Ministry Struggles to Trace Paper Trail for Penner Land at Baldy Beacon

Officials within the Ministry of Natural Resources are reportedly having difficulty tracing the paper trail connected to several parcels of land acquired within the military training range at Baldy Beacon, as investigations continue into the controversial Elvin Penner incident involving the Belize Defence Force. Love News understands that authorities have encountered challenges retrieving complete documentation related to land parcels reportedly obtained by former government minister Elvin Penner in the area back in September 2020. At this stage, it also remains unclear whether payments were ever made for those properties.  The development comes as police continue reviewing reports and statements submitted by the Belize Defence Force regarding last week’s incident at Baldy Beacon, where Penner allegedly entered a restricted military zone during an explosive ordnance destruction exercise and removed military items from the area.  Investigators have now received the documentation forwarded by the BDF and are reportedly carefully examining the evidence before deciding if and what criminal charges may be pursued.  As first reported by Love News, the BDF alleges that Penner entered the restricted exercise zone while military personnel, alongside representatives from the Organization of American States and other agencies, were conducting a destruction operation involving unexploded ordnance collected from across the country.  According to the BDF, Penner allegedly removed items including charging wire and blocks of white phosphorus before personnel intervened. BDF Commander Brigadier General Anthony Velasquez has already publicly stated that, from the military’s perspective, Penner trespassed into the training area and removed BDF property without authorization.  Penner has since attempted to accuse the BDF and visiting U.S. military personnel of wrongdoing, alleging that explosives were being detonated in what he described as a public area. However, military officials have rejected that characterization, maintaining that Baldy Beacon has been used for military training and demolition exercises for decades and that all operations were conducted under established safety protocols.  Our newsroom is following this story.