Belize Travel

Belize Mulls Decriminalizing Marijuana

Belize’s El Secreto to Open in October

Above: a rendering of the project By the Caribbean Journal staff The El Secreto boutique resort in Belize is set to officially open Oct. 1, the company has announced. The property on Belize’s Ambergris Caye is 11 miles north of …

Belize and Guatemala Agree on 2013 Date for Territorial Referenda

Above: Belize’s Wilfred Elrington and Guatemala’s Harold Caballeros (OAS Photo/Patricia Leiva) By the Caribbean Journal staff Belize and Guatemala’s Foreign Ministers have agreed on a date for simultaneous referenda in the two countries on the issue of Guatemala’s territorial claim …

Belize, Suriname Meet With OAS

Above: OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza and Suriname Foreign Minister Winston Lackin (OAS Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff Belize Foreign Minister Wilfred Erlington held a meeting Wednesday in Cartagena with Organization of American States Secretary General Jose Miguel …

Barbados to Host First Sitting of Caribbean Court of Justice Outside of Trinidad

Above: the CCJ’s headquarters in Port of Spain By the Caribbean Journal staff The Caribbean Court of Justice will meet in Barbados beginning April 16, the first time the court will be sitting outside of its base in Port of …

CARIFORUM and EU Sign $110M in Agreements; Allocations for Belize, Haiti

Above: EU Representative Robert Kopechy and CARICOM SG Irwin LaRocque sign the agreements (Photo: CARICOM) By the Caribbean Journal staff The Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) and the European Union signed three financial agreements aimed at …

Belize Prime Minister Names New Cabinet

Above: Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow By the Caribbean Journal staff Returning Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow has named his new cabinet, following his re-election in the country’s March 7 vote. Barrow’s Deputy Prime Minister will be Gaspar Vega, joined …

OAS: Belize Party Activists Produce “Less Than Conducive” Voting Environment

Above: OAS Head of Mission Ambassador Frank Almaguer (OAS Photo/Juan Manuel Herrera) By the Caribbean Journal staff The active role played by party activists during Belize’s general elections Wednesday produced a “less than conducive” voting environment, according to the Organization …

Belize’s UDP Wins Narrow Re-election; Opposition Gains Eight Seats

Above: Prime Minister Dean Barrow (UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe) By Alexander Britell Belize’s ruling United Democratic Party has won the country’s general elections with a total of 17 out of 31 seats, Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai told Caribbean Journal. The …

Belize Readies for Election

Above: Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca By the Caribbean Journal staff Belize is gearing up for national and municipal elections Wednesday, the first in the country since 2008, in a race pitting Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s …

Interview with Francis Fonseca, Candidate for Prime Minister of Belize

By Alexander Britell BELIZEANS HEAD TO THE POLLS Wednesday to choose their next government — deciding between Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s ruling United Democratic Party and the Opposition People’s United Party, led by Francis Fonseca, which is looking to return …

OAS Electoral Observation Mission Arrives in Belize Ahead of Vote

Above: Ambassador Frank Almaguer (OAS Photo/Juan Manuel Herrera) By the Caribbean Journal staff The Organization of American States Mission that will observe Belize’s election arrived in Belize City Thursday ahead of the March 7 vote. Ambassador Frank Almaguer is leading …

Op-Ed: Why the Economy Is the Biggest Issue in Belize’s Elections

By Kay Menzies Op-Ed Contributor The voters of Belize will go to the polls next week to decide which party will form the next Government of Belize. Without a doubt, most voters will make their decisions based on, among other …

From St Lucia to Jamaica, OAS Launches Caribbean Small Business Project

Above: officials on hand in Washington at the announcement of the project (Photo: Patricia Leiva) By the Caribbean Journal staff Five CARICOM member states, including Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, Dominica and St Lucia will be the sites of a joint OAS-United …

OAS to Observe Belize Elections

Above: OAS Secretary General Jose Manuel Insulza and Belizean Ambassador to the OAS Nestor Mendez (OAS Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff The Organization of American States has signed an agreement with Belize to monitor the country’s elections March 7, …

Belize Joins Regional Health Initiative

Above: Belize (Photo: IDB) By the Caribbean Journal staff Belize has joined the Salud Mesoamerica 2015 Initiative, a project that aims to reduce maternal and infant mortality among the poor. The programme could help more than 30,000 young women and …

Standard & Poor’s Lowers Credit Rating on Belize, Citing Politics

By the Caribbean Journal staff Standard & Poor’s has lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Belize to CCC+ from B-, with its outlook “stable.” The ratings firm pointed to an announcement by Prime Minister Dean …

Prince Harry to Visit Jamaica, Bahamas and Belize in March

Above: Prince Harry in a visit to Mozambique (Photo: Office of Prince of Wales) By the Caribbean Journal staff Britain’s Prince Harry will visit Jamaica in March as part of the international celebrations commemorating the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth …

The Caribbean Year in Review

For the Caribbean, it was the Year of the Vote. By year’s end, five countries, Jamaica, Guyana, St Lucia and Haiti and the British Virgin Islands, will have chosen new leadership, with Jamaicans headed to the polls on Thursday. It …