And with his name now legally clear, the Minister stressed that he has nothing personal against Budna:
Reporter
"So do you feel as if this finally clears your name out of the entire Budna saga?"
Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration, Labour, Local Government
"Again, I feel like I keep getting this question, but that's fine. That's your job as the media. I have zero motivation against Joseph Budna. I would have no sort of motive in order to even be a part of something like this. And so whether it clears my name or not, I know at the end of the day I have zero involvement in it, and so I would say yes."
Musa Supports SOE As Law Enforcement Measure
Tonight, Musa is taking a stand and supporting the SOE saying that after serving as 5 years as the Minister of Home Affairs SOE's are about crime management:
Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration, Labour, Local Government
"Yeah, crime management. And obviously, like you said, it was my job for five years to be a part of that operation. It's very difficult, obviously, and you have to utilize many tools. Obviously, we have the leadership intervention unit that intervenes in a positive way in these young men's lives who want to change. But there comes a point when there are certain individuals, certain actors who no matter how hard you try with them, they will continue to act in a deviant manner and act criminally and take people's lives. And if it is that the police has information that there's going to be retaliation, that is usually when a state of emergency is called to protect individuals from being retaliated against and for protecting the law abiding society. Because sometimes individuals who have no part in the gang warfare get caught up in it and get harmed. And so it really is to protect them. And at the end of the day, to intervene in terms of trying to talk to both groups, the warring factions. In this case, I believe there is an ongoing feud in the BLC area that requires intervention and requires a pause button. So there are multiple reasons for a state of emergency, but primarily it is to hit pause to see if there can be interventions that can resolve things positively."
Court Found Government Liability In Previous SOE's
But recently, the government was found to be liable for abuses under SOE's. These cases are going to appeal but Musa said that every SOE is dependent on facts:
Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration, Labour, Local Government
"So there are two high court decisions that are on their way, obviously to the CCJ for determination. But states of emergencies by their very nature are constitutional. It is provided for in our constitution. It is how you apply it. And if you have enough evidence against certain individuals that are detained for that 30 day period to justify detaining them for that 30 day period. And so it will depend. Every state of emergency will depend on the facts of the case. It will depend on the investigation that is carried out because you do have to have an interrogation of individuals that are detained. They do have rights as individuals detained under a state of emergency. So it's not just a blanket statement that states of emergencies are unconstitutional. They are not. By their very nature, they are constitutional."
Indian Creek Village Council Doesn't Buy Canti's Tale
On Friday we took you to Laguna village in Toledo, where you heard from the MLA, the TAA, and elders of Indian Creek as well as the Alcalde, Marcus Canti, who was allegedly abducted.
On Sunday, the other half of the village, led by the village council, held their own meeting. During that session, the speakers questioned the validity of what was said at Friday's press conference, including Canti's account of what happened to him.
Domingo Choc, Chairman, Indian Creek
"Why did he choose another village to say that statement instead of facing the community? Why did he have to go to another community to address this issue?"
"The whole nation, the world was desperate to hear this statement from the alcalde and then all the comments that I read, people are saying it was staged."
"He did not mention anything that he had a break to send out a voice clip. He said I was attacked by four persons, tie me up, blindfold, but how can you see a phone?"
Donicio Sam, Councillor, Indian Creek Village Council
"Everything that is being done or whatever they said is fraud, it is fraud. So now by looking at them, listening to the spokesperson Cristina Coc supporting a fraudulent accusation on the village council, this is the most pathetic people I ever seen in this entire country. Now they're attacking the government, the government is not doing their job they need to do. Now why should you attack the government? Because they're asking for compensation."
"This alcalde is in Indian Creek, we need him to come and show his face and give us the answers that we demand, we're not asking, we are demanding."
Indian Creek Villagers Sign Petition To Remove Alcalde System
That meeting ended with a decision: the villagers would sign a petition denouncing the alcalde system. The chairman explained that decision as well as the allegations against him regarding involvement in Canti's alleged abduction.
Domingo Choc, Chairman, Indian Creek
"The community has decided to have no alcalde at the moment because due to the situation that has been happening, the community is at risk and they don't want anything to happen to them so that's why as I mentioned at the meeting, it's the community that has power, that says what we need to do. So it's the community decision now and I want to make it clear that let us listen to our community as a village council chairman I don't make decision, it is the people I represent that makes the decision so I want to make it clear and make the government know the decision of what Indian Creek community did today."
"The community decided that they don't want an alcalde so they just want to have the village council in the community."
"As I stated, I have nothing to do with the disappearance of the alcalde and then I made it clear on where I was at that time and I have evidence to prove where we are along with one of my friends who was out. And I have proof to show to the nation, I'm not afraid to show to the nation that I have nothing to do with this alcalde disappearance."
"On what they are seeing on development and that's where the hatred is coming from and I assume that's where they accuse me no being the target."
"Why not come in front of the community and explain instead of going into the other community, he's not a leader of Laguna, he's the leader of this community and the community needs to hear to know what really happened."
A Caribbean Perspective On Hantavirus
The World Health Organization has confirmed several isolated cases of the deadly Hantavirus aboard a cruise ship that was enroute to the Netherlands - which led to the death of three persons on board. Currently, the cruise ship MV Hondius is anchored in the Canary Islands, Spain, where it has been undergoing emergency evacuation of passengers.
And while that is more than half a world away, Hantavirus is a serious global public health threat.
In a virtual press conference for the Caribbean, The Caribbean Public Health Agency, CARPHA, shared with us today what they know so far about the outbreak.
Dr Lisa Indar, CARPHA, Executive Director
"CARPHA, as the regional public health agency and the CARICOM health lead has been monitoring the Hantavirus outbreak aboard the international cruise vessel the dutch registered MV Hondius originally reported by the WHO on May 2nd as a cluster of passenger with severe respiratory illnesses. It departed Argentina on the 1st of April 2026 on a tour to the south Atlantic. To date as of this morning May 11th, 8 cases have been identified by the WHO including both confirmed and suspected infections. It is not yet clear whether the newly identified US and French passenger cases are included in this total. In addition to this it includes 3 reported deaths. Passengers and crew have originated from 28 countries including the Philippines, US, UK and the Netherlands. Several individuals disembarked or were medically evacuated to different jurisdictions prompting international contact tracing across multiple countries. The WHO, alongside Dutch authorities have put the vessel under strict protocols following a notification by the IHR focal point for the United Kingdom to the WHO of a cluster of respiratory infections onboard the vessel on May 2nd. Both passengers and crew have undergone monitoring with some already transferred for care or repatriated to their home countries under controlled conditions. International health authorities continue to coordinate surveillance, contact tracing and risk assessment of exposed individuals."
Explaining Hantavirus Origin And Transmission
The director for CARPHA, Dr Lisa Indar underscored that the virus is not new and there are several strains that currently exist. She explained that the virus can only originate from rodents that are infected, and spread to humans that come in contact with them.
Dr Lisa Indar, CARPHA, Executive Director
"Hantavirus is not a new disease, it is a well documented rodent borne viral zoonotic disease with approximately 20 strains carried by rodents and present in different parts of the world for decades these viruses exist naturally in specific rodent populations which shed the virus in their urine droppings and saliva. So they are typically borne, rodent borne and transmitted through contact with infected rodents or their excrete. However the current Hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship is caused by the Andies strain which is the only known strain capable of limited human to human transmission it is found primarily in parts of South America including Argentina. Based on the evidence available the rodent species that maintains this virus in nature is not present in the Caribbean and therefore there is no documented local established route of transmission in our region. This rare human to human transmission usually requires intimate or prolonged exposure while the incubation period before symptoms appear is usually 1-6 weeks. There is no current antiviral treatment or vaccine, care is supportive including oxygen therapy and intensive monitoring."
Experts Says Hantavirus Poses No Direct Threat To Caribbean
Dr Indar also noted that since the confirmation of the cases, it poses no direct threats to the Caribbean, since the virus cannot spread the way Covid-19 does.
Dr Lisa Indar, CARPHA, Executive Director
"CARPHA reiterates the risk is low to the Caribbean public, this is due to the scientific evidence that shows Hantavirus does not spread easily between people the AnDs strain linked to this outbreak is unusual in that limited person to person transmission has been observed, however this is rare requires close and prolonged contact and it has not been shown to spread widely in communities. The primary source of is rodents, infection occurs primarily through contact when infected rodents, or contaminated environments it does not spread like Covid-19 or influenza it has a short environmental lifespan and a specific habitat. Hantavirus is not covid-19 because it spread very differently. Covid-19 spread globally because it transmitted easily between people including those with mild or low symptoms."
How Would Belize's Warning System Work In The Event Of A Food Borne Illness?
A few weeks prior to the ship's outbreak Dr Indar and her team were in Belize conducting consultations and a workshop on the contingency, and containment plans on how to prevent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses that could potentially harm our tourism industry. They specifically went over the aspect of tourism and health when clearing cruise ships. Dr Indar says that the training came in handy considering the current situation. She explained what protocols they have in place to detect these threats if they were to emerge in the Caribbean.
Dr Lisa Indar, CARPHA, Executive Director
"And this is one of CARPHA's novel surveillance system that documents in a confidential manner, different syndromes that are reported and if a threshold is passed then of course there is an alert. This system works for ships that are coming into the Caribbean so if something were to be happening in the Caribbean we would, the system picks it up Belize officials would pick it up in a confidential manner and if support is needed we would have our team like Mr Daniels and others like Ms Samantha to actually work in terms of being able to address that threat immediately, in fact the alerts occur instantly once it is reported and it is something that requires an alert mechanism to be addressed. With this particular, so therefore I want to say this is timely and we do see illnesses and elevated cases that occur in the tourism, population tourism surveillance and the system works by being able to identify the threat and trigger a response from the ship, ministry of health and others to reduce spread. The situation with the current outbreak, Hantavirus of course would have occurred in a different continent altogether you know originating in Argentina and going up to the Canary Islands where the boat would have passed so our normal cruise ship surveillance that is related to ships coming into the Caribbean wouldn't have picked it up however we have other mechanisms we do have daily monitoring we have real time early warning mechanisms we have information monitoring systems that would have picked up this international outbreak and this is why we have provided the information so we can provide more evidence clear document and information to the press."
