In the newscast for July 12, we brought back the issue of correspondent banking and we spoke with Foreign Affairs Minister, Wilfred Elrington who recently returned from a CARICOM session in Guyana where the matter formed a part of the meetings’ agenda.  Minister Elrington has conceded that not much progress has been made in getting the US Banks to restore relations with Belize or with the banks in the Caribbean.

Reuters News Agency also highlighted the current challenges being faced by Belizeans living here and abroad when it comes to sending money via wire transfers or other forms.  A very extensive article was also published by The Fiscal Times with a keen look at the business sector of Belize and how transactions are being conducted subsequent to the de-risking movement.

The entire movement began unfolding in 2008 with a financial crisis that brought to light many financial indiscretions in the banking sector and with that came the attack on financial fraud.  That attack saw banks being fined for being used by Mexican cartels for the facilitation of money laundering with no due diligence being done.  HSBC, a British-based multinational bank was fined two billion dollars for being used by cartels to launder drug money; meanwhile, BNP Paribas, a French multinational bank was fined nine billion dollars in 2014 in order to resolve accusations that it had violated US sanctions against Sudan, Cuba and Iran.  The fines are steep and with that the banks began withdrawing their relations with other banks, particularly in the Caribbean.

Tonight, we continue with the publication by The Fiscal Times in which several Belizean businessmen were interviewed.  The article quoted Lynn Young, Chief Executive Officer for the Canadian owned Belize Electric Company Limited as saying that quite a few of their suppliers are kinda freaking out  as the company has not been able to make large payments to vendors abroad since February.  Meanwhile, the Managing Director for Benny’s Home Centre, Brett Feinstein was noted as saying that he has been forced to turn away new lines of revenue.  He says, one customer wanted Benny’s to import an excavator valued at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars but he declined, saying quote, “If I divert the U.S. dollars to that business, it might affect my day-to-day, bread-and-butter business.”  End of quote.

Belize, among other Caribbean nations, is on the US State Department’s 2016 list of countries that present a primary concern when it comes to money laundering; this, coupled with the Panama Papers in which more than one hundred offshore companies in Belize were named in those documents, there has been a renewed focus on the Caribbean region when it comes to attacking financial indiscretions.  According to a World Bank Survey done in 2015, the Caribbean appears to be the worst hit of all the regions since the profits we offer are on a very small scale compared to the possible fines that the US and European banks could face.  The Fiscal Times quoted Belize’s Central Bank Governor, Glenford Ysaguirre, as saying, quote, “We were told by one large bank that if your bank does not have about two billion dollars in assets, it is not feasible for us to do business with you.” Interestingly, the International Monetary Fund reported that Belize’s entire financial system has assets amounting to less than three billion dollars.  Former President of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Arturo Vasquez was also contacted and as it relates to the local financial system and the country’s due diligence, Vasquez reportedly stated, quote, “Uncle Sam wants Belize to make a big arrest, and we have not been able to do that.” End of quote.

With Belize being unable to do that, the State Department has concluded that the Belize Government, quote, “continues to encourage offshore financial activities that are vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing.”  End of quote. But, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, a regional body focused on money laundering and terrorist finance has noted in 2015 that Belize is making significant progress in addressing the problems in its anti-money laundering regulations, citing evidence of Belize’s commitment to deal with the deficiencies.  Belize Bank was the first to be hit on November 20, 2014 when they received a 2-page letter ending its thirty five year relationship with the Bank of America.  The bank had originally given Belize Bank until January 2015 before the account would be closed, but agreed to an extension until the end of April. Shortly after, Bank of America dropped two other Belizean banks.  Citibank ended its relationship with Belize’s Central Bank in June 2016, although the Central Bank still has correspondent relationships with other U.S. banks.

A recent IMF report had indicated that across five Caribbean countries, at least 16 banks had lost all or some of their correspondent banking relationships as at May.  Meanwhile, Moody’s Rating Service made a prediction in February 2016 that by the middle of the year Belize’s banking system was likely to lose correspondent and credit card settlement services.  Moody also warned that Belize could face significant disruptions to tourism, trade and foreign investment after losing its banking links. About 60 percent of tourist spending in Belize involves credit card transactions settled by correspondent banks.  As we have told you, the Caribbean Community member states have come together to try to have some normalcy restored to the banking sector whilst looking at the idea of banding together to establish a commercial bank in the United States that would serve their diaspora and provide correspondent banking in the region.

Source:  Love FM

For most of you, whenever you want to watch a really good movie, you’ll head to the DVD store, or surf the web or Netflix and load up, let’s say …”The Hangover” or “Neighbors” for comedy and “The Conjuring” if you are in the mood for horror.

Well, the Belize Film Commission hopes that one day, people all over the world will stream and enjoy a fully Belizean produced high quality movie. Now, that hope might not seem all that realistic but Belize Film Commissioner Nigel Miguel says that through more exposure and connections with the right people in the US film industry, Belize can reach the next level. And one of the ways in which Miguel plans to promote Belize, is by hosting a meeting with movie producers and directors in Santa Monica, California. Miguel told us more about the significance of this meeting:

The first meeting was held in March 2015. This year’s meeting will be held on July 21st. Miguel also told us that HBO and HBO Latino are working on 2 projects in Belize. Representatives and producers from these global powerhouses plan on coming to Belize to scout in August.

Source: Channel 7 News

At El Pilar, “peace is a prerequisite.” Dr. Anabel Ford and the Institute of Archaeology (NICH) Belize would certainly agree.

“Archaeology doesn’t have borders. The borders that existed in the past, might not be the borders that exist in the future, and in the present.” — Hon. Courtney Abel

Excerpt from Channel 7 News:

On Friday’s news, we took you deep into the Annual Belize Archaeology and Anthropology Symposium. That’s where the local and international academics converge every year for to discuss the work they’ve been doing along side NICH. And while the symposium had them sitting in a conference hall, their work is in the field, digging in the dirt for clues to the ancient past.

But, one archaeologist’s work on an ancient site is very connected to the present. That’s Dr. Anabel Ford, who discovered the El Pilar Site in the early 80’s and has been working there for at least three decades. Located 7 miles west of Bullet Tree Falls village, this site sits in both Belizean and Guatemalan territory.

The work of Dr. Ford and her team is somewhat complicated by the politics surrounding Belize Guatemala cross-border relations. But for years, she’s been able to navigate the often tricky cross border politics to restore and preserve this very important Maya site.

And, yesterday, she even got a number of Ambassadors, Government officials, an OAS Observer, and even a Supreme Court judge to go trekking through bad road, bad weather, and deep into the jungle just for a special ceremony.

Our news team had a front-row seat for the 5 hour long event, and Daniel Ortiz reports:

Daniel Ortiz reporting: A number of VIP’s, including the Mexican Ambassador, the Taiwanese Ambassador, Supreme Court Justice Courtney Abel, and the BTIA Executive Director, converged on the El Pilar Archaeological Site for a very special event called “Katun El Pilar”. “Katun”, the Mayan word for 20, is being used in this particular campaign because the archaeologists are presenting their vision for the El Pilar Site for the next 20 years.

For El Pilar, there are a number of unique features, including the canopy of the Mayan Forest, and the fact that it sits on the border between Belize and Guatemala. Lead Archaeologist, Dr. Anabel Ford, who’s been working on this bi-national monument for more than 30 years, hopes to preserve those two features.

Dr. Anabel Ford – El Pilar Expert: “We’ve just finished “Katun”, which is Maya for 20, and we have decades. We count with just our hands, but they do hands and feet. That’s 20, and the next 20 years, we want to see a new kind of community come around realizing that the Maya Forest protects our ground water; it provides food for food sovereignty, and that it will be part of the agenda to build strategies for climate change, to tackle that problem.”

Cynthia Ellis Topsey – Researcher, El Pilar: “Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to this awesome historic event at El Pilar, one of the most wonderful sites in Belize and in the world. Here you will experience archaeology under the canopy, and we’re celebrating, having having fun, with people from all walks of life, and from all over the world.”

Daniel Ortiz: “We understand that there is a unique aspect to El Pilar in that it has a Maya dwelling. Explain to us the significance of that”

Dr. Anabel Ford: “People, everyday, don’t live temples – I mean – how often do you go to visit the Prime Minister’s Office. So, your daily life occurs in your home, in your kitchen, with your friends and family, and you don’t get a sense of what the Maya did then. And, I hope to take you to the Maya house to show you how the space, it’s more intimate. You could even understand that this could be a reception room. This could be the dormitory; this could be the shrine. It all seems at the size of human.”

The grounds of El Pilar, which was on the way to becoming abandoned by Cayo Tour guides, due to the ever-present fear of cross border bandits, became a lively place yesterday. Visitors were entertained by the musical and dancing excellence of the Sciencia Tecnologia, a Guatemalan Marching Band from Melchor De Mencos.

Also on the celebration agenda, a group of youths ran a total of 7 miles around the grounds of El Pilar as torchbearers to hand over to the Mayan Forest Gardeners. These indigenous care-takers are tasked to preserve the Maya Forest grounds that covers El Pilar.

And that message of peace is particularly relevant, because El Pilar is bi-national by definition, it’s area spans a swath of land that covers Belize and Guatemala.

Hon. Courtney Abel – Supreme Court Justice of Belize: “El Pilar actually sits on on a very interesting site. It actually spans not only Belize, but also a large area – a large sector – of Guatemala, which brings us to a very live topic in both countries.”

But, the archaeologists working here approached the topic perhaps in an overly cautious manner, as if tiptoeing around landmines. They were strict not to deviate from the talking points of peace, almost downplaying the Belize/Guatemalan angle. We got the sense that speaking of the ongoing cross border relations – which have recently been controversial – is sort of taboo, and could endanger the good archaeological work at El Pilar.

Dr. Anabel Ford: “This cultural treasure is treasured by all humanity, whether you’re from the United States, whether you’re from Mexico, or Guatemala or Belize, this is the Maya Forest, and everyone Believes that the Maya Forest has great value. We need the biodiversity.”

Cynthia Ellis Topsey: “All of you who have taken the time to come here, we want to congratulate you for facing your fears. Because many times, we don’t want to come into some of these sites because we are afraid. Afraid of the weather, afraid of the road, afraid of many things. So, we want to give thanks if you’ve taken the time to face and overcome whatever fears that you may have. The point is that there is no problems. Researchers research anywhere in the world. So, Dr. Ford does research on the Belize side, and the Guatemala side, respecting the laws of both countries.”

But, those complex politics aside, Dr. Ford and her team have been successful at cultivating a working relationship with the Tourism and Culture Ministries in both countries, all in an effort to further the development and preservation of El Pilar.

She and the professionals around her want to leverage those friendly partnerships in archaeology to help foster another element of confidence building and peacemaking.

Dr. Anabel Ford: “Wherever you go in the world, we have lots of things that are shared, and everyone has talked about nature shared We breath the same air; we have the same trees, but why can’t we look at culture, and have peace through archaeology? And, El Pilar is the place we want to see that happen.”

Lloyd Gillett – Former Brig. General of BDF: “Anabel has turned this question around. And ,instead of asking, how do we protect these treasures during conflict, she’s saying, ‘how can we enhance peace through archaeology?’ And I think that’s a very beautiful question, and we should commend her on trying to solve this protracted problem of destroying antiquities by thinking of how we can enhance peace through archaeology.”

Hon. Courtney Abel: “Archaeology doesn’t have borders. The borders that existed in the past, might not be the borders that exist in the future, and in the present. And, there cannot, in my view, be limits placed on archaeology by borders. So, that peace is very much, as I understand it, a prerequisite, almost a necessary condition for the existence and survival of archaeology. And, in a sense, El Pilar is symbolic of that. Now, I’m not meaning to be political here, and I don’t think I am, because peace can never be political. It’s got to be something that we’re all striving for.”

John Burgos – Executive Director, BTIA: “What you see today as El Pilar, it gives us a good sense of accomplishment, and we must be able to recognize and acknowledge how far the efforts have come.”

After the ceremony, visitors took a tour of the Belize portion of the site. As you saw in our story, both police officer and BDF soldiers provided security for the over 100 persons who attended.

Xunantunich, or Stone Woman, is one of the country’s more popular Mayan sites, located just across the Mopan River in San Jose, Succotz…one kilometer away from the Guatemalan border. Centuries ago it served as one of the more important ceremonial centers of the Mayan Civilization in the region, and today the site is in the spotlight once again. Archaeologists, university students from abroad and invited guests today headed west for a first look at some of the Stone Woman’s treasures, unearthed during an ongoing excavation. Mike Rudon was there and has the story.

Mike Rudon, Reporting

Works have been ongoing at the Xunantunich ancient ceremonial site for a couple years now, with archaeology students working along with the Department of Archaeology. Just recently attention was focused on this Mayan mound, and the team struck gold, historically speaking.

Dr. John Morris, Director of Archaeology

“We decided to focus on the south eastern end of the site which is these two small temples to the left because we never really understood why they were placed there. So in the exhibitions this year and the conservation work, we located two stelas; one large carved stela that’s broke and then also a panel. It’s actually a panel and we labeled it panel number three because we have two other panels already here on the site. And the panel is fascinating because the panel has on it hieroglyphic inscriptions. It has a set of four glyphs there and those glyphs tell us a story.”

According to Morris, it is a story of Mayan royalty.

Dr. John Morris

“On one side of the panel, there is a date and it is second of December 638 AD and it commemorates the death of a woman and her name us Lady Batzek and she was literally the wife of the ruler of Caracol at that particular point in time, Lord Kantu. And Lord Kantu is famous for his military exploits. Caracol at the time defeated a lot of the major sites in the area, major cities like Tikal, Naranjo; Caracol had defeated those sites. And they had done so because they were able to join forces with another site, Clakmul. Lady Batzek is actually from Calakmul.”

So how did a panel from Caracol end up at Xunantunich? Morris says the story told on this panel has connected some vital historical dots.

Dr. John Morris

“Somewhere down the line, Caracol was defeated by Naranjo and Okanal and they took the stairway panel that was at Caracol to Naranjo, cut it up into pieces and gave a part to Xunantunich and part to Okanal. These are the sites that actually helped Naranjo fight with Caracol. So even in antiquity, you have geopolitics; you have cities aligning with each other to fight with each other and to conquer each other. And so this finally tells us the remaining puzzle as to why Xunantunich, in the late terminal classic which would be 700 to 900, why Xunantunich became such a powerful city in this area.”

The find is a significant one – not only the stelae and panel but also shards of pottery, obsidian and bones which tell tales upon which these historians and archaeologists thrive. Excavation is expensive, though, and really the Department survives only through largesse and eager hands from abroad.

Dr. John Morris

“We are a little department, but we do a lot of fundraising; we go abroad and we encourage a number of universities; in this particular case, we are working with the northern Arizona University where my good old esteemed friend, Doctor Awe, teaches now, so he was able to generate some funds there. We work with the University of Texas, San Antonio, who also provided us with some funds. We have a private donor from outside who has generously given us fifty thousand dollars to carry out work here. NICH provides some funds; it is all a fundraising thing that we do. We apply to the National Science Foundation for funds; the U.S. embassy. So the Government of Belize doesn’t have the money to do the work; we have to raise the money and we do that outside of the country.”

Elodio Aragon Jr., Minister of State, Culture

“You just have to look at Lamanai, Caracol…what’s happening here in Xunantunich and you will see that there is so much more to be excavated, there is so much more to be unearthed. The amount of work that has to be done is incredible. We don’t have the money to unearth every single Maya mount that we see, but working in collaboration with the universities and with our people here, we are able to slowly do the kind of work that needs to be done in Belize in terms of our Maya sites.”

Today, there is excitement at Xunantunich. With a major find so early into the excavation, there is anticipation and hope that the mound will yield even more treasure closer to the center. Mike Rudon for News Five.

Follow this story and more with Channel 5.

The Belize Fisheries Department is changing the way fishermen catch fish through a stakeholder based initiative known as Managed Access. This divides Belize’s territorial waters into 9 fishing zones. A smaller pilot project like this was launched in 2011 and it targeted two zones, namely the Glovers reef Marine Reserve and the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. The successes in these two areas have given the department enough confidence to expand this initiative to encompass all of Belize’s territorial waters. But now with more stringent regulations governing fishing activities in Belize how are the 3 thousand licensed fishermen in Belize taking it? Well we found out this morning when we attended the official launch of the project at the Fisheries compound in Belize City.

Beverly Wade – Administrator. Fisheries Dept.
“So, manage access in Belize really a big deal. Traditionally, we’ve approached our fisheries resources as an open access fishery and that really means there was no structure approach in place as to how fishermen go out and target the resources. If you look at Fisheries management globally, Open Access Fisheries are often referred to tragedy of the commons, because what it means is that there is no order, no structure, everybody just dives in and they access the resources. So, what we have done is that today is an historical day because we’ve actually now implemented a system where we have now in place a structured approach to how fishermen look at the resources. It now comes with secure tenure ship for fishers. So, fully we are able to work with fishermen and to sit with them, find out where they’re fishing, what they’re fishing for and to actually now incorporate that into a formal system.”

Reporter
“Talking to your other fellow fisher folk, what has been the response to this program?”

Daniel Dawson – Belizean Fishermen
“Well, at the beginning it was difficult, as we all know that fishermen are sell employed they don’t like to be told what to do, they don’t like rules, but now they are seeing the benefit. They are understanding the program better. They are complying with it. For starters, if there’s an area for you to fish and if you would abuse and would go beyond that you could be charged. Those are some little areas that some fishermen do not like, but it will help because if you have a 100 traps here, you could identify your traps from your boundary to the other boundary. It’s really beneficial for them.”

The Fisheries Department hopes that by the next 2 years they will have every licensed vessel fitted with vessel monitoring systems to keep track of the various fishing activities in the 9 zones. In addition to this the department will also be implementing a vessel color coding system to aid them in their various monitoring efforts.

Follow this story and more with Channel 7.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports has confirmed plans to expand the social studies curriculum to include incidents of Belizean history.

It was reported that the Ministry is preparing to mass-produce copies of the 1859 Anglo-Guatemalan Treaty which tried to offer a lasting solution to what was then a dispute over the boundaries of British Honduras and Guatemala, between the latter and Britain.

Guatemala repudiated the treaty after Britain did not follow through in building a road linking the two territories as provided for in an article of the treaty.

While unaware of whether such production has started, CEO in the Ministry David Leacock says the Treaty and other incidents of Belizean history will now be part of a revamped social studies curriculum in schools.

Follow this story and more with Breaking Belize News.