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As one of the most influential advocacy bodies for working people in Belize, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) is preparing to mark a major historic milestone this July: six decades of fighting for fair labor rights, stronger workplace protections, and meaningful worker representation in national policy discussions. To celebrate this 60-year legacy of collective action, the organization has planned a series of anniversary events headlined by the world premiere of an original documentary chronicling its journey of labor advocacy, collective bargaining and tripartite social dialogue across generations.

On July 3, 2026, a damning posthumous final report from retired former Belize Ombudsman Major Gilbert Swaso has brought critical systemic failures at Belize Central Prison to public attention, centered on a 2025 shooting that left an inmate permanently disabled. The incident in question occurred in August 2025, when inmate Nyere Parchue attempted to escape the facility. Prison officers opened fire on Parchue during the attempt, resulting in a permanent spinal injury that left him paralyzed. After a two-month investigation launched immediately after the shooting, Swaso’s team has confirmed that the force used by officers far exceeded what was legally and ethically justified. Prison officials have long justified the use of lethal force against escaping inmates under Section 39 of the Belize Central Prison Act, which the institution claims codifies a right to use deadly gunfire in escape scenarios. Swaso acknowledged that this statutory allowance exists on paper, but emphasized that the law must be interpreted to require lethal force only as a last resort when no other options are available. In this specific case, the investigation found that multiple non-lethal resources and alternative intervention strategies were available to responding officers at the time of Parchue’s escape attempt. As such, the lethal gunfire used was disproportionate to the threat and could have been entirely avoided, the report concluded. Beyond the excessive use of force, the investigation also uncovered deep, systemic gaps across three critical areas of prison operations: inadequate protocols for use of force, delayed and uncoordinated emergency medical response for injured inmates, and a complete lack of effective internal oversight over guard conduct. To address these failures, the report puts forward three core recommendations: expanded, regular training for prison personnel on proportional use of force, widespread deployment of non-lethal weapons for response to incidents like escape attempts, and the implementation of stronger accountability mechanisms to penalize unjustified use of force. Despite the clear findings and actionable recommendations published nearly a year after the incident, key questions about reform and accountability remain unresolved as of the 2026 report release. The most pressing barrier to follow-through is the fact that the Office of the Ombudsman, the only body legally empowered to launch, oversee, and enforce investigations into institutional misconduct, has been completely vacant since December 2025. Under the current Ombudsman Act, only the sitting Ombudsman has the legal authority to initiate, continue, or conclude investigations into complaints. Ombudsman office staff can only receive and log complaints, with no power to advance investigations or push for response from state institutions. Swaso, who left office at the end of 2025, confirmed that even if the prison has submitted a response to his final report, sitting staff lack the authority to act on it, leaving the entire reform process in limbo. This transcript is adapted from an evening television news broadcast original to the outlet.

Two weeks following the appointment of Julius Espat as Belize’s new Minister of Home Affairs, the Belize Police Department is launching a transformative initiative to combat violent crime: a specialized interdivisional task force that also brings a major leadership shakeup to the country’s top law enforcement agency.

The new operational body, named the Violence Prevention and Enforcement Team, merges seasoned personnel from two existing Special Patrol Unit detachments, one based in Belize’s Eastern Division and the other in the popular coastal community of San Pedro. The team will be directly commanded by Assistant Superintendent of Police Rodney Jones, who in turn will report to Senior Superintendent Christopher Noble — a veteran officer whose remit has just been expanded dramatically to oversee three of the department’s most critical anti-crime units.

Before the restructuring, Noble led just one specialized unit, the Leadership Intervention Unit. His new portfolio adds two high-priority commands: the Gang Intelligence, Investigation and Interdiction Unit, and now the newly formed Violence Prevention and Enforcement Team. This consolidation places the full spectrum of violence intervention, gang-focused intelligence, and targeted enforcement operations under a single, unified leadership structure.

In an official circular distributed to all department heads, Commissioner of Police Dr. Richard Rosado outlined the core mandate of the new task force: it will center its work on identifying and monitoring high-risk offenders, combining proactive preventative patrols, sustained outreach to local communities, and concentrated enforcement actions to disrupt potential violence before it occurs.

Law enforcement leadership anticipates that grouping these three key units under Noble’s centralized command will deliver tangible improvements to Belize’s anti-crime response. By streamlining interunit coordination, breaking down traditional information silos to strengthen cross-team intelligence sharing, and creating a clearer chain of command, the restructuring is designed to make the police’s response to violent crime faster, more targeted, and more effective.

This report is adapted from a transcript of an evening television newscast, with original Kriol-language remarks transcribed using a standardized spelling system for accuracy.

As Belize prepares for the 2026 academic year, 57 talented local students have been awarded comprehensive Digi Scholarships from telecommunications provider BTL, removing financial barriers and creating long-term opportunities for young people across the country. Of the 2026 cohort, 40 recipients are entering high school, while 17 are moving on to junior college, marking a significant expansion of a program that has supported Belizean education for more than three decades.

Unlike many traditional scholarships that only cover tuition costs, the Digi award includes full coverage for textbooks, required school supplies, residential internet access, and ongoing one-on-one mentorship to help students stay enrolled and meet their academic goals. For recipients like Silverio Hernandez, a soon-to-be freshman at Muffles, the support represents far more than financial aid—it is a life-changing opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming an attorney, even amid significant personal and economic challenges.

As a single-mother household, Hernandez’s family has struggled to keep up with rising education costs amid Belize’s ongoing economic pressures. For Hernandez, the scholarship eliminates the constant stress of covering expensive school bills, allowing him to redirect all his energy to his studies. His mother, Cyndy Hernandez, described the award as a miracle, noting that the financial relief could not have come at a more critical time for their family.

Ramon Cervantes Jr., Belize’s Minister of State for Education, Science and Technology, praised the public-private partnership behind the Digi Scholarship program, emphasizing that collaborations between corporate stakeholders and government are key to advancing the national goal of universal accessible education for all Belizean children. Cervantes congratulated the 2026 recipients on their hard-earned awards and encouraged them to push forward to reach their full potential.

For BTL, the program serves a dual purpose: investing in Belize’s future leaders while building a pipeline of skilled local talent for the company’s growing workforce. This year, all 17 junior college scholarships were reserved for students pursuing studies in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, aligned with a new internship initiative that places program recipients in key roles across the company’s network operations, IT infrastructure, and cybersecurity divisions.

Digi CEO Ivan Tesucum explained that the targeted STEM focus addresses the company’s growing demand for skilled local workers, allowing the firm to nurture young talent from early in their academic careers through summer internships and long-term professional development.

The 2026 program received more than 200 applications from students across Belize, reflecting high demand for the support. The initiative launched in 1991 with just 25 awards, and BTL has steadily expanded access over the past 35 years. The company announced plans to grow the program again next year, with a goal of offering 75 scholarships to qualifying Belizean students in 2027.

The award ceremony was covered by News Five reporter Shane Williams, who filed this report from the event.

For many years, families across the twin municipalities of San Ignacio and Santa Elena in Belize have faced a growing, heart-wrenching crisis: the region’s only public cemetery had completely run out of burial space, forcing grieving residents to travel outside their home community to lay loved ones to rest. That long-standing crisis is finally nearing a resolution, thanks to a transformational gift from a generous local-born philanthropist.

Thelma Jenkins, a Belizean-American benefactor with ties to the region, has donated 18 acres of prime undeveloped land to the municipal government to establish a brand new public cemetery and memorial park. The donation not only resolves the urgent space shortage that has plagued the community for years, but also saves local taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars that had been earmarked for land purchases. According to San Ignacio/Santa Elena Mayor Earl Trapp, the municipality had been preparing to spend roughly $300,000 to acquire just 10 acres of land for the expansion project—far less space than what Jenkins has gifted entirely free of charge.

For Trapp, the announcement marks the end of an 11-year advocacy effort that began when he first took office more than a decade ago. In remarks following the announcement, the mayor shared the emotional weight of the crisis he had witnessed firsthand, noting that for years he had turned away countless local families who hoped to bury their relatives in San Ignacio’s existing cemetery, only to find no plots available. Those families were forced to arrange burials in the neighboring Santa Elena cemetery instead, a disappointing and inconvenient outcome for residents with deep community roots in San Ignacio.

“Eleven years ago, when I took office, expanding burial space became one of my top priorities, and today that work has finally come to fruition,” Trapp said in his public remarks. “It hurt my heart to tell families we couldn’t bury their loved ones here, where they belonged. Now, residents of both San Ignacio and Santa Elena have a choice: they can lay their family members to rest in either community, according to their wishes.”

Trapp called Jenkins the project’s biggest benefactor, emphasizing that the donation removes the full financial burden of land acquisition from the municipal council and local taxpayers. The new site, which will be developed as both a cemetery and public memorial park, is expected to meet the region’s burial needs for decades to come. The project’s inauguration marks a major milestone for the municipality, closing a chapter of unmet need and opening new space for the community to honor its departed residents.

*This report is adapted from a transcript of a televised evening newscast.*