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  • Who Took $20K From Police Evidence?

    Who Took $20K From Police Evidence?

    An ongoing internal investigation is underway after more than $20,000 in police-seized cash was discovered missing from the storage facilities of the Criminal Investigations Branch (CIB), law enforcement officials confirmed in a press briefing held on May 25, 2026. The Professional Standards Branch, the internal oversight body tasked with examining police conduct and procedural irregularities, has taken the lead on the case to uncover how the funds disappeared and who may be responsible.

    Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith addressed reporters at the briefing, laying out the timeline of how the discrepancy was first uncovered. According to Smith, the missing funds were spotted during a standard, routine audit of CIB evidence and asset storage conducted earlier in 2026, rather than being flagged via a targeted probe into misconduct. The cash that went missing was originally seized by investigators as evidence in a criminal case that was first opened back in 2023, she confirmed.

    Since the discrepancy was documented, investigators with the Professional Standards Branch have already recorded formal statements from multiple personnel connected to the CIB’s evidence storage operations. When pressed for details on the exact sum of the missing funds, Smith declined to share a specific final figure, only confirming that the total amount is “just over $20,000” — a figure that aligns with initial unconfirmed reports that circulated ahead of the official press briefing.

    As of the May 25 briefing, the investigation remains active and ongoing, Smith said. She declined to comment on whether any serving police officers have been formally implicated in the disappearance of the funds, nor would she confirm whether any personnel have been suspended pending the outcome of the probe. This is a developing story, and we will continue to update the public as new details surrounding the internal investigation emerge.

  • Woman Dies in Motorcycle Crash, Partner Refused Alcohol Test

    Woman Dies in Motorcycle Crash, Partner Refused Alcohol Test

    A deadly motorcycle crash in the small Belizean community of Santa Familia Village, Cayo has claimed the life of a 49-year-old woman, with her common-law partner, a 32-year-old active-duty Coast Guard member identified as Melvin Quischan, now facing imminent prosecution after he declined to take a required alcohol breath test following the incident.

    The collision unfolded just after 10 p.m. local time on Friday, May 22, 2026, when the pair was traveling together on a single Lifan motorcycle. According to official police briefing from Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith, Quischan, who was operating the motorcycle, is alleged to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to veer off the paved roadway.

    When first responders arrived at the crash site, they found Quischan seated on the road surface with only minor injuries. He was holding his partner, Auria Ramos, who told emergency personnel she was experiencing severe chest pain in the immediate aftermath of the wreck. Personnel from the Belize Emergency Response Team (BERT) transported Ramos to a local medical facility for urgent care, but medical professionals were unable to save her, and she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival from trauma sustained in the crash.

    ASP Smith told reporters that responding officers immediately detected the strong scent of alcohol on Quischan when they arrived on scene. That observable clue prompted officers to request that he provide a breath or blood sample for alcohol content testing, a standard procedure in fatal motor vehicle crashes. Quischan, however, refused to comply with the lawful request for a test.

    Under Belizean traffic law, refusing to submit to an alcohol test after being suspected of impaired driving is itself a criminal offense, Smith confirmed. Investigators are currently reviewing a range of potential charges to bring against Quischan as the probe into Ramos’ death continues, though the senior law enforcement official noted that formal charges can only be filed after a series of required investigative processes are completed. Quischan has already received a formal notice of intended prosecution, signaling that official legal action is moving forward as detectives piece together the full circumstances of the fatal crash.

  • Saint Lucia, Martinique hardly trade, but that could change

    Saint Lucia, Martinique hardly trade, but that could change

    Decades of underutilized trade potential between neighboring Caribbean neighbors Saint Lucia and the French overseas territory of Martinique could soon be unlocked, according to France’s top envoy to the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados, Ambassador Marie-Noëlle Duris.

    Located just 37 kilometers apart, the two island jurisdictions share deep geographic and cultural common ground that makes expanded cross-border commerce a natural fit, Duris explained in an exclusive interview with local outlet St Lucia Times. Currently, bilateral trade volumes between the two remain disproportionately small: 2024 data from French diplomatic officials shows that less than 3% of total exports from Martinique and neighboring French Caribbean territory Guadeloupe flow to Saint Lucia, while Saint Lucia accounts for less than 1% of those two territories’ total imports. But ongoing diplomatic and trade negotiations are working to change that, with negotiators currently targeting 15 locally produced goods for streamlined import-export rules. While Duris did not share the full product list during the interview, she confirmed key categories include dairy goods and luxury beauty items such as perfumes.

    Duris emphasized that expanded trade would deliver mutual economic benefits to both sides. Martinique’s nearly 400,000 residents represent a large, accessible consumer market for Saint Lucian producers, while Martinique’s exporters gain a new nearby market for their own local goods, she noted.

    The current push to deepen trade ties builds on more than a decade of regional trade development initiatives. As early as 2017, a trade mission organized by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to Saint Lucia, Martinique and Dominica first mapped out structural barriers to cross-border commerce, identifying gaps in transportation infrastructure, logistics networks, production capacity, product certification protocols, phytosanitary inspection systems and digital communication infrastructure. In 2018, the EU-backed Trade Enhancement for the Eastern Caribbean programme launched to boost trade and investment between Martinique and OECS member states including Saint Lucia, but the initiative uncovered additional hurdles, including fragmented business coordination across islands and low levels of export readiness among small and medium-sized producers on both sides.

    Earlier this year, Martinique and Guadeloupe led a high-profile export mission to Saint Lucia, bringing 18 local companies to explore partnership and sales opportunities on the island. Even after years of preparatory work, barriers remain: Duris noted that strict European Union product and safety standards currently create procedural hurdles for non-EU producers seeking to export to Martinique, a French territory bound by EU trade regulation.

    Yet the ambassador struck an optimistic tone about progress, saying that multiple stakeholder groups from both sides are collaborating to address these regulatory and structural challenges. “Nothing is insurmountable,” Duris said. “It is thanks to the will to move forward together and to common work that it will be possible to find solutions.” She added that she expects negotiators to reach actionable agreements to streamline trade for at least a handful of products in the near term, with plans to expand the list of eligible goods as initial cooperation proves successful. Former French Ambassador Francis Étienne echoed this outlook during the 2024 export mission, noting that “the potential for improvement is infinite…Anything we can do to support business is necessary but, more importantly, essential.”

  • BDF Receives Major Medical Equipment Donation

    BDF Receives Major Medical Equipment Donation

    In a development set to strengthen emergency response capabilities for both military personnel and nearby civilian communities in Belize, the Belize Defence Force (BDF) has received a substantial donation of life-saving medical equipment from a local philanthropist. The contribution, arranged by Isaac Fehr of the non-profit organization Turning Life, includes a fully functional ambulance, a digital X-ray machine, and an automated external defibrillator—key tools that BDF leadership describes as a transformative leap forward for the force’s existing medical infrastructure.

    Fehr, a medical professional who brings more than seven years of clinical experience gained while working in Mexico before returning to his home country, framed the donation as a deeply personal act of service. Having built his career in medical care, Fehr said his decision to contribute the equipment stemmed from a core commitment to lifting up his fellow Belizeans. “We are part of Belize. It’s my country,” he emphasized. “It is to support my people and my country.”

    Unlike many equipment donations that leave recipient organizations scrambling to find trained staff to operate new technology, the BDF confirms it is already prepared to put the new gear into immediate use. BDF Brigadier General Anthony Velasquez noted that the force has pre-certified X-ray technicians and practicing physicians on staff who are fully qualified to operate the newly acquired devices. Beyond serving its own ranks, the BDF is partnering with Belize’s Ministry of Health to deploy its trained medical personnel to public hospitals across the nation to ease staffing strains in public healthcare facilities.

    Plans to house the new equipment are already well underway, Velasquez added. The BDF has already secured a suitable building to host the new medical setup, and only needs to complete minor renovations to bring the space up to official clinical safety and operating standards. Velasquez praised Fehr’s contribution for accelerating the BDF’s multi-year plan to upgrade its medical services, saying the donation has put the force years ahead of its original timeline. “Mr Fehr’s donation has really put us ahead of the game, and we truly appreciate it,” Velasquez said. “We’ll continue to collaborate with him in the future” to expand access to quality medical care for Belizeans across the country.

  • Thieves Raid Infant Two Students’ Piggy Banks

    Thieves Raid Infant Two Students’ Piggy Banks

    When students of Ladyville Evangelical Primary School walked back into their classrooms on the morning of Monday, May 25, 2026, they were met with a devastating scene. Overnight over the weekend, burglars had forced entry into the campus’ classroom wings, ransacked multiple learning spaces, and targeted a deeply meaningful project: handcrafted piggy banks belonging to the school’s Infant Two students, who had been saving loose change for five months as part of a hands-on financial literacy program.

    Among the wreckage left by the intruders, dozens of these handmade savings containers were smashed open and completely emptied, leaving nothing but broken fragments of what the young children — all between six and seven years old — had built up steadily since the start of the year. Principal Elia Chi shared details of the project with local outlet News 5, explaining that the savings initiative was far more than a simple fun activity for the early primary students.

    Since January, the children had been adding small coins to their personal piggy banks, with a plan to count their total savings at the end of the school year in June before deciding together how to use the money they had accumulated. The core goals of the program extended beyond basic money skills: it was designed to instill core values of patience, self-discipline, and personal responsibility from a young age.

    Instead of celebrating their growing savings this week, teachers were forced to have heartbreaking conversations with their young students, explaining that all the money they had put aside was stolen. Law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation and are currently working to trace and apprehend the burglars responsible for the theft.

    In the wake of the upsetting incident, however, an outpouring of community support has quickly emerged. Local residents have already stepped forward to donate new materials for piggy banks and contribute replacement funds, allowing the young students to restart their savings project and learn that their community stands behind them.

  • KFC cleanup removes debris from Easy Hall gully

    KFC cleanup removes debris from Easy Hall gully

    A multi-group collaboration led by global fast-food chain KFC has successfully cleared hundreds of pounds of accumulated trash from the Easy Hall gully in St Joseph, Barbados, marking the latest step in the company’s island-wide commitment to restoring natural spaces. Volunteers from partner organizations and KFC staff spent time sorting and bagging a startling array of discarded items pulled from the waterway, ranging from full bathroom fixtures and automotive components including car seats to discarded cardboard packaging, and countless single-use glass and plastic containers that had leached toxins into the local ecosystem for months. Once collected, all debris was hauled away from the site to prepare for ongoing restoration work aimed at reviving the gully’s natural habitat and protecting the surrounding watershed. Speaking to local reporters following the clean-up, KFC Operations Business Partner Shekelia Barrow explained that this project is one piece of the brand’s larger sustainability strategy for the Caribbean nation, emphasizing that the company sees environmental stewardship as core to its role as a local corporate citizen. “KFC has embarked on cleaning natural spaces in Barbados because we understand the importance of keeping the environment safe for us and future generations,” Barrow said. She added that this was the second organized clean-up the company has led in 2024, following an initial event at Bath Beach held April 28. KFC Quality Assurance Coordinator Kianna Barrow extended thanks to key collaborators that made the gully clean-up possible, including the country’s Ministry of Environment and National Beautification, the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN), the Girl Guides Association of Barbados, and the in-house KFC staff that volunteered their time for the initiative. She noted that the project aligns seamlessly with the brand’s long-standing local sustainability campaigns: Adopt-A-Beach and Adopt-A-Kilometre. “On a number of beaches you will see KFC branded bins, benches, swings. We clean up and help keep our beaches clean. Since I have been here I said ‘Why not do it ourselves. Why sponsor when we can get our KFC teams out here doing the work. KFC is more than chicken,” she told reporters. Sydell Felicien, coordinator for CYEN’s Barbados chapter, shared that while her organization typically prioritizes beach clean-up efforts, it jumped at the chance to partner with KFC for the gully project due to the underrecognized critical role gullies play in Barbados’ broader ecosystem and biodiversity. Felicien also echoed growing concerns among local environmental groups about the rising volume of garbage and plastic waste being illegally dumped across the island’s beaches and inland waterways. She stressed that ongoing public education campaigns are essential to changing community behaviors around proper waste disposal and curbing the harmful practice of illegal dumping. The clean-up effort was documented in photos captured by Jenique Belgrave for Barbados TODAY, showing dozens of volunteers working along the gully’s banks to collect and bag litter.

  • $200 in Customs Fees for a Birthday Card?

    $200 in Customs Fees for a Birthday Card?

    A Belizean man has sparked public outcry after facing a chaotic sequence of bureaucratic hurdles and wildly inflated customs charges to retrieve a simple birthday card mailed from his 82-year-old mother in the United States. The incident, which unfolded in late May 2026, has cast a spotlight on inconsistent and seemingly arbitrary customs procedures in the Central American nation.

    After previous greeting cards sent via standard postal service were either lost or severely delayed, the mother opted to pay nearly $300 in advance for FedEx courier service, hoping to guarantee the handwritten birthday card would reach her son ahead of his birthday on Thursday. What was supposed to be a heartfelt gesture quickly turned into a frustrating saga of conflicting notifications and confusing fee demands.

    When the small envelope marked as a greeting card arrived at the Belizean border, the recipient was shocked to learn he would need to pay an extra $103.19 in customs clearance fees — equal to just over BZ$210 — before the package could be released to him. Speaking to local outlet News 5, the man emphasized that the envelope held nothing more than a simple paper greeting card, calling the massive charge completely unreasonable. Compounding his frustration, he was also warned that unclaimed packages would accrue a daily storage fee of BZ$7, adding a ticking financial penalty to the already baffling situation.

    “I’ve had cards go missing or turn up months late through regular post, that’s why mom paid for a courier. Now they want hundreds of dollars just to hand over a birthday card. It’s becoming kind of ridiculous,” he told reporters.

    When News 5 reached out to the Belize Customs Warehouse for comment on the case, officials declined to share any specific details about why the envelope had been flagged for fees, only confirming that the issue had been “resolved.” The department did not respond to questions about whether the initial fee demand aligned with official customs pricing policies, and independent verification of the cause for the hold has not been possible.

    The sequence of events that followed only added to the chaos. Shortly after the outlet’s inquiry, the man received a notification that his package had been cleared for pickup starting Tuesday. But less than two hours after that good news, he was told customs had pulled the package back again for an internal investigation. “I think I’m in some weird dream or something. This just seems ridiculous,” he said of the back-and-forth.

    By the end of the afternoon on the same day, the man received a third notification that the envelope would finally be released for a drastically reduced fee of just $10. It remains unclear what prompted the multiple shifts in the customs department’s decision and the massive cut to the original fee demand, leaving the recipient and local observers with lingering questions about the consistency and transparency of the country’s customs processing system.

  • Stay in School Project van start met steun van Republic Bank

    Stay in School Project van start met steun van Republic Bank

    A new youth empowerment initiative merging education, athletic participation and personal growth has officially kicked off in Suriname, launched through a collaborative partnership between the Stichting ReGT-STREVEN foundation and Republic Bank Suriname. Titled the Stay in School Project 2025–2026, the program is built around a core mission to encourage young Surinamese students to combine their academic pursuits with structured sports engagement, build life-long personal discipline, and invest in holistic personal development.

    The official opening ceremony was held on Saturday at the Mgr. Aloysius Zichem Sportcentrum, located on Prins Hendrikstraat in Suriname. Beyond connecting academics and athletics, the initiative is designed to achieve three key goals: boost regular sports participation among secondary and primary school student populations, strengthen collaborative networks between educational institutions across the country, and embed core positive values including mutual respect, self-discipline, and good sportsmanship among participating youth. The project will run through August 2 this year, concluding with a grand final competition that will cap off the months of programming.

    Representatives from Republic Bank, the key corporate partner backing the initiative, noted that the program delivers far-reaching benefits beyond just athletic competition. Beyond nurturing emerging sports and academic talent, the bank emphasized that the project actively helps young people build greater self-confidence and grow their commitment to positive civic engagement in their local communities. During the opening ceremony, bank representatives reiterated the organization’s belief in the critical role of targeted community programs that support young people’s growth through positive, constructive pathways.

    Following the formal launch proceedings, the first round of competitive matches got underway to mark the start of the project. In the baseball opening round, Mgr. Wulfinghschool faced off against Scholengemeenschap Sanatan Dharm, with Sanatan Dharm claiming victory in the opening matchup. The opening day of competition wrapped up with a football matchup between Scholengemeenschap Kwatta and Schakelinstituut Middelbaar Onderwijs, with Schakelinstituut taking the win in its opening game.

    Through its support of the Stay in School Project, Republic Bank reaffirmed its long-term commitment to advancing youth development, accessible quality education, and community building across Suriname. The initiative is a core part of the bank’s broader corporate social responsibility program, which carries the motto “The Power to Make A Difference.”

  • IICA NEWS: Jamaica to host 2026 Caribbean Week of Agriculture, which will have a focus on innovation and IICA as one of its organizers

    IICA NEWS: Jamaica to host 2026 Caribbean Week of Agriculture, which will have a focus on innovation and IICA as one of its organizers

    The Caribbean’s most influential agricultural gathering is set to return for its landmark 20th iteration this year, bringing together cross-sector stakeholders from across the region and beyond to reimagine the future of food production and trade. Scheduled to run from September 27 to October 2 in Kingston, Jamaica, the 2026 Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) has been themed “The New Face of Caribbean Food Systems”, with co-organization led by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), alongside the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Caribbean Institute for Agricultural Research and Development (CARDI), and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

    Details of the high-profile event were formally announced during a recent hybrid launch ceremony hosted in Kingston, which drew regional agriculture ministers, senior CARICOM administrative leaders, and IICA Director General Muhammad Ibrahim. Designed as a collaborative platform for knowledge exchange and strategic partnership building, the week-long event aims to accelerate the development of a more modern, competitive, and climate-resilient agricultural sector across all Caribbean nations. A diverse cross-section of participants, from smallholder farmers and agribusiness entrepreneurs to public policymakers, youth leaders, and rural women advocates, will gather to tackle four core priority areas: strengthening regional food security, scaling climate-smart agricultural technologies, boosting agricultural export growth, and expanding sustainable agribusiness development.

    As the premier annual event on the Caribbean agricultural calendar, CWA 2026 will feature a full schedule of policy seminars, high-level stakeholder roundtables, and on-the-ground field visits to innovative agricultural operations, drawing decision-makers from both the public and private sectors across the globe. This year’s conference comes at a critical juncture for host nation Jamaica, which is still recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Melissa— the most destructive storm to hit the country in modern history, which caused widespread damage to agricultural infrastructure and erased thousands of farming livelihoods in 2025.

    Speaking at the launch ceremony, Jamaica’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green emphasized the unifying role of agriculture across the Caribbean amid mounting systemic challenges. “For generations, Caribbean agriculture has fed our communities and sustained livelihoods across our societies. Guaranteeing food security means protecting our peoples, which is why every stakeholder has a seat at this critical regional gathering,” Green stated. He noted that the region faces overlapping pressures, from intensifying natural disaster risk and skyrocketing agricultural input costs to ongoing global economic volatility, but expressed confidence that the conference would deliver a clear path forward. “We are not defeated. Agriculture has always brought this region together, as it sits at the heart of our economic and social development. We aim to leave CWA 2026 with a transformed vision for our food systems, centered on food security, climate action, and expanded export opportunities,” Green added.

    Zulfikar Mustapha, Guyana’s Agriculture Minister and head of the CARICOM Ministerial Task Force on Agriculture and Food Security, echoed this optimism, pointing to meaningful progress the region has already made despite persistent headwinds. Mustapha credited innovative policy frameworks, cross-border strategic partnerships, and growing targeted investment for driving steady advances in Caribbean agriculture, noting that “The Week of Agriculture is more than an annual meeting. It is a promoter of practical solutions in support of food security.”

    IICA Director General Ibrahim reaffirmed his organization’s 83-year-long commitment to supporting the Caribbean region, which has centered on delivering science-backed solutions to address the most pressing challenges facing local agricultural production. He also previewed two new major initiatives set to boost regional agriculture: the upcoming launch of a regional innovation and sustainable agriculture hub in Guyana, developed in partnership with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), which will work to directly improve the productivity and resilience of Caribbean agrifood systems. He also shared details of a European Union-funded project currently being implemented across five Caribbean nations, focused on expanding global market access for small and medium-sized regional agricultural producers. “We have the political will and capacity to advance an agenda aimed at strengthening and attracting investment for Caribbean agriculture,” Ibrahim affirmed.

    First launched in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean Week of Agriculture has grown steadily over nearly three decades to evolve into the region’s flagship strategic forum for agricultural development. St. Kitts and Nevis served as host for the 2025 iteration of the annual event.

  • Venezuela Seeks Stronger Trade Ties With Belize

    Venezuela Seeks Stronger Trade Ties With Belize

    Months after a seismic leadership shift in Caracas that saw acting President Delcy Rodríguez take the reins of government, Venezuelan and Belizean senior officials have gathered for high-level talks aimed at expanding economic and diplomatic collaboration between the two Latin American nations.

    The May 2026 meeting brought together Venezuela’s Ambassador to Belize Gerardo Argote and cabinet ministers from Belize’s key portfolios including Agriculture, Education, Energy and Economic Development. During the closed-door discussions, Argote delivered an on-the-ground briefing for the Belizean delegation, updating them on the current political and economic landscape in Venezuela following the January leadership transition.

    Embassy sources confirmed that talks centered heavily on Venezuela’s recent economic gains, most of which are tied to expansion plans in its critical oil and gas sector. Argote also walked attendees through existing foreign investment agreements that Venezuela has already closed with international partners, extending an open invitation for Belizean stakeholders to explore new cross-border trade opportunities that could benefit both nations.

    In a post-meeting statement, the Venezuelan Embassy characterized the dialogue as overwhelmingly productive, noting that the session had cleared up long-held misperceptions about Venezuela’s current situation among Belizean leadership. Beyond economic gains, officials added that the talks have also laid the groundwork for deeper political cooperation between the two governments in the coming months.

    The diplomatic outreach comes against a dramatic backdrop in Venezuelan politics: in a January 3, 2026 military operation carried out by U.S. forces, former president Nicolás Maduro was captured in Caracas, ending his years-long tenure and opening a period of ongoing political transition. Since that leadership shakeup, Rodríguez has stepped into the role of acting president, steering the country through a period of unresolved political uncertainty while prioritizing a policy agenda focused on attracting international capital and strengthening partnerships with neighboring and regional nations.