By Aaron Humes: For several hours on Monday, multiple bus blockades affected key roadways across Belize, leading to police intervention and the detention of three individuals. The protests emerged from rising frustrations among bus operators, but police say they maintained a measured response to avoid confrontation.
One of the most significant incidents occurred at the Tower Hill Bridge in Orange Walk, where police were deployed to monitor the situation closely, maintaining order while allowing citizens to express their grievances.
At the Burrell Boom junction, however, tensions escalated, resulting in the detainment of bus driver Charles Swift and two conductors. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Stacy Smith provided insight into the operational response: “Certainly it was a matter that we were monitoring for quite some time and we had operational efforts in place, certainly we recognize that the issue that is raised is one that touches and concerns all Belizean and certainly we want to afford persons who are disgruntled the ability to protest however we have recognized also the need to maintain law and order to ensure that citizens are able to move and get to their respective locations at their liberty, nuh. Certainly, the directive was to ensure to avoid any confrontation and to conduct ourselves as professional as possible whilst the negotiation occur and we are grateful that that did happen and we were able to conclude this morning’s operation without any incident.”
Following his detainment, Charles Swift was issued a $50 ticket for obstructing traffic but was released within two hours. Prime Minister John Briceno struck a deal with the BBA leadership which was confirmed later on Monday, pending further negotiations today, Tuesday, involving a three-dollar per gallon subsidy on national, village and Belize City runs and increases of between 50 cents and a dollar for longer runs for the next three months.
The post Three detained and ticketed as buses block roads across Belize in protests appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Aaron Humes: For several hours on Monday, multiple bus blockades affected key roadways across Belize, leading to police intervention and the detention of three individuals. The protests emerged from rising frustrations among bus operators, but police say they maintained a measured response to avoid confrontation. One of the most significant incidents occurred at the
The post Three detained and ticketed as buses block roads across Belize in protests appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.