Category: CANA News

The Belize Coast Guard says it has found the body of the missing fisherman, Samuel Chi, eight miles north of Belize City, one day after his companion, Albert Vaccaro, was found alive but severely hydrated at sea.

The two men had been reported missing on Sunday night while travelling from Caye Caulker to the mainland and the authorities have launched an investigation to determine whether Chi’s death had been as a result of an accident at sea or possible foul play. The operations manager at the Belize Coast Guard, Lieutenant Mark Choc, said that the body has since been handed over to the police who will continue the investigation to confirm ‘if this is something criminal or accident at sea’.

He said that the two men were is a riverine vessel designed to be operated in the river.

‘It’s not designed to be out at sea. Therefore, this is a contributing factor to more than likely causing the accident to happen. Therefore, the weather is also a factor to consider. However, the vessel itself is not seaworthy. Therefore, this is something that we are looking into that. Like I mentioned, we would definitely need to locate the vessel so it can contribute to our investigation.’

Chi’s wife, Kristy told reporters that she had earlier been in communication with her husband and that ‘he was telling me about his day, his catch, how many fishes they caught’.

But she said that ‘about 7:15 pm thereabout Belize time, the answers went unresponsive. I didn’t think much of it because he is like that.

‘However, the wife of Mr. Vaccaro contacted me about 10.00 pm, believe time, and said she concerned they have not reached as yet. Then I sounded the alarm because that is never acceptable from Samuel, I’ve been with him almost 15 years. I can tell something was wrong.’

The body was found near Hick’s Caye and Lieutenant Choc said he believes that the vessel was likely steered onto a route used to shelter from bad weather.

‘ The area that they were found is something used by smaller vessels to try to shelter from the elements or try to shelter from the weather itself,’ he said.

Attorney General Levi Peter says the government is considering whether or not to appeal a High Court ruling that provided former opposition leader Lennox Linton with an historic and landmark constitutional victory in the matter of the appointment of an opposition leader.

‘We have to look at the matter and determine whether we appeal it. At this point in time, it’s a life possibility. I might say probability from my own point of view, because I think the issues involved are of sufficient significance that perhaps it should be determined at a higher level than the first instance court,’ Peter told reporters.

Former opposition leader, Lennox Linton (File Photo)

Linton had challenged the ‘erroneous interpretation’ of the Dominica Constitution by President Sylvanie Burton arguing that she had acted illegally in failing to appoint an Opposition Leader.

Justice Zainab Jawara-Alami declared that the President acted unconstitutionally when, for 18 months, she refused to recognise and take into account the support of the four Opposition Senators in determining who should be appointed Leader of the Opposition following the resignation of Jesma Paul-Victor June, 20, 2024.

‘The failure of The President to recognize and/or take into account the support of the four Senators in determining who should be appointed Leader of the Opposition following the resignation of Ms. Jesma Paul-Victor was unconstitutional,’ the High Court ruled.

The High Court also dismissed an argument out forward by Peter that ‘unelected Senators are not empowered to canvass the President nor otherwise participate in the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition, nor is the President on the occasion of the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition, required to take into account any views of unelected Senators’.

But Justice Jawara-Alami held that the Constitution recognises both elected Representatives and appointed Senators as members of the House.

‘Upon appointment, Senators become full members and are entitled to exercise the constitutional rights, privileges and functions of that office, except where the Constitution expressly provides otherwise. Accordingly, the phrase ‘members of the House’ in section 66(2) could not lawfully be restricted to elected Representatives alone.’

Linton, who was represented by a team that included former Trinidad and Tobago attorney general, Anand Ramlohan, said that the High Court ‘victory belongs to every Dominican who believes that public power must be exercised lawfully; that the Opposition has an indispensable role in our democracy; and that the Constitution must remain superior to political convenience, executive preference and partisan maneuvering.

‘Today, the Constitution won. Democracy won. Accountability won,’ he added,

But the Attorney General said that the possibility of an appeal is a matter the government will consider with ‘various advisors and determination will be made.

‘But in my view, it is not unlikely that it will be appealed. The matter was determined in favour of the claimant. We’ll put it differently. You could say it’s likely that it would be appealed. It’s a matter that’s been discussed.

‘I have my views, but ultimately …the government will decide whether it’s a matter that is felt should be appealed to get a higher court to opine on the issue,’ Peter said.

Scoreboard of the fourth day of the second Test between West Indies and Pakistan at the Queen’s Park Oval here on Wednesday.

WEST INDIES 1st innings 344

PAKISTAN 1st innings 387

WEST INDIES 2nd innings

(overnight 103 for six)

Tagenarine Chanderpaul lbw b Khan 17

Kavem Hodge lbw b Usman 34

Amir Jangoo b Khan 13

*Roston Chase c and b Usman 17

+Shai Hope lbw b Khan 15

Jayden Seales lbw b Khan 0

Justin Greaves b Ali 3

Kemar Roach b Usman 0

Shamar Joseph c +Rizwan b Usman 9

Jomel Warrican not out 2

Brandon King absent hurt

Extras (b1, lb1, w5) 7

TOTAL (all out; 46.1 overs) 117

Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-62, 3-74, 4-99, 5-101, 6-103, 7-103, 8-115, 9-117.

Bowling: Ali 11-2-31-1 Shah 4-0-13-0, Usman 19.1-4-39-4, Khan 12-2-32-4.

PAKISTAN 2nd innings

Azan Awais b Joseph 18

Imam-ul-Haq c Greaves b Seales 9

Abdullah Shafique not out 24

*Babar Azam not out 24

Extras (nb2) 2

TOTAL (two wickets; 23.3 overs) 77

Did not bat: Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Awais Zafar, Ali Usman, Ubaid Shah, Sajid Khan, Mohammad Ali.

Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-42.

Bowling: Roach 2-0-11-0, Warrican 11.3-4-38-0, Seales 5-1-9-1, Joseph 4-1-17-1, Hodge 1-0-2-0.

Toss: West Indies elected to bat.

Result: Pakistan defeated West Indies by eight wickets to level the two-match series 1-1.

Player-of-the-Match: Abdullah Shafique.

Player-of-the-Series: Justin Greaves/Babar Azam.

Umpires: Alex Wharf, Jayaraman Madanagopal.

TV Umpire: Richard Kettleborough.

Reserve Umpire: Zahid Bassarath.

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe.

The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has ‘publicly’ reiterated its firm opposition to the proposed acquisition of Speednet Communications Limited by Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) in its current form.

Speednet Communications Limited, the provider operating the Smart brand in Belize, is primarily owned by the Waterloo Group Charitable Trust holding a 77.5 per cent stake with other minority shareholders.

In a statement, the BCCI said that following its formal correspondence on July 30, 2026, and the subsequent response from BTL chairman Markhelm Lizarraga one day later ‘the BCCI confirms that its critical reservations regarding governance, financial due diligence, market competition, and legal compliance remain entirely unaddressed’.

On Tuesday, BTL, whose majority shares are owned by the government, said that its board of directors had approved the proposed purchase ‘of 100 per cent of the issued share capital of Speednet, subject to the satisfactory completion of continued due diligence and the negotiation of appropriate representations, warranties and other contractual protections for BTL as the buyer’.

‘Once negotiations advance to the definitive agreement stage, the Share Purchase Agreement will be submitted to the Board for separate review and final approval before execution,’ BTL said.

It said that the proposed acquisition represents a ‘strategic investment in Belize’s digital future’ and it is intended to reduce ‘unnecessary duplication of telecommunications infrastructure, strengthen network reliability, accelerate digital inclusion and redirect resources toward modern technological modernization and connectivity for underserved and unserved communities’.

BTL said importantly the transaction will allow borrowing by BTL and ‘will not require additional investment from the Social Security Board.

‘The investment is to be repaid from Speednet’s own operating cash flows. Based on current projections, the investment of $80 million has an estimated payback period of approximately 42 years pon a discounted basis’.

BTL said that it remains committed top ‘constructive engagement’ with the government, the Public Utilities Commission and other stakeholders ‘to ensure that the proposed transaction is implemented transparently, responsibly and in the best interests of consumers, employees, shareholders and citizens of Belize’.

But the BCCI said that it is standing by its position and ‘that a second, fully independent valuation supported by no less than five years of audited financial statements from Speednet is a prerequisite for fair market evaluation’.

The private sector group says that Belize currently lacks a ‘comprehensive and merger control’ legislation framework capable of regulating telecommunications consolidation.

‘Proceedings with a merger that effectively creates a state-based telecom monopoly without prior legislative guardrails poses systematic risks to the national economy’.

Opposition Leader, Tracy Taegar-Panton said that the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) is ‘deeply disturbed’ by the BTL decision saying that the board approved the transaction despite repeated calls from national stakeholders for greater transparency, comprehensive due diligence and full disclosure of the financial, legal, regulatory and governance implications of the deal.

She said that the decision ignores concerns raised by the BCCI, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) as well as members of the public over the proposed acquisition.

Panton said that the purchase of what she described as a strategic national asset using public resources should not proceed ‘under a cloud of uncertainty’ and that Belizeans deserve to know whether the deal represents value for money, whether any conflicts of interest have been addressed and whether the interests of taxpayers, consumers and Social Security contributors have been protected.

NTUCB president Ella Waight says the union body has consistently placed its concerns on record, but those concerns have not influenced the process and that BTL has shown disregard for the unions’ position on a major national issue.

‘We don’t want to just be heard, we are not an entity that just want to be heard, we want to be adhered to. We want to be taken seriously and our recommendations adhered to. We don’t sit here to be heard.

‘If that is the case, forget BCCI, forget NTCUB on any board of directors on SSB on BTL. We are not just here to be place holders. We are here to make meaningful input and provide guidance from the congress which represents workers of this country,’ she added.

The Grenada government Wednesday reiterated its decision to terminate its production sharing agreement (PSA) with the Russian-backed Global Petroleum Group (GPG) even as the company said it has given St. George’s seven days to rescind its decision.

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell speaking at a news conference, which he used to address the nation on the issue, described the ongoing dispute as a ‘matter of national importance…that concerns our natural resources, our patrimony, and the duty of your government to act at all times in the best interests of the citizens of Grenada. ‘It is a matter that every citizen of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique deserves to understand fully and in plain terms, and so today, I am speaking plainly with you,’ he added. Watch video

On Monday, a government statement had said that Prime Minister Mitchell would address the nation on the issue and that the Office of the Attorney General and the Technical Working Group would provide further details on the factual circumstances which led to the Government’s decision.

Attorney General Claudette Joseph reiterated at the news conference that Grenada had acted ‘lawfully, responsibly, and in the national interest’ and after 18 years ‘and after every reasonable opportunity given to GPG, the government had a duty to the people of Grenada to bring these agreements to an end. Grenada deserves better, and we are moving forward with confidence and with respect for the rule of law’.

But in an August 3, 2026 letter addressed to Prime Minister Mitchell and signed by GPG director Eduard Vasilyev, the company said that the government’s attempt to end the agreements is ‘inconsistent with the contractual rights and obligations of the parties and is without legal effect.’

GPG also contends that the government ignored the dispute resolution provisions contained in the PSA by proceeding with the termination before arbitration could determine whether the company had breached its obligations.

‘We highlight again that until such is concluded, the PSA remains in full force,’ GPG said, insisting that the agreement cannot legally be terminated while the contractual dispute resolution process remains outstanding.

But Prime Minister Mitchell said arbitration is one way ‘this matter could develop’ adding ‘it is still perfectly open to the government of Grenada and GPG to sit down and settle this matter’.

Mitchell recalled that the chairman of the Technical Working Group, Nazim Burke, a former finance minister here, had indicated that efforts to get GPG to sit down and discuss the issues surrounding the project had failed due to the fact that the oil and gas company had said it would only speak to the relevant government minister.

‘When the Cabinet of Grenada appoints a committee of distinguished Grenadians to treat with a subject matter and you are formally notified of that fact by the Attorney General of Grenada and you write back to the State of Grenada to say you are not talking to this person or that person, you’re backing up a wrong tree, especially if I’m the Prime Minister of the country.

‘So we need to be clear to our partners. The government of Grenada is elected by the people of Grenada and the government of Grenada are entrusted as stewards with managing the natural resources of the people of Grenada.

‘So when the Cabinet of the government of Grenada tells you these are the persons appointed by the Cabinet and you need to treat with them, you come to the meetings. You respond to the requests to meet,’ Mitchell said, adding that he is ‘happy that there is some alacrity now being shown on the part of GPG to respond.

‘So arbitration is just one route. If that’s the route they choose, we obviously will comply with our bargain. It is perfectly still open for them to sit with us, for us to talk, to amicably part ways, for them to demonstrate that they have credible partners who can do what they are contractually obligated to do’.

He said that under the agreement the company was supposed to have drilled two wells by 2017, adding that this has not been the case and had GPG shown as they have claimed that there were commercial deposits, the partners, the oil companies that were mentioned, who are very good at deep sea offshore drilling, would be happy to look for it.

‘Let us make no mistake, energy and the need for energy is growing at a phenomenal rate. The impact of artificial intelligence and its voracious appetite for energy is being felt by everyone. The wars that are taking place all over the world have severely impacted our ability to get cheap fuel.

‘So if there are commercial quantities of oil and gas in our waters, trust me….this is not a joke anymore. We have waited, we’ve reviewed, we’ve sought to engage, and I think anybody who knows my style would recognise that we attempt to be conciliatory first,’ Prime Minister Mitchell said.

He said the government had attempted to discuss, to settle, and to agree to move forward first, ‘but we are not going to wait another 18 years.

‘And therefore, we certainly welcome the opportunity if they wish to be earnest brokers. The government and people are being earnest brokers. But the message has to be sent clearly, and I think this is important.

‘The oil and gas industry is not GPG. And it is not the four blocks that we are treating with. There’s a lot more territory. And a lot of, in fact, all of the work that is being done is to develop the regulatory framework, the economic investment model, the incentives model, the investment in our human capacity, because you’d appreciate, … we don’t have yet an oil and gas industry,’

Mitchell said that the 18-year saga with GPG ‘is just a footnote in that journey and so we have to think of the bigger picture and what’s in the best interests of Grenada, Carriacou an Petite Martinique.

‘But we are confident that we have received solid legal and technical advice on this. We have, and I will say this, left me, I probably would have taken this decision from the time I entered into office. But as I said, I don’t counsel myself. I sought counsel from older, wiser people, far more experienced in this matter.

‘And we stayed our hands and we ensured that we followed the process. We gave an opportunity for GPG to engage. We gave them the notices, etc., etc. So this is not a hastily ill-conceived decision that we’ve rushed and importantly, the fact that we’re here telling you about it is a sign of our commitment to transparency on this issue,’ said Prime Minister Mitchell, who is also an attorney.

He said that the government owes it to the next generation of Grenadians to develop the oil and gas sector and will ‘do everything possible to allow them to benefit, if in fact the commercial quantity of oil and gas that partners would wish to invest with us and take out of the ground for the benefit of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique’.

In 2008, the government provided GPG with a licence over 11 offshore blocks to explore for oil and gas and five years later, the company was granted a development licence and signed a production sharing agreement.

Mitchell said that the development licence and production sharing agreement provided the legal permission and the guidelines to actually bring that oil and gas out of Grenadian waters and to share the proceeds with the country.

‘Grenadians were told that beneath our waters lay the foundation of a new and prosperous era, that oil and gas would bring jobs, revenue, and a better life for our families. Citizens, that was 18 years ago.

‘And so we now must ask ourselves, where is the oil and gas production? Where are the jobs? and where is the revenue that was promised to our people?. The simple answer is that 18 years later, there is no production, there are no jobs, and there are no revenue to the state of Grenada.’

Mitchell said that since coming to office in 2022 his administration ‘did what every responsible government would do.

‘We sought the records. We sought the development plans. We examined carefully, thoughtfully, and deliberately whether GPG had lived up to its obligations. What we found was deeply troubling, and in prior public statements I made reference to this.

‘We inherited minimal records, and no proper handover of Grenada’s files or obligations on this matter. Upon closer examination, we found a company that had failed in several material respects to meet its obligations to our country. GPG did not complete the minimum work it committed to do.

‘GPG did not produce a development plan that met the standard of the agreement or the standard that the international oil and gas industry expects. And importantly, GPG could not show that it had the funds or the money in hand to carry out the work it kept promising to do.’

He said GPG has spoken publicly about the scale of its investment in this project, while by its own accounting, continuing to seek outside partners to help fund it.

But Mitchell said that under the terms it signed with the government GPG was required to report its expenditure to the government every month.

‘It never did so. Without those reports, this government is not in a position to confirm any figure that GPG has put forward. And we will not repeat numbers that we cannot ourselves verify.

‘A company that will not account for what it says it has spent certainly cannot be trusted that it will spend what it proposes to spend,’ Mitchell said, adding that many would question why did his administration took so long to take the decision to terminate the contracts.

‘I will answer this directly. We chose not to act in haste,’ he said, noting that the Technical Working Group was established in 2022 with ‘a clear mandate to assess the oil and gas potential of our waters and to see that any development coming out of our oil and gas industry benefits the citizens and the people of Grenada.

‘Since 2023, that technical working group has engaged directly with GPG. We requested the updated development plans and the technical documentation necessary to assess whether this project could ever deliver for our country.

‘We extended every reasonable opportunity. Grenada notified GPG both formally of every breach of the agreement …we gave them the opportunity to respond in writing and in person. GPG has failed to remedy those breaches,’ Prime Minister Mitchell said.

A 53-year-old naturalized United States citizen, Jean Robert Casimir, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of US export control law for his role in an extensive firearms trafficking operation through which he illegally exported at least 140 firearms to Haiti since 2020.

According to court documents, from at least August 2020 through December 2024, Casimir illegally exported no less than 140 firearms from the United States to Haiti without having first obtained the required license from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, located in the District of Columbia. The US District Court was told that at least between August 2020 and December 2024, Casimir purchased at least 108 firearms from Federal Firearms Licensees and at least 30-35 firearms from a U.S. person in Florida, all of which he exported to Haiti without a license. These firearms included rifles, pistols, and shotguns of various makes and models.

To smuggle the firearms to Haiti, Casimir and his co-conspirators used, among other techniques, industrial air compressors that they cut open and welded back together, packing disassembled rifles and handguns with foam insulation. Casimir and his co-conspirators then shipped these and other packages to Haiti via boats leaving from the Miami area. Casimir is a former Haitian National Police officer.

Casimir was arrested on December 16, 2024 in Lauderhill, Florida and later indicted on January. 23, 2025.

The prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.

The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.

The Grenada government Wednesday reiterated its decision to terminate its production sharing agreement (PSA) with the Russian-backed Global Petroleum Group (GPG) even as the company said it has given St. George’s seven days to rescind its decision.

Prime Minister Dickon speaking at a news conference, which he used to address the nation on the issue, described the ongoing dispute as a ‘matter of national importance…that concerns our natural resources, our patrimony, and the duty of your government to act at all times in the best interests of the citizens of Grenada.

‘It is a matter that every citizen of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique deserves to understand fully and in plain terms, and so today, I am speaking plainly with you,’ he added.

On Monday, a government statement had said that Prime Minister Mitchell would address the nation on the issue and that the Office of the Attorney General and the Technical Working Group would provide further details on the factual circumstances which led to the Government’s decision.

Bermuda said Wednesday that while the risk of an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease remains low, it is taking precautionary steps to ensure early detection and rapid response should any risk emerge.

‘We are taking sensible, proactive measures to safeguard our community. Enhanced monitoring of travellers from affected regions is a standard public health practice and ensures Bermuda remains prepared and protected.,’ said Minister of Health, Kim Wilson.

On May 17, 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern due to ongoing outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Ebola is a serious illness that spreads through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of someone who is infected, or through contaminated surfaces.

The Ministry of Health here said that as part of Bermuda’s public health surveillance, travellers arriving on the island from Uganda, South Sudan or the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will be subject to public health monitoring upon entry.

It said that this measure aligns with international best practices and supports early identification of any potential health concerns.

The Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit said travellers arriving from affected countries will undergo screening and a review of their travel history, active health monitoring for 21 days.

The Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shaun Ramroop said teams are maintaining close oversight of global developments and applying evidence based measures here at home.

‘Monitoring travellers from affected regions allows us to detect any potential risk early and respond swiftly. These actions are precautionary and reflect our commitment to protecting the health of everyone in Bermuda.’

The authoritites here say there are currently no suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola in Bermuda, and the Ministry will continue to assess global developments and adjust Bermuda’s public health response as needed.

They said that people who are planning to travel to affected areas should review the latest travel health advice before leaving Bermuda with the Ministry encouraging the public to rely on official updates for accurate information and to remain aware of general public health guidance.

Meanwhile, the United States (US) announced Wednesday that it had allocated more than US$242 million in additional funding to combat the worsening Ebola outbreak in the DRC.

The new funding brings direct US financial assistance in response to the outbreak to more than $500 million, the State Department said in a statement, underlining that the United States remained ‘the largest financial contributor to the Ebola response.’

Washington called on other countries to increase their contributions to efforts to combat the disease.

Police have launched an investigation to determine how cocaine with a street value of more than one million dollars (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) washed ashore along the coastline of Barbuda over a two day period.

A parcel containing drugs washed ashore along the Barbuda coastline this week.

A statement by the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda said the first discovery was made on August 2, when officers seized a package containing 20 vacuum-sealed parcels near the dock at Coco Point.

It said a second package containing another 20 vacuum-sealed parcels was found the following day along Coco Point Beach and that the combined haul weighed 104 pounds. The police said that the drugs has an estimated street value of EC$1,084,910.

The police said that they have launched a full inquiry into the origin of the drugs and are pursuing all available leads.

Pakistan defeated West Indies by eight wickets after lunch on the fourth day of the second Test at Queen’s Park Oval here on Wednesday.

Scores

WEST INDIES 344 and 117 in 46.1 overs (Kavem Hodge 34, Roston Chase 17, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 17, Shai Hope 15, Amir Jangoo 13; Sajid Khan 4-32, Ali Usman 4-39).

PAKISTAN 387 and 77-2 in 23.3 overs (Abdullah Shafique 24 not out, Babar Azam 24 not out, Azan Awais 18).