Today the US Embassy donated four Ford Ranger pickup trucks valued over 206,000 US dollars to the Belize Joint Intelligence Operations Center, or JIOC. If you recognize the name, that's because they're the organization that is responsible for responding to drug plane landings. Many times, these planes land in hard to reach areas or on rough terrain.
The brand-new vehicles will support the deployment of JIOC assets to remote areas in its ongoing efforts to disrupt and deter the illegal movement of drugs, people, weapons, and other contraband through Belize.
The JIOC comprises members of the Belize Defence Force, Belize Coast Guard, Police Department, Customs and Excise Department, and the Immigration Department.
CABEI President Toured Belize
Last week, the Executive President of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, CABEI visited Belize.
On Friday he told Cherisse Halsall what came out of his meeting with the Prime Minister:
The Prime Minister and Dr. Mossi singed a Non-Reimbursable Financial Cooperation Agreement for a 1.25 million dollar Bicentennial Scholarship Program, which seeks to improve access to secondary education for low-income students in the beneficiary member countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic, Cuba and Belize.
CABEI plans to open an office in Belmopan by 2023.
Tourist Haven Placencia Will Get Its Polyclinc
In the past 15 years since the Placencia Road was paved, the Peninsula has grown as a tourist destination by leaps and bounds - and so has the population on this thin strip of paradise. But, medical services have not kept up. And now finally the little big village will see the construction of a polyclinic. The groundbreaking was held on Friday and the 2.5 million dollar project is financed by the Tourism Development Fund established for the destination.
The polyclinic will include consultation rooms, reception and registration areas, waiting rooms, an asthma bay, pharmacy, two triage rooms, laboratory, and shock/trauma rooms.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, the new Minister of Health spoke on the importance of the polyclinic along with the area rep and the Minister of Tourism.
COVID Cripples Placencia Police
And while the community needs a clinic now - it may also urgently need some police! The Commissioner says the peninsula's police precinct has been hard hit by COVID.
Williams says it's the worst of the countrywide COVID infections that have left the cops minus 300:
BTIA Pres Maintains Steadfast Support of Travelers Insurance
And those general hazards of being a traveller in a faraway land are what the Belize Tourism Industry Association hopes will be mitigated by a new mandatory 15 US dollar per person traveler's health insurance for all air and land visitors to Belize.
Last week at the BTIA's virtual AGM, the President re-iterated the BTIA's support for it:
Minister Weighs In On Cruise Ports in Bze District
At this time, only cruise trusts are being exempted from the tax which is proposed for implementation on February 15th, 2022.
And, Belize is expecting more visitors than ever - but how many can the Belize District take? And can it entertain tree cruise ports? At last week's meeting the keynote speaker was Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler - and he gave the lowdown:
Fitzroy on Firearms
And, finally tonight...
Earlier on in the news, Commissioner Chester Williams talk about the lives that were likely saved by Belize City police officers this weekend when they pulled a number of would-be assailants and their loaded weapons off the streets.
And later in the very same press conference ASP Fitzroy Yearwood broke down the exact type and make of weapons confiscated by the cops.
You can make reports to the police countrywide by calling your local precinct number.
