Island Outrage: Caye Caulker Protests Acquittal in Leslie Verde Murder

A protest has just started on Caye Caulker a short while ago. Family, friends, and residents will take to the streets to protest a controversial court ruling that acquitted a man accused of a brutal island murder.
On Monday, Juan Carlos Novelo walked free after being acquitted of the November 2023 murder of his common-law wife, Leslie Verde, a mother of three who was strangled to death. That decision triggered an immediate outpouring from Verde's family, who say the justice system has failed them. To make matters worse, the judge didn't even wait for them to arrive in the courtroom before she presented her "not guilty" verdict.
At 6:30 PM, that frustration turns into direct action as island residents will gather to vent their anger and frustration at the court and the presiding judge, Justice Candace Nanton.

Jaleeza Roberts is on Caye Caulker and has this report:

We'll have a full report on this in tomorrow's news.

Musa Responds to Criticism Over BDF Food Supply Political Patronage

And from frustration with the justice system to the frustration many in the public feel with the Briceno administration right now. As we have shown almost nightly, a cluster of politically connected companies has been supplying rations to the BDF since 2020 and profiting handsomely from what our analysis shows are overpriced products.

Today the press asked Minister of Immigration Kareem Musa what he feels about the recent negative exposure and the patronage patterns it exposes:

Jomarie Lanza, Reporter
"Do you frown on the revealed familial and political ties between some of your Cabinet colleagues and these suppliers?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration & Labour
"Um, I think you're referring to the case of the Miras."

Jomarie Lanza
"There's the case of the Miras, there's a Cabinet Secretary now, the Prime Minister's brother. We could go on and on."

Kareem Musa
"Yeah. So again, that is something to be determined by the Auditor General's findings. But I guess we can speak on the Mira issue. But those are companies that were incorporated long before the Miras, or sorry, the Minister actually became the Minister of Home Affairs, and they were supplying to the government, albeit not at that very large scale. So those are established companies."

Jomarie Lanza
"MP Farms was registered under the PUP administration?"

Kareem Musa
"I'm not sure, but from what I understand, I think it had a name, Mira Produce, I don't know what it is good for, but the same individuals changed the name of the company to MP Farms, but it was something before, I don't know though."

Jomarie Lanza
"But do you support that type of business?"

Kareem Musa
"I support transparency, Paul, and where we go from here is extremely important and so putting out the bids. So if the Miras are offering the same vegetables at a lower cost than say Save U or Brodies or whichever other vegetable supplier, then we should go to the Miras. But at the end of the day it should be published for transparency purposes."

Jomarie Lanza
"When you were at Home Affairs, was the sub-10K payment practice being used and under what circumstances?"

Kareem Musa
"I think it happens in every single ministry, Jomarie, but I certainly don't think it was on any large scale. It would be for individual cases, so again that is something you'd have to ask the Minister of Home Affairs."

For clarity, MP Farms and Mira's Fruits and Veggies were competitive in some foodstuffs but not as competitive in others. Most notably, the volume of business the Government did with MP Farms after Oscar Mira became Minister of Defence increased by 311% year-to-year.

Did BDF’s Questionable Military Boot Procurement Spill Over To Home Affairs?

But the spinoff of the corrupt supply lines feeding into the BDF could be far-reaching. But could they have spilled over into the Ministry of Home Affairs when Musa was Minister?
We're talking about the supply of military boots. We've already shown you how the BDF got over a thousand of them for well over a million dollars with no contract signed, just dozens of sub-ten-thousand-dollar payments.

We asked former Home Affairs Minister Musa about it todayÃ¢â‚¬"since his Ministry was supplied by the same company, Tropicana:

Jomarie Lanza, Reporter
"As the former Minister of Police Department, what can you say about the supply of boots and uniforms? Since we are informed, the Ministry of Home Affairs sometimes uses the same suppliers as the BDF."

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration & Labour
"Yeah, while I was the Minister of Home Affairs, we had, I think, 2 or 3 different suppliers. If you recall, we were also the Ministry of New Growth Industries and on one occasion, the Ministry even made a policy decision that we are going to purchase boots locally made. That company was Umbra Land and they did supply us with boots locally. They were a little cheaper than the imported boots, but at the end of the day, we had to make a decision based on the officer's satisfaction with those boots. And so after we did that first order, we went back to the supplier. Like I said, there were 2 or 3 different suppliers."

Jomarie Lanza
"So was one of those suppliers Tropicana by chance?"

Kareem Musa
"I believe so, yes, and I think the boots, if I recall again, I'm not at the Ministry anymore, but I'm sure you can verify the brand I think was Garmont because that was the one that the police officers preferred."

Jomarie Lanza
"What was the nature of the arrangement? Did they go through a normal procurement process, offered the winning bid, and then received a supply contract from the Ministry?"

Kareem Musa
"So I don't get involved in procurement whatsoever. And so that would be left to the Ministry, the CEO and the procurement unit at the Ministry. So I don't know what, I'm sure at some point they had to have had a bid and different estimates provided from different companies, but I can't tell you who all applied."

Jomarie Lanza
"Have you ever urged suppliers to your ministries who can't get paid to make out their invoices for less than $10,000, so that it could be sped along?"

Kareem Musa
"Absolutely not, no."

From what we have heard anecdotally, the police were not too happy with the Garmont boots. But we'll be looking into it.

Can Planned Procurement Unit Save Briceno Admin Credibility Following Scandal?

And after 6 weeks of very bad press and successive exposures of self-dealing and family enrichmentÃ¢â‚¬"can the PUP still do right by the voters?

The upcoming municipal election could be a litmus test for the ruling party and Musa says he believes they have time to get it right with that much-touted procurement unit:

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration & Labour
"What I would say to that, Paul, is that we are one year into our second term in office. We are four years out from the next general elections. The People's United Party government is in a good position to make it right by the Belizean people. We have an opportunity to fix procurement, which has bedeviled us for decades, not just this PUP administration, past UDP and PUP administrations. We have an opportunity now to make it right for the current procurement system and moving forward. And what does that entail? As the Prime Minister said, we're going to create an actual procurement unit. But in the meantime, we also have to put in place alerts for these under $10,000 payments that are coming out, because there is no way that the Ministry of Finance should not be alerted when a particular ministry is making so many payments in one particular day. And so there has to be alerts put in place. And as the Prime Minister said, anything over $50,000, we have to publish every single contract and every bid that was put in for that contract. And that may not be something that the people who are bidding are happy about, but at the end of the day, transparency and satisfying the Belizean public that they are getting the best value for money is what is important. So I think moving forward, we have an opportunity to fix that. And I personally think, while it may seem like a strange, estranged relationship, I think people have more trust and confidence in the PUP administration to get things right and so I think I feel confident that that's what we're going to do."

BGLL Clarifies No Involvement in Erroneous Money Transfer

Yesterday we told you about Kamera Belisle, the woman who was sentenced to 2 years on probation after more than $47,000 was accidentally deposited into her account. By the time the authorities discovered the mistake, she had already withdrawn about $28,000. Court reports suggested that the money was intended for a subagent of the Belize Government Lotteries Limited.
However, today the BGLL is stressing that it had no involvement in the incident. The erroneous transfer of funds was from Nando's Wholesale to Belisle. Nando's is a master sales distributor and master agent for the national Boledo and government lottery to Belisle. The funds were originally meant for a subagent of Nando's and were neither from nor intended for the BGLL.

And how did the mix-up occur? The accountant at Nando's accidentally sent the money to Belisle's Belize Bank account instead of an account belonging to a subagent for that company.

City Council Prepares to Meet with Tony’s BBQ Over Relocation

For the past two nights we've been following the saga of Tony's Bar-b-Que "which is being moved from the BelCan Bridge. The City Council is a big part of the move to a new location, and today the Deputy Mayor told us that the Council is scheduled to meet with the owners next week to finalize everything:

Eluide Miller, Deputy Mayor of Belize City
"I know Mayor Wagner has made a commitment to Mr. Tony and Ms. Beck that they will meet next week. I know they are exploring a number of locations, and I think one specific one being on the Freetown Reserve. But I can't speak to the specifics of that arrangement as yet, as we have an impending meeting with them and our technical team, like our city planner, our city engineer, and so that we could have a holistic look at the proposal. And then I'm certain that once an official decision is made in terms of their new location, that that would be made to the public."

GI3 Patrol Vehicle Targeted in High-Powered Rifle Attack

7News has received multiple credible reports that a GI3 patrol vehicle came under fire from a high-powered rifle last night. It reportedly happened during a police pursuit of a private car in the Police Street area behind the Foam Factory at around 1:50 a.m.

No one was injured, but police officers we spoke with expressed concern because the shot was fired directly at the patrol from a .223 rifle.

Police Search for Minister’s Son Following Station Attack and Escape

Sources within the Police Department say that police are seeking to arrest Stoney Anson Fergusonâ€”the son of Minister Rodwell Fergusonâ€”based on allegations made against him, including assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, and damaging police property. According to reports, the instruction came from Minister Julius Espat, who stressed that no one is above the law.
On Saturday afternoon, Placencia police attempted to pull over a white cargo truck for a minor traffic violation near Mariposa Resort, but the driver, Stoney Fergusonâ€”the son of Minister Rodwell Fergusonâ€”allegedly hurled profanities at officers and sped away before they could write him up for a ticket. After a brief pursuit, officers caught up with Ferguson, who allegedly refused to comply, insulted the officers, and pushed an officer during a brief struggle before being taken into custody. The situation escalated dramatically at the police station when Ferguson, shortly after being released from handcuffs, allegedly grabbed a large stone and threw it at the arresting officer, narrowly missing him and smashing both the front and rear windshields of a police mobile. Officers tackled Ferguson as he attempted to throw a second rock. But, after all that, he was released reportedly after calls were made on his behalf.

Tonight, police are looking for him to make an arrest.

Former Police Minister Musa Offers Guidance to Espat in New Police Minister Role

It's been exactly a month since we last spoke to Julius Espat, when he first obtained the title as the new Minister of Home Affairs. And while he does not have a law enforcement background, he was confident that he would be able to fit right into the role thanks to his planning and managerial skills as an architect. Though his new portfolio is being assigned on an interim basis, when we spoke to the former Minister of Home Affairs today, we asked him whether or not he has offered any advice or guidance to Espat as he navigates the role of Police Minister.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration & Labour
"I think the interim basis means that the Honorable Julius Espat will hold over for a period of three months. I think we are a month and a half or two months into that three-month period. And I think the Prime Minister will assess after the Auditor General's report what direction we're going to take at the Ministry of Home Affairs. Yes. On the first day that Honorable Julius took up the role, I did have a conversation with him, and I let him know that any type of support he needs, I was in that position for five years. It's not an easy role to take on. And so in any way that I can assist him or advise him, I have made myself available."

Controversial Anti-Gang Ad Campaign - What Would Kareem Do?

And while each minister has his own style of leading, many are taken aback by a new commercial produced by the Ministry of Home Affairs, urging at-risk youths not to join gangs. We asked Musa if he had seen the commercial and he shared with us his thoughts:

Jomarie Lanza, Reporter
"When he took on Home Affairs, they launched an aggressive public awareness campaign encouraging young people not to join gangs. In doing so, they used a lot of graphic and sensational visuals and of hyper-violent events, and they offered those as a deterrent to young people and children living in gang-infested neighborhoods. What was your reaction to those?"

Kareem Musa
"That's a tough question, Jomarie. I would not have done it, and I know that different ministers and CEOs have a different style and a different strategy. And so I don't want to be extremely critical of it, because in some instances, some people can say that they appreciate the messaging that at the end of the day, you either end up dead or you end up in jail and so you should not choose a life of crime. But personally, I didn't like the graphic or the images of it, and I personally would not have gone with that."

Jomarie Lanza
"So you don't think it was an effective form of deterrence for the target audience?"

Kareem Musa
"For me, no, but then again, you have to ask the public whether that was effective, but for me, no."

Immigraiton Minister Offers Update on Wanted Immigration Cashier Jason Flowers

We also asked Musa for an update on the Jason Flowers case. He's the immigration cashier currently wanted by police for questioning in connection to a major theft investigation that occurred at the Department of Immigration. Musa shared that they learned Flowers isn't even in the country.

Jomarie Lanza, Reporter
"The employee of the Immigration Department who remains wanted, can you update us on the investigation?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration & Labour
"So the investigation has completed, at least the initial phase of it from an internal standpoint, meaning the Ministry of Immigration, our finance officer has given a statement to police, and that is what prompted police to issue the warning poster for Mr. Flowers. We have information that he is currently in the United States of America. He has been dismissed from his work as an immigration cashier. So he's no longer in the employment of the Government of Belize. We have enough information to charge him based on some of the invoices, some of the canceled, reversed invoices, but in terms of the entire scope of the scheme that he was operating, we have requested the Auditor General's Ministry to come in and do a proper audit. We want to get it right out of the gate. And so that will give you the full scope of it. I can confirm also that the Auditor General's Department is already at the Ministry carrying out the investigation, so at the conclusion of that, we will have every single invoice that was reversed by him and/or others taking part in this scheme, and then we'll be able to levy all the charges at that point."

Labor Minister Promises Intervention in BEL Pensioner Dispute

And in his capacity as Minister of Labor, we also asked Musa about BEL's case involving its former retired employees. They have been waiting well over 2 months for a response, and Musa told us he will intervene if need be to speed up the process.

Jomarie Lanza, Reporter
"BEL, they said over two months ago that they were going to file papers at court for seeking clarification and that had not happened. Is that too long to have our elderly former workers waiting?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration & Labour
"A hundred percent. That is wrong, because they had told me in a meeting that it would only take a month. And that was like you said about two months ago, that they were going to file the papers for a declaration, in the High Court of Belize within that month, and so that has gone way over the month. And it should not be the case that we're waiting so long for a judicial determination in a matter as you can see, where there are a lot of elderly, a lot of, sick, ex or former workers of BEL, and so I believe that that matter, I will press certainly from my end, from the Ministry's end, for BEL to take the action so we can have a final determination of that."

Attorney Challenges Proposed Broadcasting Bill as Draconian

On Tuesday we brought you a portion of the consultation for the proposed new Broadcasting Act. It seeks to enforce government oversight and licensing requirements even for online broadcasters, streaming services, and social media content.

Today we spoke to one attorney who also doubles as an owner of a news and entertainment Facebook page and he explained that the law is draconian. Orson Elrington told us if the bill is passed, he will apply for a constitutional challenge. Here's what he said:

Orson "OJ" Elrington, Attorney
"The piece of legislation is what I believe to be the most archaic and asinine piece of legislation I have seen any government try to implement. It is draconian, it makes absolutely no sense and it makes an attempt to chill and to murder any attempt by citizens to voice their opinions on the internet. The Belize Broadcasting Authority and why broadcasters historically needed to get licenses is because as you would know, radio and TV, there were limited bandwidths, so it was created to be able to allocate these bandwidths and say well Channel 7 can have one, Channel 5 can have one but they are limited so we have to be able to ensure there are varying opinions and it is not dominated by anybody and if you have these bandwidths you comply with these conditions. Now what the government is seeking to do is to implement a piece of legislation that no other country has done, no other country has taken these draconian and drastic measure to silence the opinions of the people."

"We see there are all of these different leaks about corruption being rampant in the different ministries, rather than implementing legislation to address that type of corruption, they are instead attempting to put in legislation that would effectively be able to fine people $50,000 for a simple Facebook post, for somebody going live. If that is not crazy, if that is not asinine, if that is not ridiculous, if that is not grounds for every single person who thinks it is important for us to have the freedom of expression to say no, that cannot and will not and can never be accepted then I don't know what can be."

Defamation Case Referred to Judicial Settlement Conference

Three persons went to court today on a defamation case due to comments they made on Facebook. According to Orson Elrington, the attorney for the second and third defendants, his clients deny that the comments were defamatory. In court, however, Cecil Ramirez, who represents the first defendant, Sharon Mae Rojas, argued against a contempt of court application, stating that the documents served to Rojas had the wrong last name.

At the end of today's session, it was agreed that the matter would go to the Judicial Settlement Conference. Elrington told us more:

Orson "OJ" Elrington, Attorney
"I think there was an application for contempt of court. Essentially what that is, is there was an application only against the first defendant that there was a contempt of court application, which means that there was an order by the court and the order was not complied with, so they're figuring out whether in fact there was a breach of the court order, that is essentially what happened today. Which was not concluded by the way, it still continues."

"Essentially what they're utilizing now is what is called a judicial settlement conference, which is a new feature which has recently been implemented by the court where they use senior judicial officers, senior attorneys to be able to offer an opinion for the parties before the court to determine whether or not there is merit to their case." The matter will resume on October 9th and will head to trial if it is not settled in the JSC.

Third Diaspora Summit Opens with Focus on Nation Building

The 3rd Diaspora Summit commenced today, bringing together residents and members of the Belizean diaspora abroad. They will spend the next 3 days engaged in panel discussions, presentations, and a business exchange through a mini expo at the summit. We stopped by the event this morning and learned more about the case for including the Belizean diaspora in nation building:

Aria Lightfoot, Organizer - Belize Diaspora Summit
"This has been going on for a while. There's been different levels of advocacies, and I've been involved with Belizean citizens abroad, Belizean-American Chamber of Commerce, so we have been doing different types of diaspora-related events. Right now we are formulating the summit as a more mature type, policy-focused, and we do it with an agenda and motivation involved, I mean, involved with the process."

Aria Lightfoot
"So we are introducing a policy paper requesting that the Government create a national diaspora policy for the diaspora community."

Aria Lightfoot
"So that comes with government and representation, and I think it is bigger than just votingâ€”it is actually having representation. And that might look like something different from different perspectives. Some people discuss the idea of a Senate seat. You have NGOs who are in the Senate, you have the church that are in the Senate, and you have a lot of these are non-Belizean entities, and so that was some of the discussions that have taken place. Of course the diaspora wants to vote on national issues because I think it is still important, but again, it is a request for a proposal that these discussions take place."

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration & Labour
"As you know, I have always been a fierce advocate for Belizeans. No matter what part of the world you happen to reside, at the end of the day you are Belizean regardless of your address. The world has become so interconnected that you can now have meetings virtually any time of the day, can contribute in any kind of way to the development of our country. And if it is one thing that I have learned having studied abroad, is that Belizeans not only miss their homeland, they also want to help to develop it. And so in whatever capacity that I can assist in reversing the brain drain and actually creating a brain gain for Belize, I will do my part. As you know from the Ministry of Immigration standpoint, we have had two mobile hubs this yearâ€”one in Houston and one in Miramar, Floridaâ€”both extremely successful. There was one occasion where a young teenage girl actually cried in the Prime Minister's arms when she received her nationality certificate. It was a truly heartwarming experience for me as Immigration, to see that there are so many Belizeans, young Belizeans who want to come back home, who are interested in coming back home. And so we plan to do more of that. The next mobile hub will be in Illinois in August of this year. So, we're very excited about all of this."

Belize City Council Developing App for Local and Overseas Residents

And the Belize City Council is also playing its part with the development of an app which will cater to those locally but also in the diaspora. Deputy Mayor Miller commented:

Eluide Miller, Deputy Mayor of Belize City
"We have a desk that is dedicated to really building relationships and keeping in communication with the diaspora and offering the various services that we offer to the diaspora. Of course, we want to be able to do that in a more effective way. And that is one of the things that we're trying to accomplish through the establishment of the Belize City App, which we are currently working on in partnership with Digi and Telepin. And so we want to really bring all the services that we offer to the fingertips of Belizeans at home and residents at home and abroad as well. But I would say we have an excellent relationship. And we have to realize that the diaspora, they're not necessarily only a part of our story, but they're a part of our future as well. And it's certainly important that we engage them and that we continue to do so."

Musa Endorses Kirkland Smith for Caribbean Shores Nominee

And turning back now to Belize City, earlier you saw Deputy Mayor Miller networking at the diaspora event.
But, right now he is in campaign mode for the PUP's mayoral candidacy nomination.
We asked Musa about the upcoming city council convention to decide on the Belize City slate for his party. Again we asked him who he is supporting, and he happily shared the name of his divisional nominee with us:

Kareem Musa, Area Representative for Caribbean Shores
"I support a gentleman by the name of Kirkland Smith. He comes out of Caribbean Shores, a career educator. I fully support him and endorse him. I've answered this question already as it comes to Eluide and Allan, that I think that these are two of our very best young people. Very impressive in terms of all that they have done, all that they have achieved in their young political lives. And as I said on the last occasion, we in Caribbean Shores will leave it up to the delegates, because this is a democratic process. I will not impress on any of them, any of the delegates on who I think that they should vote for. My focus will be twofold: I consider myself to be somewhat senior in the party, that after the convention, my role is to propel whoever is victorious to become the next mayor of Belize City and do my part, and at the same time, celebrate the person that loses, uplift them, encourage them, because I think that whoever loses has a lot to still offer in politics."

Deputy Mayor Miller Comments on Upcoming City Council Convention

Though a date for the convention has not been set as yet, Miller says that the council is shaping up pretty well as they prepare to go to a convention:

Eluide Miller, Deputy Mayor of Belize City
"I remain excited about the convention. The People's United Party, they're still going through the internal process of really preparing for the convention. And so there has not been a firm date announced as yet. But that does not mean that us as candidates, we're not starting to work behind the scenes. And so that is what I'm focusing on at the moment until an official date is released by the party. And an official list of candidates who will be participating in the convention following the vetting process which was completed a few weeks ago."

City Council Outlines Plans for Proposed 46 Million Dollar Bond

We also asked Miller about the latest 46 million dollar bond offering which the City Council is proposing. That sounds like a tall order for a council whose annual net profit is under a million dollars. Miller explained the purpose of the big bond offering:

Eluide Miller, Deputy Mayor of Belize City
"I would not want for anybody to get the idea that we're taking on $46 million in new investment. We had over $20 million worth of existing investment, and so what is happening is that we are reprofiling that. Meaning that we are turning it from short term investments, one to two year investments into the city, into longer term investments, five to ten year. But as a part of that as well, we're also taking on some new investments. And that has been going well. I think we have been doing a good job of encouraging the public and private sector to invest in Belize City. As you know, it is one of the most attractive offerings on the financial market. There is a lot of liquidity out there in the market. And I think the Belize City Council has effectively managed our municipal securities offering over time. I am proud to say that we have never defaulted on an interest or principal payment, even through the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, even through the impacts of Hurricane Lisa, and all the economic implications that came along with that, we have been able to meet every single payment. We continue to do what is necessary to build our interest reserve fund, and our sinking fund, and those continue to be managed properly as well. And so I'm happy to report that that has been going well."

Belize City Council Details Strategy to Tackle Sargassum Accumulation

And in addition to managing investments, Miller also spoke about how they are managing the sargassum issue in the city. At times the sargassum accumulates along the seawall, affecting businesses within that perimeter. Miller explained what their cleanup strategy looks like, and the machine power they have been using:

Eluide Miller, Deputy Mayor of Belize City
"I think that is being done on a needs basis. As you know, we do have some kind of forecast that we receive through the National Sargassum Task Force. They have a specific tool that really gives them a heads up of sorts or a warning when there will be significant sargassum coming into Belize City. But of course, it's on a needs basis at this time. As you can imagine, we don't have specialized equipment of our own to take care of these things, and so it does come at some cost to us. But this is a problem that we are preparing ourselves to be able to tackle in the future. I don't think it's a problem that will go away. In the first instance, given that we did not necessarily foresee that we would have to tackle this issue at this very moment, we entered into a rental arrangement, I think it is the Hol-Chan Marine Reserve. And again, that rental arrangement was simply to clear whatever sargassum was there. And so I think that has been effectively done at this point. In the immediate future, I assume that that will continue to be the arrangement. But I do know that we're working on some special adaptations to excavators to be able to effectively remove them using excavators in the future. And that is one of the things that the National Sargassum Task Force recommended to us, that they have applied in different areas across the country that has served them effectively. And so it is one of the solutions that we are thinking to explore."

Jomarie Lanza, Reporter
"So how much was that operation to remove the sargassum by a Marine Parade?"

Eluide Miller
"The initial cost, as I recall, it was about $10,000. And that was for a three to four day operation. And that really covers all necessary costs, the rental of the machinery, its team as well. But of course, there are additional costs that we had to incur in terms of rental of certain equipment, including dump trucks, etc. And of course, the fuel costs and that kind of thing."

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

ADVERTISEMENTS: