The talks are being held in Saint Kitts and Nevis alongside the Fiftieth Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government Meeting, which brings together leaders from 15 Caribbean member states.

According to Reuters, Rubio, the son of Cuban exiles, has been a leading voice in the current U.S. administration pushing for tougher policies toward Cuba’s communist leadership and the former left-wing government in Venezuela. His visit follows a U.S. military operation on January 3 in which Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured, and dozens of people, including 32 Cuban bodyguards, were killed.

At the same time, U.S. sanctions have blocked oil shipments to Cuba, worsening energy shortages on the island.

Prime Minister John Briceño is also attending the summit. He left Belize on Sunday with Foreign Affairs Minister Francis Fonseca, Chief Executive Officer Amalia Mai, and Ambassador to CARICOM Lawrence Sylvester.

Briceño is scheduled to return on March 1, with Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde serving as acting Prime Minister during his absence.

The post Marco Rubio to Meet with Caribbean Leaders first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

                            Andre Perez

Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South

“Listen, I not only empathize with him. Listen to me, I have spoken to him and it’s laughable that you have the opposition and they call it the shush, they call it the shush. Listen to me. This is serious work. You can’t be engaging and trying to be the next government when you don’t have any plans in place. You have no plans. What are we going to do next? You have no plans, but yet you’re going to do shush about certain things that you’re hearing. You cannot verify it. I think at this point in time, if I was a mayor, I’d be seeking legal advice right now for these things that are being coming to him that is unfounded. However, that’s for him to decide. But it speaks volumes about a very weak opposition that is based on shush. About the minister missing in action in Caye Caulker when in fact I’ve been born six times in Caye Caulker. About calling the mayor different things, about accusations that no one has proof about it. If you are going to look at an opposition that is going to be responsible and is going to get elections based on just shush, wheel and come again.”

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

Watch the full newscast here:

The post Perez Tells UDP to “Wheel Again” in Núñez Row first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

This week, the Wave Radio and TV Facebook page, aligned with the UDP, accused Nuñez of shady deals and poor transparency. In a lengthy social media post, Nuñez rejected the claims, calling them baseless and harmful to his family. “It is indeed sad to see up to what level the UDP has to stoop down to try and tarnish my reputation. I feel not for myself, but for my family that has to endure and read all of these false allegations,” he wrote.

The mayor recounted his long history of hard work, from selling tortillas with his grandfather to becoming a local pilot and eventually entering politics. He said his administration is focused on tangible progress for San Pedro rather than political games. “Let’s ignore the noise from the opposition’s market. The distractions only hamper progress. Progress promised and being delivered to you!” he wrote.

Backing Nuñez today, Belize Rural South Area Representative Andre Perez lashed out at the opposition for spreading what he described as “unfounded” claims. 

He urged the mayor to consider legal action. “I think at this point in time, if I was a mayor, I’d be seeking legal advice right now for these things that are being coming to him that is unfounded. However, that’s for him to decide. But it speaks volumes about a very weak opposition that is based on shush”, Perez told News Five.

The post Political Tensions Flare in San Pedro as Andre Perez Defends Mayor Nuñez first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism, Youth and Sports

“To answer your question, no sir, John Briceno is the leader  of the People’s United Party and whenever that decision is made, when he decides to retire maybe I retire with him. And who knows?”

Reporter

“Really? You’re still young or you just look young?”

Anthony Mahler

“No, no. ah young, ah young ah young.”

Reporter

“So then, what, what?”

Anthony Mahler

“This, this takes a toll on you. It does. It takes a toll on you. Before I came here, I saw about seventy-five people at my office. And the needs are getting great. Social media has created a different expectation on people and so it takes a toll on you to try to find the resources to help everybody or to as many people as possible.”

Reporter

“And so you are saying politics has become more difficult?”

Anthony Mahler

“It has. In fact, I spoke to somebody close to Right Honourable Said Musa and he said when the Prime Minister was the Prime Minister, then that right now, if you look at it, one year is equivalent to three years for them. So by the end of this term, I would’ve done thirty. Right, so that’s a, that’s a long time

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

Watch the full newscast here:

The post Anthony Mahler Thinking About The End? first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

                       John Briceño

John Briceño, Leader, People’s United Party

“Businesses are thriving and more jobs are being created. We have restored confidence at home and abroad. But we did not do these things tor recover. Yes we did these things to better the lives of everyone to get them to prepare. We are preparing our young people for careers in a changing global economy. We are preparing our communities to grow, with better electricity, digital access and services that attract investment. We are preparing our institutions to be more transparent, accountable and more responsible to you the people we serve. Why, because we are future focused.”

The post P.U.P. Marks 75 Years with Major Resolutions and Renewed Briceño Endorsement first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

Oscar Mira, Area Representative, Belmopan

“I think from 2016 when John Briceno took over the leadership of this party, he managed to unify. The PUP is the oldest party in Belize. The only political party who has won more than anybody else and under the leadership of the prime minister, Honorable John Briceno we have seen where the mandate and it is true, the DPM said it, we have a massive victory and I don’t think we will ever see a victory as big as this one and then we had another election and the victory and mandate was bigger. We are not a perfect party. There are mistakes and we will work on those mistakes. They are the ones that have elected us and they are the ones that will give us that mandate again. We are ready to win and win again.”

The post Belmopan’s Oscar Mira Urges Action Over Election Talk first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

Mia Mottley, Prime Minister, Barbados

“ We stood here in 2018 and I promised you then that we would work hard to stabilize this country, that we would do the difficult things and we did them. We thought we could move to a growth path almost immediately, but COVID had other plans for us. And rather than a growth plan, we went from mission critical to mission survival and regrettably, some of our friends and family did not make it. It is really only in the last two and a half years that we have started mission transformation and it is to this, that this Barbados Labor Party government is committed. Yes, we did not come simply to hold office. We have come to make Barbados better and to make your lives better. We have never stopped believing from the days of Grant Lee Adams, that our mission, first and foremost, is to stop poor people from being poor and to remove injustice. Wherever it exists to create opportunities for people and to be able collectively to build strong families, strong communities, strong workers, strong businesses, and ultimately a strong nation.”

The post Barbados Landslide Win, But Where Were Voters?   first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

On the Phone: Lee Mark Chang, Mesopotamia Area Representative

“If I need to pay the bond, I will take full responsibility for it because we were out there. We were peacefully demonstrating. If that’s what they wanna do in terms of threatening us as citizens of Belize, that they’re gonna charge us for our rights to demonstrate, then you know what, so be it. Like when the protest started from very early on, I spoke with Mr. Reyes and I told him, man you guys the make fi unu right unu wrong. Unu cannot trample upon a person’s constitutional rights. The lockdown man for what? Being a member of a gang? Then after that, then they flip flop. Man, they bally can get their own story straight weh they ker the man in for. But it’s the government and they’re in power and they will say what they want, what they wanna say. So what can we do as citizens? We can demonstrate. We can let them know of our unhappiness towards what they’re doing, but if they want to continue send threats then you know what, then we’ll probably have to take them to court or something.”

Shane Williams

“This would be a deterrent for regular Belizeans to protest and demonstrate which is their right. So do you find that you probably have a responsibility to fight against such threats from the police even though you may be able to pay the bond?”

Lee Mark Chang

“Firstly, the police think they the do we a favor. They noh di do we no favor. We as Belizean citizens, we have a right to demonstrate. We have a right to let the government know what we like and what we do not like. That’s why we live in a free country. So if they wanna continue down this road ya then something will have to give mi bally. And I’ll tell you, the voices of the people is the loudest.”

And as the back‑and‑forth continues, Chang vows to stand his ground in court if it comes to that, saying the real question now is how far authorities will push Belizeans’ right to protest.

The post Lee Mark Chang Defends UDP Protest Amid Police Warning first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

                        Gabriel Zetina

Gabriel Zetina, UDP Senator

“The decision that the UDP Parliamentarian caucus took to boycott the recent Sitting of the House of Representatives was made to protest the BTL and Smart acquisition. I want to reassure the Belizean that no one was coerced.”

                  Tracy Panton

Tracy Panton, Leader, United Democratic Party

“There has been no regret that the UDP via its Parliamentarians will not allow the government to use the national Assembly and to use the House of Representatives as a rubber stamp for corruption. And the opportunity is not lost. This matter in my view requires oversight by Parliament and the fact that the Prime Minister who knew nothing of this deal, he did not know that BTL was talking tohis family company. But he now knows that he is directing, the prime minister of this country has inserted himself to direct a pause on a deal he knew nothing about. The UDP Parliamentarians will not be treated like “kunumunu”

The post UDP Boycotts House Meeting, Cites PM Disrespect first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

“The members of our parliamentary caucus and leadership team will seek an audience with the PUC and SSB so we can ventilate to them directly and on record what our position is with the BTL acquisition and why,” Panton said.

She criticised the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for waiting on political instructions instead of acting independently. “They should not wait to get instructions from a head of state when they have a law in place, well established, that governs how the PUC should act when matters of this nature come up,” Panton said. 

Panton also questioned the regulator’s independence. “The PUC, we all know, is made up of members appointed by the Briceño administration, and we take serious issue with that,” she said.

Her comments followed last Friday’s announcement that discussions on the deal have been paused as instructed by the prime minister. Minister of Public Utilities Michel Chebat told the House of Representatives that Prime Minister John Briceño ordered the pause to allow for public engagement and to ensure the proper legal process is followed.

Chebat explained that any acquisition of this size must first be reviewed by the PUC. He noted that formal submissions will be made if and when the Social Security Board and BTL approve the acquisition.

The UDP says it will continue to demand oversight, warning that the deal carries significant financial risks and must be handled with full transparency.

“There are laws that govern the function of the PUC, and no prime minister or minister of government should have to instruct the PUC what to do in the public’s interest,” Panton stated.

The post Panton Says ‘No Prime Minister Should Have to Instruct the P.U.C.’ first appeared on Greater Belize Media.