An estimated 800 Guatemalan students make their way across the Benque border from Guatemala daily to attend school in Belize.
In previous news stories we told you that crossing the border for these students can be a lengthy process in the morning, holding back lines and slowing movements at the border for other travellers. And this has led the ministry of immigration to introduce a border card intatitive for these students to speed up ID processing, facilitating a swift and easier flow in and out of Belize on hectic school mornings and afternoons. Here's what the minister had to say about this new initiative.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration
"So today we are touring the Benque Viejo immigration border point, a very important entry point that borders with Guatemala. And as you could imagine we had hundreds of not just tourists but individuals coming across and leaving for the purposes of trade and commerce and perhaps what is most outstanding about this entry point is the number of students that actually come across each day from Guatemala. Close to 800 students and as you might have seen there is now a new system that we have in place which is the border crossing card that is utilized by the students and this is extremely, this has expedited the process a lot. And so you see there is a constant flow of the students that cross 8 in the morning and they leave around 2:00 in the afternoon and that is hundreds of students each day and so you can clearly see where this system is now not just enhanced but it is a much better system that is in place you can also see the clear contrast between utilizing the modern border crossing card as opposed to the old permit the card line that the children are utilizing is moving a lot faster, more efficiently and not clogging up our systems."
Unclaimed 6 Figure Jackpot Prize Will Go to Charity
Only 8 out of the 9 winning tickets of the Million Dalla Jackpot game, drawn on December 20th 2025 have been redeemed. So one of the winners has not stepped forward and the unclaimed winnings stands at $111,111.11.
So what happens now? Well, a release detailed from the Belize Government Lotteries Ltd states that "Prize winnings which are not claimed within thirty (30) days from the drawing date shall be forfeited."
And so, it has been decided that the unclaimed winnings will be donated to a charitable organization. The recipient or recipients of such donation shall be decided upon at the next meeting of the Board of Directors scheduled for mid-February."
