk (OW) and Punta Gorda (PG) districts, the trucks will directly support local transport wardens in carrying out their routine and targeted traffic enforcement duties. Prior to this deployment, regional enforcement teams often faced operational limitations from outdated or insufficient vehicle resources, which slowed response times and hindered regular patrols across the large, spread-out districts.

    Speaking at the ceremony, Transport Minister Dr. Louis Zabaneh emphasized that the upgraded equipment is a critical investment in improving national traffic law compliance. “Hopefully with these new vehicles we will be able to get even higher compliance for our laws,” Dr. Zabaneh said, noting that consistent, accessible enforcement is one of the most effective tools for reducing reckless driving and preventing road traffic accidents.

    Deputy Chief Transport Officer Peter Williams expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Transport for its sustained commitment to upgrading frontline operational resources. Williams stressed that the addition of reliable new vehicles would deliver an immediate, visible improvement to daily work for regional wardens, eliminating common barriers like vehicle breakdowns that previously pulled officers off patrol routes.

    Department CEO Chester Williams further outlined plans to preserve the new assets for long-term public service, noting that structured maintenance protocols will be put in place to keep the trucks in optimal working condition. “I am sure that the officers who are going to be utilising them from both Punta Gorda and Orange Walk are going to make good use of these vehicles and maintain them in an acceptable standard,” Williams said. The deployment is expected to be completed within one week of the handover ceremony, with the trucks already cleared for active patrol duty.

  • Public invited to town hall meetings on weather-resilient housing project

    Public invited to town hall meetings on weather-resilient housing project

    Over the next three days, three consecutive public town hall meetings will open a channel for community input on the draft designs of climate-resilient housing units developed under Saint Lucia’s landmark Green Affordable Housing Project (GAH).

    First launched in 2021 by the Government of Saint Lucia, the GAH initiative was created to address a critical gap: making sustainable, climate-adapted housing accessible and affordable for the country’s low- and middle-income households. To advance this goal, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) has partnered with two leading global climate and development bodies—the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF)—to support the government in mobilizing $7.5 million in funding for a flagship pilot project.

    Under this pilot, 450 fully green-certified, climate-resilient homes will be constructed in the Balata district of Castries, the island nation’s capital. The planned residential units are designed to withstand the extreme weather events that threaten small island developing states like Saint Lucia, with proposed features including integrated rainwater harvesting systems, on-site solar energy generation, energy-efficient LED lighting, and hurricane-resistant building infrastructure. If the pilot is successfully completed, an estimated 1,800 local Saint Lucians stand to gain safe, sustainable affordable housing through the initiative.

    To ensure the project aligns with the needs of the community that will ultimately call these developments home, organizers have scheduled three town hall sessions across different regions of the country, each designed to accommodate local attendees. The first session, set for Monday, April 20, will be a virtual gathering open to stakeholders in the Castries area, running from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The following day, Tuesday, April 21, an in-person meeting will be held at the Human Resource Development Centre in Gros Islet from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The third and final session will take place on Wednesday, April 22 at Babonneau Secondary School, running from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

    During these public sessions, project teams will present the finalized proposed community layouts and housing designs, then open the floor to collect feedback and suggestions from residents, future prospective homeowners, and other local stakeholders. In an official statement, GGGI emphasized that public input is a core part of the project’s development process: the feedback collected will be integrated into final design adjustments to ensure the completed housing solutions directly reflect the needs and priorities of the people who will live in them, while also advancing the country’s broader goals for inclusive, sustainable national development.

  • Police Looking for One Man For Recent Murder

    Police Looking for One Man For Recent Murder

    A wide-ranging manhunt is underway in southern Belize for a suspect connected to the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Steve Lewis, a delivery worker from Dangriga Town whose decomposing body was found days after he went missing for a fake delivery job.

    Lewis was last seen alive on the morning of the previous Monday, when he left his home to complete what he believed was a standard, routine delivery. The following day, his common-law wife filed an official missing person report with local authorities after he failed to return home.

    Several days after Lewis disappeared, searchers located his remains along a rural feeder road branching off the Thomas Vincent Ramos Highway, close to the small community of Silk Grass Village. Investigators recovered an expended bullet shell at the scene, which has helped detectives narrow down the cause of death.

    Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith confirmed to reporters that forensic evidence points to a gunshot wound as the likely cause of Lewis’s death. “Given that an expended shell was found on the scene, we suspect the cause to be a gunshot injury,” Smith stated in an official press briefing.

    Prior to his disappearance, Lewis received a phone call requesting a delivery to Silk Grass Village, and investigators are now deep diving into all communications linked to that fatal request to identify the caller. “We are following up on the level of communication that he had during that time to see how that can assist with the investigation,” ASP Smith added.

    Lewis’s mother, Suceli Lewis, shared new chilling details of her son’s final hours with local outlet News 5. She explained that an unknown young man contacted her son from Lake Land to arrange the delivery, and specifically instructed Lewis to bring a covered helmet with him for the job. “So my baby went to look for a cover up helmet and gone pick up the person and shoot out of Dangriga,” she said, confirming her son never made it back to town after leaving for the appointment.

    Local law enforcement has not yet released a description of the suspect they are seeking, but have urged residents of the Dangriga and Silk Grass Village areas to come forward with any information that could help speed up the investigation and bring the perpetrator to justice.

  • 36 Police Officers Complete Drill Training with BDF Support

    36 Police Officers Complete Drill Training with BDF Support

    A historic five-week specialized drill training program, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Belize Police Department and the Belize Defence Force (BDF), has concluded with 36 officers successfully earning their graduation credentials, officials confirmed.

    The initiative, crafted to develop the next tier of junior leadership within the police ranks, launched in mid-March at the National Police Training Academy. Forty officers originally entered the rigorous course, which combined military-style discipline with police-specific leadership skill building, and 36 participants met all the program’s demanding requirements to cross the finish line at the end of the training cycle.

    Titled the Junior Non-Commissioned Officer Drill Course, the program was built around a core set of training objectives: refining officers’ proficiency in parade drill procedures, teaching them to identify and correct technical errors in formation movement, and ingraining precision in coordinated group maneuvers. Beyond technical drill skills, the curriculum also prioritized cultivating on-the-job confidence and foundational leadership capabilities that officers can bring to their daily community policing and operational duties.

    Training organizers structured the curriculum to blend practical, hands-on field drills with in-depth classroom instruction. This hybrid approach ensured participants built not only the physical discipline required for high-standard drill work but also the theoretical knowledge to lead drill sessions and apply learned discipline to their regular roles. Officials repeatedly emphasized the intensity and transformative impact of the course, noting that the partnership with the BDF brought unique military expertise and structure to the training that elevated the entire experience for participating officers.

    This joint program marks a new step in inter-agency cooperation between Belize’s national police and defense forces, aimed at lifting professional standards across the country’s law enforcement sector.

  • Two Wanted for Questioning in Young Man’s Disappearance

    Two Wanted for Questioning in Young Man’s Disappearance

    It has now been 21 days since 23-year-old Lidahni Martinez of Dangriga Town was last spotted, and law enforcement officials have issued a public call for two people to come forward for questioning as the missing person investigation enters its fourth week.

    Martinez was officially reported missing to authorities on April 7, 2026. According to official police records, the last confirmed sighting of the young man occurred just after 3 p.m. on Friday, March 27, when he left his residential address and got into an unregistered sport utility vehicle. Since that day, there has been no contact from Martinez, and no confirmed sightings have been reported to investigators.

    Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith confirmed in a press statement that investigators have already collected dozens of witness statements as part of the active probe. “We have recorded a number of statements in connection with this ongoing investigation and are now seeking two individuals who we believe may be able to assist with the investigation,” Smith said.

    Investigators are also looking into a potential link between Martinez’s disappearance and that of another local resident, Deborah “Bree” Arthurs, who went missing on the exact same day. When asked about a possible connection between the two cases, Smith said the connection has not been ruled out, but investigators have not reached a definitive conclusion. “We have not been able to conclusively come down on a position as it relates to that,” Smith added.

    Like Martinez, Arthurs was last seen entering a silver SUV on March 27 before vanishing. Her case has seen no major public breakthroughs and remains unsolved as of this update.

    Both missing person cases have now stretched past the three-week mark, with no concrete, confirmed leads released to the public by law enforcement. Belizean police are urging any member of the public with even minor information related to either disappearance to reach out immediately. Tips can be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 922, or directly to the closest local police station.

  • Driver Loses Consciousness, Crashes Into Airport Fence on Airport Road

    Driver Loses Consciousness, Crashes Into Airport Fence on Airport Road

    A sudden medical incident disrupted traffic along Airport Road on [date undisclosed] when a female operating a passenger vehicle experienced an unexpected loss of consciousness behind the wheel. The brief blackout caused her car to drift off its intended travel path, leaving the road before colliding with the outer perimeter fencing of the adjacent airport.

    Local emergency response teams including Emergency Medical Services were dispatched immediately to the crash site following reports of the incident. First responders assessed the driver’s condition at the scene and made the decision to transport her to a nearby hospital for further evaluation and mandatory medical treatment.

    As of the latest public updates, no additional details regarding the driver’s current health status, the underlying cause of her unconscious episode, or the extent of damage to the airport fence have been released to media outlets. Authorities confirmed that they will issue new statements to the public as more facts about the incident are gathered and confirmed.

  • “I Will Miss Him”: Father Speaks After Son’s Fatal Crash

    “I Will Miss Him”: Father Speaks After Son’s Fatal Crash

    A routine weekend getaway ended in unimaginable tragedy for one Belizean family in late April 2026, when a multi-vehicle collision on the Trinidad–August Pine Ridge Road in Orange Walk District claimed three lives, leaving loved ones grappling with sudden loss.

    Among the victims was 35-year-old Bryon Magaña, his 19-year-old wife Sherlyn Henriquez, and 29-year-old Selvin Cortez — a former work colleague who had become a close family friend. In an interview with local media, Bryon’s father Polo Magaña shared his grief over the unexpected passing of his son and daughter-in-law, recalling that the couple made weekend travel a regular habit, and always made it back home safe after their trips.

    “They always come back. This weekend they never did,” Polo Magaña said. He added that authorities have not yet released a full, confirmed account of what led to the crash, leaving his family with unanswered questions about the circumstances of the collision. “I don’t know exactly what happened, if how they were coming, if they were drinking or what happened exactly,” he explained. Describing his son as a warm, caring young man who never failed to check in on his parents, Polo expressed the profound grief his family is now facing: “I will really miss him. We will miss them. We cried and cried when we heard the news last night.”

    Local law enforcement has released preliminary details of the crash, confirming the sequence of events that led to the fatal outcome. Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith told reporters that Cortez was behind the wheel of the victims’ red Ford F-150 when the collision occurred. The pickup was traveling in the opposite direction of a Freightliner truck that was towing a cane trailer, when the Ford struck the left-front section of the trailer head-on.

    The force of the impact sent the pickup veering off the roadway, killing all three people inside the vehicle immediately. Photos from the crash scene show catastrophic damage to the red Ford, with large sections of its frame destroyed in the collision. The cane trailer was left sitting on the side of the road after the crash, with its sugar cane load spilled across the pavement.

    To determine the root cause of the crash, investigators have ordered a full toxicology report to test for alcohol or drug use by the pickup’s driver. Results of that testing are still pending as of the initial media briefing. Local outlet News 5 has announced it will air additional updates and full details on the collision during its 6 PM live broadcast the same day, as investigators continue to piece together what led to the fatal incident.

  • Coconut Bay strengthens partnership with St Jude Hospital through paediatric ward initiative

    Coconut Bay strengthens partnership with St Jude Hospital through paediatric ward initiative

    A well-known Caribbean hospitality brand is taking its longstanding community commitment to the next level, announcing a major new project to upgrade the pediatric care space at St Jude Hospital. Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa, which has partnered with the local medical facility for more than a decade, is set to transform the hospital’s children’s wing into a warm, kid-centered environment that goes beyond standard clinical care.

    On March 27, senior leaders from the resort traveled to the hospital’s Augier campus to kick off the new initiative, marking another milestone in a collaboration that first launched back in 2013. That year, the two organizations signed a formal memorandum of understanding to outline shared community-focused goals, and since that initial agreement, the resort has contributed over EC$70,000 in combined financial aid and critical in-kind donations. These contributions have included life-saving medical equipment ranging from patient monitors and neonatal incubators to specialized cardiac care devices.

    Mia Chin, the resort’s sales and guest relations manager, emphasized that this partnership extends far beyond one-time financial gifts. For the Coconut Bay team, supporting the hospital is an extension of the brand’s core culture of care and hospitality. “The vision for our corporate social responsibility in collaboration with St Jude’s is to bring that same warmth, that same love, that same energy that we do at Coconut Bay — the Coconut Bay way, the Coconut Bay culture — right here to St. Jude, especially the pediatric ward,” Chin explained. She added that the work is rooted in a commitment to lifting up the entire local community, with a particular focus on supporting the island nation’s youngest residents.

    For leaders at St Jude Hospital, the ongoing support comes at a meaningful moment, as the facility continues to recover from a devastating disaster that struck 16 years ago. A large fire destroyed large sections of the original hospital campus, and the institution is now in the process of returning to its original location. Dr. Sybil Naitram James, head of pediatrics at St Jude, shared that she feels both relieved and optimistic about this transition, and expressed deep gratitude for the consistent backing from local private sector partners like Coconut Bay.

    Dr. Naitram James outlined the many ways the resort’s support has improved care for young patients over the years. “We have benefited in terms of receiving donations, in terms of equipment, monetary, finances, and also general supplies that we need for the ward,” she said. Beyond tangible supplies, the resort has long enhanced the daily experience of patients and staff alike: for years, the resort team has organized annual children’s Christmas parties, distributed holiday gifts, and led seasonal ward and tree decorating events that the entire staff looks forward to each year.

    “This is a partnership that we have embraced for quite a number of years, and it is something that we are hoping will continue… as they are going to be part of enhancing and beautifying the pediatric ward to make the area a very peaceful setting for our patients,” Dr. Naitram James added. Along with interior renovations to the existing pediatric wing, the resort used its March visit to unveil plans for a new outdoor play space that will give young patients a safe, welcoming area to play and relax during their treatment.