ComPol Admits to ‘Rogue Element’ within the Department The murder of 21 year old Teddy Murillo in the early hours of Saturday morning, as the young man was heading home, has resulted in a hailstorm of criticism and anger and hate aimed squarely at the Belize Police Department. The accusation from Murillo’s family is that their brother and son was shot multiple times by a man who is sworn to serve and protect, a Corporal in the Department. Members of the family have said that Murillo was heard calling the officer’s name just before he was shot to death from a vehicle. A media tour by Commissioner of Police Crispin Jeffries has done nothing to allay the fears of citizens, little to restore or inspire public confidence in the Police Department and certainly nothing to convince Murillo’s family members and other Belizeans that their beliefs and fears are groundless. Jeffries’ rounds in the media, rather, seem a patently political ploy to make him the face of the Police in the midst of this crisis, while shielding the man who is the chief policymaker and the man at whom the buck must stop, Minister of National Security Carlos Perdomo. Perdomo’s last media tour was less than successful and his appearance did nothing to obtain public confidence. So this week, while Commissioner Jeffries was taking the heat for the accusations threatening to tear the department apart, Minister Perdomo was taking advantage of a photo opportunity to hand out motorcycles and tools. But Belizeans are not in the mood for the political games being played in the Police Department, not when residents are being shot down in the streets and the criminals allegedly doing the shooting are those who should be providing protection. Young Teddy Murillo is the third victim of a fatal shooting recently in which Police Officers have been directly implicated. In late December, Chris Galvez was shot to death on the Western Highway, and his family and an eyewitness claimed that it was a policeman who pulled the trigger. On February 13th, a Jamaican, O’Neil Jones was shot by Police in Ladyville. Witnesses say that he had no weapon and was shot in the back as he ...

In  remembrance… This columnist takes some time out from throwing out the UDP trash to pay tribute to Sir Barry Bowen, a man whose contributions to our nation can never be overstated. His achievements will always be remembered. Nuff respect Sir Barry…! …………………… Let them eat cake… And now on to the people’s business of disposing of the trash…! Rumour has it that at some function or the other just a week or so ago one of Belize’s royal princesses from the Barrow clan (well, they sure act like they’re royalty) was holding Court and issued a stern proclamation. According to the princess, she and the other royals of her clan won’t sleep until the staff of our humble newspaper (we dratted PUP) is forced down into the depths of depression and poverty and has trouble putting food on the table. Wow…sounds drastic, doesn’t it? I mean, here at the Belize Times we’d love to oblige the princess. We sure wouldn’t want her to lose any beauty sleep – God knows they need as much as they can get. But hell, why be modest, your royal highness? Why stop at impoverishing the staff of this newspaper? Damn, thanks to that royal clan, more than half of the entire country is having trouble putting food on the table. Your highness, haven’t you read the latest poverty assessment report? That’s the reality out here. And as to your proclamation…well, let’s leave it at that before I’m accused of treason and the Queen Lice orders my head lopped off…If Da Noh Soh! …………………… Keep ‘em coming… And speaking of frivolous lawsuits, we got another letter by e-mail today. This time it’s on behalf of the good doctor himself, the one who brutally beat up a minor and then left him on the ground bleeding. Yeah, you know who, the man without a heart who says he can heal yours. Seems he’s pissed off because word of what he did is getting out there. According to the letter, we’re causing him distress and embarrassment. Well, then maybe he shouldn’t have beaten up a child. He’s worried about distress and embarrassment – imagine what the minor and his family are going through. Embarrassment my @$$, we’d ...

This week our selection panel decided to bestow the dubious honour of outstanding double-speaking, double dealing, self-serving personalities of the week to three deserving individuals, charlatans of the first order – Drs. John and George Gough and the little incompetent crime minister Carlos Perdomo. While the poor minister has been featured before and, if not kicked out of Cabinet, will be featured again, the ‘good’ doctors have just recently come under scrutiny after a recent event. On February 15th, Dr. John Gough threw all aspects of his sacred Hippocratic Oath to the winds and did great harm to Carlos Zelaya, a minor. Reports are that Gough and another person beat this boy almost beyond recognition, then left him on the street bleeding. He was allegedly rushed to the hospital in serious condition by friends. That was more than two weeks ago, and Dr. John Gough has yet to be arrested by the Police, has yet to go through the procedure of law and order which any other individual would have been forced to endure. After repeated entreaties by the parents of the victim, he was picked up for a short while, but there entered his brother, UDP political aspirant George Gough. Calls were made and John Gough was released. Not only that - the parents of the victim were allegedly intimidated by a senior police official in an attempt to get them to drop all charges. It is understood that the Police Commissioner has said that the file has been handed over to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will then decide if any charges should be brought against Gough. While we would love to claim objectivity in this matter, quite frankly this entire case stinks of political interference and political manipulation, and there enters Minister of National Security Carlos Perdomo. The fact is that any other common individual like you and me without UDP protection caught in the same circumstances would have been arrested and charged immediately – no ifs, ands, buts or maybes. It is obvious that on this UDP operated farm, some animals are more equal than others, and some animals can act with impunity and without reprisal. Dr. John Gough swore ...

By: Mike Rudon Jr. Here’s a question – when’s the last time you heard about a really big drug bust in Belize? Not the discovery of a couple pounds of marijuana during a house search and seizure or the confiscation of a ‘roach’ off a ‘youth man’ hanging on the block. Not that kind of drug bust, but the one which makes big news – the one where members of the media and the GOB press office are invited to some convenient furnace to watch over the destruction of hundreds and hundreds of pounds of cocaine neatly wrapped in 1 kilo bundles. It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? In fact, the last such momentous occasion is outside the boundary of recent memory. So what exactly happened? Did big-time drug dealers go on holiday since the UDP got into office? Has Belize ceased to be a trans-shipment mecca between South America and the US? Are the narcotics cartels so afraid of Minister of National Security Carlos Perdomo that they decided to take up other hobbies? In the news the other night, just as the United States handed over a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment to Belize for the fight against drugs, there were reports of a plane landing somewhere in the Orange Walk district. Our authorities are calling it an ‘unconfirmed rumor’ because they somehow haven’t been able to locate the plane. Credible reports are that the plane was a drug plane. Not that long ago, a drug plane landed on the Northern Highway near to Orange Walk, coincidentally just a day or so after UDP OW Area Representative Gaspar Vega was sworn in as Acting Prime Minister as the PM left the country. Despite a BDF base and heavy Police presence in OW, the ‘good guys’ somehow arrived after all the narcotics had left the scene. And there are many other stories – of the famed Anti-Drug Unit being deployed on operations in the far south while a shipment slips through the northern border; of riot drills involving all the special units of the Police being called, attendance mandatory, leaving a window open for serious drug activity in other areas of the country; of officers receiving instructions to cease and desist their surveillance of ...

Team Caribbean Pride wins Haulover to Boom canoe race Burrell Boom Village, February 20, 2010 Team Caribbean Pride: Chris Guydis, Jermaine Sanchez and Justin Sanchez clocked 1:59:55 as they paddled from the Haulover Bridge against the current to the Burrell Boom tourism village to win the elite men’s division and 1st place overall in the 1st ever Haulover to Burrell Boom race held on Saturday, February 20. Team Cruise Solutions lost one of their crew, Henner Cruz, but the other 2 paddlers Jerry Rhaburn and Efrain Cruz dug paddles to outsprint Team Belize Bank, the defending Ruta Maya champs Daniel Cruz, Amado Lopez and Erwin Cruz, for 2nd place in 2:03:18 seconds. Belize Bank veteran Armin Lopez was missing in action, but his team still won 3rd prize. Team Reagan International: Nolberto Seguro, Jeremy Sanchez and Sheldon Seguro clocked 2:06:15 as they paddled their canoe into 4th place; while the N.I.C.H. team: Oscar Cardona, Jimmy Valdez and Manuel Rodriguez paddled their canoe into a 5th place finish in 2:07:33. Team Lost & Found: Janise Leslie, Eldon and Derwin Sanchez clocked 2:18:19 as they finished 6th overall to win 1st prize in the Mixed Division. The “Just Do It” team: Anthony Rodriguez, Orlando Habet and Francisco Coleman paddled their canoe to place 7th in 2:18:33. Team Print Belize: Evelio Flores, Javier Guardado and Rudolph Gentle continue to dominate the Pleasure division, clocking 2:19:44 for their 9th place finish. Team “Grumpy Old Men”: Jerry Wilken, Francis Codd and Stanley Bailey clocked 2:21:58 as they paddled their canoe into 10th place overall, also winning the Masters Division, over Team Jonkunu: Mike Searle, Johnny “Watt” Searle and Rupert Harris from Cristo Rey, who clocked 2:24:45 to finish 12th overall, the 2nd Masters team. The 4-H Training Center canoe sponsored by the Ministry of Youth won the Junior Division, placing 13th overall. This was the last of the preliminary races organized by the Belize Canoe Association, the final dress rehearsal in preparation for the annual Ruta Maya River Challenge, March 5 -8. EJC girls win ATLIB national football champs Dangriga, February 21, 2010 The Ecumenical Junior College (EJC) girls won the Association of Tertiary Level Institutions of Belize (ATLIB) national football championship, hosted by E.J.C. ...

Would the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance please say how much is still outstanding to his ex-wife’s law firm? And would the Prime Minister also confirm or deny rumours that his ex-wife will be the next Attorney-General of Belize? And since the last time we asked he didn’t have a clue, would the Prime Minister be able to say now how he plans to bridge the projected $60million shortfall in the budget? Would the Minister of Health please say when the National Health Insurance scheme will roll out into Corozal, since that district has been declared the second poorest in the country? Would the Minister of National Security please say if he is now prepared to resign his portfolio in light of the recent scandals of corruption and incompetence in the Belize Police Department? Would the Minister of National Security, before he leaves office, also be prepared to give a status update on the investigation into the murder of Chris Galvez, the beating of minor Carlos Zelaya, cane farmer Atanacio Gutierrez and Teddy Murillo?