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  • Police intelligence chief burnt records about interaction between Mohameds, US Federal agent

    Police intelligence chief burnt records about interaction between Mohameds, US Federal agent

    In a tense courtroom proceeding held on Thursday, the senior leader of the Guyana Police Force’s Special Branch intelligence division has confirmed that he deliberately destroyed original operational records documenting a private meeting between a U.S. Marshals Service official and two Guyanese businessmen wanted for extradition to the United States.

    Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, the GPF’s chief intelligence officer, told the court that he shredded the physical record books containing details of the October 31, 2025 interaction between U.S. Marshal Sandy Rao and Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed, then burned the remains at Special Branch headquarters back in January 2026. The meeting took place shortly after the Mohameds were taken into custody by Guyanese authorities.

    Narine pushed back against allegations from defense counsel Siand Dhurjon that the alternative documents presented to the court were not the authentic operational records from the date of arrest. When Dhurjon pressed him to confirm he intentionally eliminated the original record of the day’s events, Narine flatly rejected the claim.

    When questioned about whether any existing institutional rule or formal written order mandated the destruction of these records, Narine defended his actions by claiming he was bound to destroy any materials he deemed classified. “Anything I consider that is a secret and should be destroyed, I do that….And for it to remain that way, I destroy it,” Narine told the court. He initially cited his status as a signatory to Guyana’s Official Secrets Act as justification, but later backtracked, stating he would need formal legal guidance to confirm whether his actions were aligned with national law or internal police policy. He added, “I would have to get some legal advice on how to answer that. I’m not sure. I don’t know if I’m allowed to answer that.”

    Prosecutor McKenzie, representing the state, told the court he had no clear understanding of what Narine meant by his explanation of the document destruction. Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman also publicly pushed back on Narine’s initial justification, noting that the head of Special Branch cannot be a signatory to a national act of parliament.

    In additional testimony delivered during Thursday’s hearing, Narine confirmed that he had explicitly approved Rao’s request for a private one-on-one discussion with the Mohamed brothers. The conversation took place while Narine remained in visual range, but he intentionally positioned himself out of earshot of the exchange. Critically, Narine admitted that this private meeting between a U.S. federal agent and the detainees was never logged in the official station diary of Guyana’s Brickdam Police Station. He also told the court he has no knowledge of what was discussed during the closed conversation.

    Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed are currently wanted by U.S. authorities to stand trial in a Florida federal court on multiple felony charges including wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. The U.S. Marshals Service is the lead U.S. federal law enforcement agency tasked with fugitive apprehension and international extradition coordination.

    Earlier in the day, the defense team advancing the Mohamed brothers’ case had argued that the extradition effort amounts to political persecution. The legal team claimed that Azruddin Mohamed, the elder of the two, is a key financial backer of We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), a political movement led by his son, giving authorities a political motive to expedite the men’s transfer to the U.S.

    Lead prosecutor Glenn Hanoman has repeatedly raised formal objections to what he frames as repeated, deliberate tactics by the defense to push back the extradition hearing as far as possible, expressing deep concern over ongoing delays to the legal process.

  • Dominican Republic: A Real Caribbean Plan B for North American Investors

    Dominican Republic: A Real Caribbean Plan B for North American Investors

    For most American investors, the phrase “Caribbean citizenship” immediately brings to mind the well-known model of donation-backed passport programs offered by tiny island nations. While that model exists and operates across much of the region, it does not reflect the opportunity available in the Dominican Republic — a key distinction that makes this Caribbean nation worth deeper examination for investors seeking a cross-border residency or citizenship option.

    Unlike many of its smaller Caribbean neighbors, the Dominican Republic has never operated a formal citizenship-by-investment (CBI) program. Instead, it offers a unique residency-by-investment framework tied to one of the region’s largest, most diversified economies, with a clear path to full citizenship through naturalization for qualifying applicants. This structure sets it apart even from the similarly named nation of Dominica, a much smaller Commonwealth island nation located roughly 500 kilometers to the southeast, which runs a direct CBI program that issues passports in exchange for investment. Many people confuse the two countries, but they operate under entirely separate legal systems: the Dominican Republic’s residency program is regulated under Law No. 285-04, administered by the country’s Dirección General de Migración (DGM), with citizenship only granted after completing the formal naturalization process.

    This difference is not just a matter of legal structure — it shapes the entire value proposition for investors. Most Caribbean CBI jurisdictions, including Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda, have populations under 100,000 and national economies worth just hundreds of millions of dollars. By contrast, the Dominican Republic is an entirely different scale of country. According to International Monetary Fund data, it has a population of roughly 11.6 million, a 2026 nominal GDP of approximately $136 billion, and holds the title of the largest economy in both the Caribbean and Central America by a wide margin. In 2026, the country’s GDP growth has held steady between 3.7% and 4.5%, and it attracted roughly $5 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025 — marking its fourth consecutive year of record FDI inflows.

    This large, diversified scale means investors are not buying into a niche program built around a small resort economy. Instead, they gain access to a fully functioning banking sector, decades of consistent economic growth, and a broad range of market opportunities that simply do not exist in smaller island nations. While no emerging market can claim to be entirely risk-free, the Dominican Republic’s investment case rests on far more than the fee structure of a passport program.

    To understand the opportunity, it is important to break down how the country’s three residency pathways work. For foreign investors seeking direct permanent residency, the main route requires a minimum qualifying investment of $200,000, which can be allocated to real estate, business equity, or an approved development project. Unlike other routes, this investor category allows applicants to apply for permanent residency directly, without first holding a temporary residency permit. Applicants must obtain a valid foreign investment certification, submit standard documentation including an apostilled birth certificate, and secure an advance residence visa from a Dominican consulate.

    For applicants who do not wish to deploy $200,000 directly into domestic property or business, two additional residency options are available. The Rentista route requires applicants to prove a minimum monthly income of $2,000 from a foreign company or institution, while the Pensionado route is designed for retirees with a minimum monthly pension or retirement income of $1,500. Both routes issue renewable temporary residency permits that can lead to permanent residency over time, but only the main investor pathway grants immediate permanent status without an initial temporary stage.

    When comparing the Dominican Republic’s $200,000 minimum investment to the standard non-refundable government donation required for most Caribbean CBI programs, the difference in value becomes clear. Most regional CBI programs require a non-refundable donation of roughly $200,000 that buys a passport and nothing else. While many CBI programs also offer approved real estate options, these are limited to government-vetted projects, unlike the Dominican Republic’s open real estate market, where a $200,000 investment can purchase a fully tradable, financeable condo or villa that generates rental income just like any property in a mature market.

    One of the Dominican Republic’s most attractive features for investors seeking eventual citizenship is its relatively fast naturalization timeline, though common misconceptions about the process need clarification. Regulated under the 1948 Law No. 1683, the standard naturalization route requires two consecutive years of legal residence. However, the law includes a provision that reduces the required residence period to just six months for qualifying applicants, including those who have founded and managed an approved business or own Dominican real estate.

    Crucially, this six-month figure refers only to the required period of legal residence before an applicant can submit their naturalization application — not the total end-to-end timeline for gaining citizenship. The full administrative process, which includes document collection, application review, interviews, background checks, and final government approval, adds additional time. In practice, most investors can expect a total timeline of 10 to 16 months from starting the process to receiving citizenship, depending on the applicant’s documentation and the speed of administrative processing. Citizenship is only granted via presidential decree after all requirements are satisfied, and processing times can vary based on administrative workload. Importantly, the Dominican Constitution’s Article 20 allows for unrestricted dual citizenship, so investors do not have to renounce their existing nationality to naturalize.

    It is also important to note the trade-offs of the Dominican passport: it offers visa-free access to roughly 70 global destinations, which does not include visa-free access to the Schengen Area or the United Kingdom that many top Caribbean CBI passports provide. For most American investors, however, this trade-off is barely noticeable. U.S. citizens already hold one of the most powerful passports in the world for travel, so an additional second passport offers little practical benefit for visa-free access. Instead of a travel document pursued purely for its own sake, what the Dominican Republic offers is a tangible, livable base for a Plan B: a place to retire, own a second home, or spend extended time in the Caribbean.

    Beyond the legal structure of the residency and naturalization process, the Dominican Republic offers a built-out environment for daily life that small island CBI jurisdictions cannot match. While the country certainly has world-class beaches that draw millions of tourists each year, it also has the infrastructure and institutions to support long-term residency. The capital city of Santo Domingo is a fully functional business and financial center, with a developed banking sector, international schools, and high-quality private healthcare. Major coastal destinations including Punta Cana, Las Terrenas, and Puerto Plata have established marinas, golf courses, global restaurant chains, and large, thriving expat communities, all supported by infrastructure built for a nation of 11.6 million people, not a small resort island with a few thousand residents.

    This infrastructure has already drawn a steady stream of foreign property buyers. Foreign investors have the same legal rights to purchase real estate as Dominican citizens, and Americans and Canadians make up the largest group of foreign buyers, alongside a growing population of European purchasers. Most of these buyers intend to spend significant time in the country, rather than just parking capital in an unused property to qualify for a program. Coastal real estate markets in Punta Cana, Cap Cana, and Las Terrenas have seen consistent annual price appreciation in the mid-to-high single digits, and well-located coastal properties generate short-term rental yields of between 7% and 10% annually. Properties registered under the country’s tourism incentive law (Law 158-01) qualify for exemptions from select transfer and property taxes for a set period. For properties outside this incentive regime, owners are responsible for an annual 1% property tax called the Impuesto al Patrimonio Inmobiliario, which only applies to the portion of a property’s value above an inflation-adjusted threshold set at roughly $173,000 in 2026.

    At its core, the Dominican Republic is not competing for the same market as Caribbean CBI programs, and it has no need to. For U.S. investors seeking a durable cross-border Plan B, it offers a rare combination: access to the largest and fastest-growing economy in the Caribbean, a open and liquid real estate market, an established expat community that has thrived for decades, and a clear path to citizenship through a relatively streamlined naturalization process. Unlike many niche investment migration programs, the Dominican option doubles as a functional holiday or retirement home rather than a purely financial instrument. Few jurisdictions anywhere offer this unique combination at any price point. As with any cross-border investment or immigration matter, investors should confirm all program details directly with the DGM and independent local legal counsel before committing capital.

  • Dominican Senate approves bill declaring La Romana an ecotourism province

    Dominican Senate approves bill declaring La Romana an ecotourism province

    In a groundbreaking legislative session held outside the capital for the first time, the Dominican Senate has given final second-reading approval to a landmark bill that designates the eastern province of La Romana as the nation’s first official ecotourism province. The historic vote, which drew 21 votes in support of the proposal, capped off a day of celebrations marking the 82nd anniversary of La Romana’s formal establishment as a provincial jurisdiction. It is the first time the Dominican Senate has convened a full plenary session in the territory, underscoring the national government’s commitment to advancing the region’s sustainable development goals.

    Sponsored by sitting La Romana Senator Edward Espíritu Santo, the approved legislation now moves to the Chamber of Deputies for its required review and voting before it can be enacted into national law. If passed, the bill will launch a transformative four-year initiative to reorient La Romana’s tourism economy toward environmentally conscious and community-centered development, with the overarching goal of diversifying the province’s economic base while balancing four core pillars: inclusive economic expansion, equitable social development, protection of indigenous cultural heritage, and long-term environmental stewardship.

    Central to the proposal is the creation of the Ecotourism Development Council of La Romana, a multi-stakeholder governing body tasked with guiding, promoting, and regulating all ecotourism activities across the province. The council’s composition ensures cross-sector collaboration, bringing together official representatives from three national government ministries: Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources, and Culture. Additional voting members include the La Romana provincial governor, a representative from the local Chamber of Commerce, an elected municipal mayor, a delegate from a registered civil society environmental organization, and a full-time executive director to manage day-to-day operations.

    To fund the council’s work, the legislation allocates RD$50 million in annual contributions from the Dominican national budget over a four-year period, bringing the total public commitment to RD$200 million. The framework also allows the council to accept private donations and additional contributions from non-governmental sources, with a critical guardrail in place: all outside funding must not compromise the council’s institutional independence or its commitment to environmental and social protections. The governing body will retain full authority over how all allocated funds are distributed to support local ecotourism initiatives aligned with the legislation’s goals.

    Alongside structural and funding provisions, the bill introduces targeted tax incentives for private and public entities that develop qualifying ecotourism projects in the province. The incentives are tied to existing benefits outlined in the country’s landmark 158-01 Tourism Development Promotion Law, though the current text of the bill does not specify exactly which tax exemptions from the existing law will extend to ecotourism projects under the new designation. That detail is expected to be clarified during the Chamber of Deputies’ review process, as stakeholders work to refine the framework to attract responsible investment while protecting the province’s natural and cultural assets.

  • Banco BHD hosts fourth New York Real Estate Fair for Dominicans abroad

    Banco BHD hosts fourth New York Real Estate Fair for Dominicans abroad

    NEW YORK — Banco BHD, one of the Dominican Republic’s leading financial institutions, has officially opened the fourth iteration of its New York City Real Estate Fair, a targeted outreach initiative crafted to bridge Dominican expatriates living across the United States with curated property investment and homeownership opportunities back in their native country, alongside expert financial guidance to help participants make well-informed decisions about their purchases.

    The three-day industry event is scheduled to run from September 11 to 13, 2026, hosted at The Armory Arena in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan — a community with one of the largest concentrations of Dominican residents in the United States. More than 20 leading construction and real estate firms from the Dominican Republic will participate in the fair, showcasing a diverse range of residential and commercial development projects spanning every major region of the Caribbean nation.

    To meet the varied needs of potential buyers, the property offerings on display cover every stage of development: from newly announced projects still in the planning phase, to under-construction developments, and move-in-ready units available for immediate purchase and occupancy.

    Beyond the chance to explore a wide selection of projects directly with developers, the event delivers unique added value through one-on-one support from Banco BHD specialists. Attendees can access personalized guidance covering all key aspects of purchasing property in the Dominican Republic, including navigating local regulations, understanding tax requirements, and exploring customized financing solutions tailored to the circumstances of borrowers living abroad.

    Fidelio Arturo Despradel, Chief Executive Officer of Banco BHD, emphasized that the annual fair embodies the bank’s longstanding commitment to standing with the Dominican diaspora. “For Dominicans building lives overseas, owning property back home is often the culmination of years of hard work, a tangible reflection of their connection to their roots and a gift to their families,” Despradel noted. “This initiative helps turn that goal into a reality, directly contributing to greater well-being and long-term financial security for participants and their loved ones.”

    The New York fair is a core component of Banco BHD’s expanding global outreach strategy, which already includes similar successful events hosted in Madrid, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland. Beyond opening access to attractive real estate options and financial services, the program plays a key role in strengthening ongoing economic ties between Dominican expatriates and their home country, supporting sustained growth in the Dominican Republic’s real estate and construction sectors while honoring the deep cultural and personal connections diaspora members maintain to the nation.

  • Dominican merchants raise unfair competition concerns over Chinese-owned businesses

    Dominican merchants raise unfair competition concerns over Chinese-owned businesses

    A contentious public debate has erupted in the Dominican Republic, pitting the nation’s leading merchant association against community leaders over calls for increased regulatory scrutiny of Chinese-owned business operations, with competing claims of unfair competition and rising xenophobia taking center stage.

    The Dominican Federation of Merchants (FDC) has publicly urged the country’s top tax and customs agencies to ramp up oversight of Chinese-owned commercial establishments, arguing that widespread noncompliance with fiscal rules has created an unlevel playing field that threatens formal domestic merchants. FDC President Iván de Jesús García laid out the organization’s demands during a business conference hosted by the National Union of Businessmen (UNE), where the head of the General Directorate of Internal Revenue (DGII), Pedro Porfirio Urrutia, was in attendance.

    García noted that FDC has flagged its concerns about this issue as far back as 2018, when the organization first began documenting apparent regulatory gaps. Current FDC estimates place the total number of Chinese-owned stores operating across the country at more than 1,000. According to García, these businesses collectively generate massive annual revenue, but many fail to adhere to the same tax and regulatory obligations that formal, established Dominican merchants are required to follow.

    The FDC’s core grievances center on two key issues: widespread alleged tax evasion and mismatched import valuation. García estimates that uncollected tax revenue from noncompliant Chinese-owned businesses could top 80 billion Dominican pesos annually, a figure he acknowledges is drawn from broader industry projections. Beyond tax evasion, García says many Chinese importers deliberately declare imported goods at far lower values than Dominican merchants report for comparable products, artificially cutting their import costs and giving them an unfair price advantage in local markets.

    The organization has also flagged gaps in electronic invoicing compliance. García pointed out that all formal domestic merchants have already invested heavily in the digital invoicing systems mandated by Dominican tax authorities, but many Chinese-owned businesses continue to operate without implementing these required fiscal control tools.

    Adding up total commercial activity across all Chinese-owned stores, García estimates the group generates more than 1 billion Dominican pesos in daily sales, leading him to question whether their official tax contributions align with the scale of their actual business activity.

    The FDC president has called on both the DGII and the General Directorate of Customs (DGA) to expand routine inspections and conduct systematic verifications to ensure all businesses meet their tax and customs obligations, regardless of ownership.

    For FDC, the cost of unaddressed unfair competition has already been devastating for traditional Dominican commercial districts. García cited the iconic Duarte Avenue commercial area as a stark example: where the organization once counted 91 member businesses in the neighborhood, only seven remain today. García attributes the collapse of 84 local merchant operations at least in part to unfair competition from unregulated Chinese-owned stores.

    Similar trends have played out across other major urban centers, García said. In the country’s second-largest city Santiago, long-standing family businesses owned by Dominican, Arab and Turkish entrepreneurs have been pushed out of prime commercial real estate, including the city’s historic downtown. In the town of Moca, one local shopkeeper association shrank from 33 member businesses to just five in the span of a few years. If the wave of closures continues, García warned, the country could see massive losses of formal private-sector employment, making urgent government intervention critical to stabilize local commerce.

    But the FDC’s calls for broad targeted oversight have sparked significant pushback from leaders of the Dominican Chinese community, who warn that blanket criticism of Chinese-owned businesses risks fueling dangerous xenophobic sentiment. Rosa Ng Báez, president of the Flor para Todos Foundation, has denounced what she describes as an “unfortunate campaign” of generalized criticism targeting the entire Chinese business community.

    In an interview with the morning news program Despierta con CDN, Ng Báez expressed deep concern that criticism aimed at a small subset of noncompliant businesses is being expanded to paint all Chinese-owned operations as unethical, creating harmful stigma that could incite discrimination. She pushed back against media framing and headlines that frame the debate as a conflict between Dominican merchants and Chinese-owned businesses broadly, rather than a targeted discussion of individual regulatory noncompliance.

    “It makes me very sad and worried,” Ng Báez said, stressing that it is critical to draw a clear line between legitimate regulatory concerns about specific bad actors and unfair generalizations that tar an entire immigrant and ethnic community.

    FDC leaders have pushed back against claims of anti-Chinese bias, emphasizing that their demands center on regulatory enforcement, not nationality. The organization insists it only wants the same tax, customs and commercial rules applied evenly to all businesses operating in the Dominican Republic, regardless of who owns them. García reiterated that the group only wants regulators to inspect all establishments uniformly to ensure every business operates under the same legal and fiscal rules.

    Despite FDC’s clarifications, Ng Báez has maintained that public framing of the issue requires extreme caution. She argues that scrutiny of specific noncompliant businesses must not be allowed to turn into collective accusations that target the entire Chinese-Dominican community.

    At its core, the ongoing debate revolves around two competing priorities: the longstanding demand from Dominican formal merchants for equal enforcement of existing fiscal and commercial regulations, and the equally urgent need to prevent targeted criticism of a small number of businesses from bleeding into widespread discrimination and xenophobia against the Dominican Chinese community. As the discussion moves forward, the Dominican government’s tax and customs agencies now face pressure to respond to FDC’s calls for increased oversight while balancing concerns about community tensions.

  • Mental health safe houses planned four years after Act

    Mental health safe houses planned four years after Act

    Nearly four years after Bahamian lawmakers passed a sweeping bill to modernize the nation’s outdated approach to mental health care, the national government has only just announced plans to acquire two dedicated safe houses for unhoused people living with severe mental illness — and still has not released a clear timeline for when the facilities will open to the public.

    Speaking at the 2026 World Suicide Prevention Day Symposium and Orange Alert Day on Monday, Minister of State for Health and Wellness Owen Wells confirmed that provisions of the 2022 Mental Health Act mandating the development of these safe housing facilities have yet to be enacted into active policy. The 2022 legislation was introduced to replace a decades-old framework dating back to 1969, billed as a transformative overhaul that would expand patient protections, increase access to evidence-based treatment, and set national quality standards for all mental health services across the country.

    Wells told attendees that while key portions of the new law are already in effect, the safe house mandate remains unimplemented. “There are portions that are currently in force now, and portions that we have to bring into force. Specifically, from my address today, what we have to bring into force is the one on safe houses,” he explained. The minister added that his team is in the early planning phase, and will submit a formal proposal to the national Cabinet “very shortly” to secure approval for purchasing two separate facilities, one for male residents and one for female residents.

    “We are currently in the process now. Very shortly, my ministry will be bringing a paper to the cabinet so we can purchase these safe houses where people who suffer from these mental difficulties they will have a safe space, as I would have mentioned in my speech,” Wells said. Despite this commitment, the minister declined to provide concrete dates for when the Cabinet proposal will be submitted, when the property purchases will be completed, or when the facilities will begin accepting residents. The safe houses are specifically intended to house unhoused people living with severe mental health conditions, a visible population across The Bahamas that has drawn consistent public concern.

    “You would see around the country, people who we all deem to have some mental challenges just on the street,” Wells said. “So what we are looking to do is get these safe spaces for them and move them in there, and they’ll be secure, the public will feel secure, so that’s something that we’re looking to do very shortly.”

    Wells’ announcement comes amid years of growing scrutiny over the government’s slow pace of implementing the landmark 2022 legislation. As far back as September 2024, then Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Michael Darville admitted the bill had not been fully rolled out, despite the government having previously positioned the reform as a central pillar of its national mental health strategy.

    Two months after Darville’s admission, opposition Senator Michaela Barnett-Ellis of the Free National Movement publicly slammed the delay, arguing that timely full implementation of the law could have prevented two high-profile violent crimes linked to unaddressed mental illness. She accused the governing administration of “sitting on” the legislation for more than a year, letting a critical reform languish without action.

    When the Mental Health Act was debated in Parliament in 2022, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis framed the bill as a long-overdue step to expand community-centered mental health resources and ensure all people living with mental illness could access appropriate, local care. At the time, Darville, who led the health ministry then, tied the reform to rising rates of unhoused people living with untreated mental health conditions, noting the bill would shift The Bahamas away from outdated institutional care models toward community-based treatment and stronger legal protections for patients. Earlier this week, Wells characterized the 2022 law as one of the most comprehensive mental health frameworks in the Caribbean region, even as he acknowledged its key provisions remain unimplemented.

    The push for safe housing also comes amid a decades-long shortage of specialized supported accommodation for unhoused people, including those with mental illness. Earlier this year, The Tribune reported that Great Commission Ministries, a leading faith-based charity serving the unhoused community, has spent decades struggling to secure government land for a dedicated homeless shelter. Founder Bishop Walter Hanchell has repeatedly noted that a large share of the unhoused population on Bahamian streets lives with unaddressed severe mental health challenges. The organization’s planned 100-bed Hope City shelter has been stalled for years amid a public dispute over access to government-owned Crown land.

  • Bahama Rock workers call on govt to help save jobs

    Bahama Rock workers call on govt to help save jobs

    A widespread work stoppage shut down operations at Bahama Rock, a major Grand Bahama aggregates production facility owned by American construction materials giant Martin Marietta, on Wednesday, as more than 80 employees walked off the job to push the Bahamian government to greenlight a proposed expansion project that workers say is essential to keeping the plant open and protecting their livelihoods.

    The industrial action comes as the company exhausts its current dredging license area, and is set to implement a mandatory 60-day temporary shutdown that will furlough all 84 affected workers if approval is not granted in time. Bahama Rock’s proposal would allow the firm to acquire and begin mining operations at a 290-acre site that previously housed the shuttered Bahamas Cement plant, but the plan has drawn pushback from nearby Eight Mile Rock residents, who have raised longstanding concerns about potential negative impacts from blasting, particulate dust pollution and increased noise from expanded operations. At a recent public town meeting held by the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection to review the project’s environmental impact assessment, residents shared accounts of existing blasting activity causing structural cracks in local homes, amplifying their calls to block the expansion.

    Hundreds of workers and industry stakeholders gathered outside the plant’s main entrance yesterday, holding hand-picked placards that outlined Bahama Rock’s far-reaching contributions to iconic Bahamian infrastructure projects, including the multi-billion-dollar Baha Mar resort development, Freeport Harbour, and the new Celebration Key cruise terminal. For long-tenured employees like Kevin Evans, who has spent 19 years on the plant’s workforce, the stoppage is not a protest against the company, but a urgent plea for government and corporate leadership to strike a deal that saves their positions. “We are fighting for our jobs,” Evans emphasized, adding that Bahama Rock has been a core economic anchor for Grand Bahama and the entire nation for decades.

    The work stoppage has already rippled across Grand Bahama’s construction sector, leaving dozens of hauling trucks idling outside the facility gates unable to collect critical raw aggregate for ongoing projects. Independent trucker JC, who requested only his first initial be used, told reporters he had been waiting since 7:45 a.m. to pick up a load of sand for a concrete pouring crew, and said the shutdown is already cutting into his daily income. “I get paid by delivery,” he explained. “I run a 20-ton truck, make 10 runs a day, and today I’m on track to lose around $1,100. I just want the gates open and everyone back to work.” Other independent haulers who rely exclusively on Bahama Rock for aggregate supplies reported identical disruptions, putting multiple construction projects across the island on hold.

    For the plant’s employees, the immediate crisis is the looming 60-day furlough that will go into effect once current dredging operations wrap up. Alvin Wilson, a 22-year veteran of the facility’s electrical department and a team lead, said workers have already received formal notification of the temporary layoffs. “We’re just out here standing together, showing our support for each other, because none of us know what our future holds or where we’re heading,” Wilson said. He added that the uncertainty around the plant’s long-term future has left workers anxious, with many unsure how they will support their families even through a two-month shutdown. “It will affect everyone here,” he said. “We all count on this paycheck to pay our bills and take care of our loved ones – no one can afford to lose two months of income.”

    Workers and company advocates stress that Bahama Rock’s importance stretches far beyond its own employee payroll, as it is the largest aggregate supplier in the entire Bahamas, providing raw materials for nearly every major construction project across the archipelago. “The foundation of this country starts with us,” said Arnetta Rollins, a 12-year employee of the facility. “We supply the materials for roads, affordable homes, hospitals, local businesses, and block manufacturing. Without that material, how can any of those critical projects move forward?”

    While workers acknowledge the validity of nearby residents’ concerns, they argue that the government can strike a balanced solution that addresses environmental and quality-of-life issues while protecting the economic benefits the plant provides. Harold Williams, a five-year production employee who was born and raised in Grand Bahama, said workers do not dismiss the impact of operations on local communities. “Besides being an employee, I’m a Grand Bahamian,” Williams said. “By no means would I ever want any community to be harmed by what we do here.” Even so, he emphasized that Bahama Rock is a core driver of national economic growth, supplying aggregate for the Freeport Container Port, Grand Bahama Shipyard, and Celebration Key, among other major economic hubs. “We provide the foundation that the entire country builds on,” he said. “We just want government ministers and company leadership to sit down together, find common ground, and reach an agreement that moves everyone forward.”

    For younger workers like Lavado Cooper Jr., who has worked at the plant for a year while pursuing a law degree, the uncertainty is uniquely destabilizing. Cooper joined the company directly after graduating high school, and relies on his wages to cover his tuition and living expenses. He also warned that the loss of the nation’s largest aggregate supplier would have widespread consequences for all Bahamians, driving up construction material costs and creating supply shortages across the country. “When you close the biggest aggregate company in the Bahamas, where are we going to get the material we need to build?” he asked, noting that reduced supply would almost certainly push prices higher, raising costs for everything from new homes to public infrastructure. Cooper added that Bahama Rock contributes roughly $5 million annually to the local economy through power company payments alone, and supports a range of community initiatives, including donating laptops to public school students and funding upgrades to local public parks. “It’s a trickle-down effect,” he said. “At the end of the day, the people who get hurt most are ordinary Grand Bahamians.”

    Workers are calling on the public to support their push for a balanced decision, asking the government to weigh residents’ quality-of-life concerns against the hundreds of jobs and billions in economic activity the plant supports. “We want to get our story out to the public,” Rollins said. “We need their support as we fight for our future.”

    Bahama Rock’s General Manager TJ Mackey declined to provide comment on the work stoppage or the expansion proposal, but workers confirmed that company management supports their industrial action. The 60-day temporary shutdown is expected to go into effect as the government continues its review of the expansion proposal and a decision on whether to allow the company to extend operations beyond its current dredging area.

  • Rokers Point school renamed in honour of veteran educator Pembroke Ferguson

    Rokers Point school renamed in honour of veteran educator Pembroke Ferguson

    A landmark ceremony held in Exuma, The Bahamas, on Wednesday marked the official renaming of Rokers Point Primary School to Pembroke E. Ferguson Primary School, a tribute to the late beloved educator whose decades of devotion shaped generations of learners and strengthened local communities across the island nation.

    Bahamian Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis opened the official ceremony by framing the occasion as a milestone moment for Exuma, celebrating the enduring legacy of Ferguson, who devoted his entire professional life and personal energy to advancing education and public service.

    Born in the small Exuma community of Farmers Hill in 1908, Ferguson built a 47-year career in education that spanned multiple Bahamian islands. He began his career as a head teacher in Crooked Island before advancing to principal roles first in San Salvador, and later returning to his home island of Exuma to lead the local education community.

    His impact extended far beyond the classroom walls. Beyond his work in education, Ferguson served the public as a justice of the peace, worked as an ordained Christian minister, and operated a small farm where he grew fresh produce to distribute to low-income and food-insecure families across the region.

    Prime Minister Davis emphasized that Ferguson’s commitment to community uplift was visible wherever he worked. He noted that Ferguson regularly went above his formal job requirements, staying after school hours to provide extra support to struggling students and offering mentorship to early-career teachers new to the profession.

    “In Mr Ferguson, we see a generation of Bahamian educators who understood that teaching was never confined to four walls. To teach was to serve. To educate was to build a community, and that is precisely why this renaming matters to us,” Davis said during his address.

    Bahamas Education Minister Chester Cooper echoed Davis’ remarks, noting that the formal recognition of Ferguson through the school renaming was a long-overdue honor for one of the nation’s most iconic educational leaders.

    “As the children walk through the doors, some will ask who he was and we must tell them. Tell them that he came from right here. Tell them that he did not begin with any advantage. Tell them he worked, he learned, he taught and served,” Cooper said, highlighting Ferguson’s story as an inspiration for current and future students at the school.

    Ferguson’s son, Bishop Franklyn Ferguson, spoke on behalf of the family at the ceremony, expressing gratitude for the honor and echoing Cooper’s sentiment that the recognition was a long time coming. “We are rejoicing today because as many would have said that this was long overdue,” he added.

  • Advocate calls for chargesafter dog thrown to ground

    Advocate calls for chargesafter dog thrown to ground

    A disturbing viral video has sparked widespread outrage among animal welfare advocates in The Bahamas, who are calling for felony animal cruelty charges against a woman caught on camera assaulting a dog following a heated confrontation with a local animal advocacy group. The incident, which took place on August 7, has thrown a spotlight on gaps in animal welfare enforcement and the link between animal abuse and broader patterns of violence in the country.

    The sequence of events began three days earlier, on August 5, when members of the Bahamas Alliance for Animal Rights and Kindness (BAARK) were conducting a routine spay and neuter outreach across local communities. During the outreach, a local man flagged down the BAARK mobile clinic and asked the team to collect two unsterilized dogs from his property on St Charles Vincent Street. After granting the team permission to enter his land and collect the animals, BAARK workers spotted an additional stray dog without a collar, wandering loose under a parked car on a public roadway. Since the animal had no identifying tags and was not on private property, the team added it to their transport and brought all three canines to the clinic for sterilization procedures.

    Once all the dogs recovered from their surgery, the BAARK team returned the animals to their neighborhood on August 7 to be released back to their original environment. It was during this return process that the conflict erupted, according to BAARK’s official account of the incident. After the stray dog stepped onto a private porch, a local woman approached the animal, grabbed it forcefully, and hurled it down to the hard ground. Video footage of the confrontation captures the woman screaming repeatedly at BAARK members who were recording the interaction, while the team members confronted her about her obligation to spay her companion animals and questioned her ability to care for the dog.

    Kim Aranha, an advocate with the Bahamas Humane Society, told reporters that the footage left her physically ill, and that there is no justification for failing to file formal animal cruelty charges against the woman. “It’s on tape. There’s no reason why she shouldn’t be charged,” Aranha stated in an interview. She added that the unprovoked attack on a defenseless animal raises serious questions about potential harm to other vulnerable people in the woman’s home, noting that animal cruelty is widely documented as an early warning sign of other forms of violent behavior toward people. “If she does that with a dog, then my next question is, ‘Oh please God, tell me she doesn’t have children or an elderly person in the house,’” Aranha said, calling for the country’s Department of Social Services to launch a parallel investigation into the home environment if at-risk individuals live there.

    BAARK has labeled the incident “horrific and deeply disturbing,” arguing that the attack serves as a painful reminder of why consistent enforcement of existing animal welfare laws is so critical across the archipelago. As of press time, the organization confirmed it has not received any response or update from Bahamian Ministry of Agriculture officials, which oversees animal welfare regulation in the country, regarding the documented incident.

    Aranha noted that the dog appeared unharmed but visibly shaken after the assault, and remarkably returned to the woman moments later wagging its tail — a moment she said highlighted the innate loyalty and forgiveness of canines even in the face of abuse. She added that the incident reflects wider, systemic gaps in animal welfare protection in The Bahamas, saying, “because I know that she’s not the only person who behaves like that, and I know that there are hundreds of dogs out there being treated like that.” Aranha was careful to emphasize, however, that the violent behavior captured on video does not represent the majority of Bahamian animal owners, many of whom provide loving, responsible care for their companion animals. She noted that cases of good animal stewardship rarely receive the same viral attention as graphic footage of abuse.

    BAARK’s ongoing spay and neuter program is designed to address the root of the country’s stray animal crisis by reducing the number of unwanted litters born on public streets and cutting down on the widespread suffering of homeless canines. The organization is also currently working alongside the Bahamian national government to update existing animal protection legislation and improve the enforcement of animal welfare standards across the country.

  • $300,000 patrol boat to target illegal charters

    $300,000 patrol boat to target illegal charters

    The Bahamian government has strengthened its maritime law enforcement capabilities with the introduction of a nearly $300,000 purpose-built patrol vessel, a key upgrade aimed at curbing widespread illegal activity in the country’s $544 million annual maritime industry. The 36-foot Fluid Patrol Cabin 36 was officially commissioned in a ceremony hosted at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Harbour Patrol Unit on Wednesday, and will be operated by the inter-agency Maritime Revenue Unit (MRU), a multi-department task force established to regulate maritime activity, secure national borders, and protect critical government revenue streams.

    Finance Minister Michael Halkitis emphasized that the new vessel addresses longstanding gaps in the country’s maritime enforcement regime. For years, the Bahamas has struggled with unregulated activity including unlicensed foreign charter boat operations, unregistered vessels, and widespread non-payment of dock and vessel registration fees. Beyond revenue losses, MRU operations have already uncovered far more serious violations, ranging from improperly imported watercraft and contraband tobacco to the illegal cross-border movement of heavy machinery, illegal firearms, and narcotics.

    MRU Director Captain Bertram Bowleg noted that previous enforcement sweeps have uncovered a range of violations beyond maritime boundaries, including the discovery of illegal drugs and weapons in private residential properties during coordinated land-based support operations. He framed the new patrol boat as a transformative investment for the task force, which was first launched informally in May 2023 and brings together eight government agencies including the RBDF, Royal Bahamas Police Force, Customs Department, Immigration Department, Port Department, Department of Inland Revenue, Department of Marine Resources, and National Insurance Board under the oversight of the Ministry of Finance.

    Early results from the unit’s work have already delivered significant revenue gains for the government. The MRU’s first major enforcement operation, conducted in Bimini during U.S. Independence Day celebrations in 2023, collected more than $10 million in unpaid fees and penalties over just a few days. Captain Bowleg confirmed that subsequent targeted operations have generated millions more in recovered revenue that would have otherwise been lost to non-compliance.

    Formal legislative backing for the MRU was laid before parliament during the 2025/2026 national budget debate, after the unit had already begun operations under the Ministry of Finance. Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis explained at the time that the legislation was designed to formalize the unit’s authority, create consistent regulatory standards for the maritime sector, and ensure that all collected maritime revenue is properly allocated to local governments across the country’s Family Islands.

    Under the new legislation, the MRU now has formal authority to coordinate inter-agency responses during maritime emergencies, conduct specialized law enforcement training for personnel, issue and collect fines and penalties for regulatory violations, and take on additional operational responsibilities including public mooring management and abandoned watercraft base removal. The new patrol vessel, built for high-speed coastal enforcement, is designed to carry a crew of up to 20 personnel with a maximum operational load of 4,647 pounds. Powered by twin 300-horsepower Mercury Marine engines and equipped with a 130-gallon fuel tank, it is capable of extended patrols across the Bahamas’ extensive coastal waters.

    Senior leadership from all participating MRU agencies, including the RBDF, Customs, Port Department, and Immigration Department, attended Wednesday’s commissioning ceremony to mark the vessel’s entry into service. Halkitis stressed that the investment delivers dual benefits for the country, advancing both national border security and long-term fiscal sustainability. “This vessel represents a critical investment in the protection of our maritime borders, and the strengthening of our national revenue systems,” he said, adding that it underscores the government’s unwavering commitment to protecting the Bahamas’ natural and economic maritime resources while ensuring all commercial activity operates in full compliance with national law.