Year: 2025

What does Court Ruling Mean for Shyne Barrow’s UDP?

Barrow’s initial reaction focused heavily on the Central Executive, holding onto the party’s assets. However, he did admit that it would have been beneficial, not just for him, but for the public as well, to have a clear-cut clarification. Despite everything, he remains in the U.D.P. headquarters, firmly in control as the Central Executive.

 

Shyne “Moses” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“That is evidence by where I sit right now.  That is evidence by control of all of the party assets, including our logo, our letterhead, etc… So the judge did not amend the November eighth order to say that anyone can use the party assets, anyone can make use of the party organs, etc, etc.  So everything remains in place and we will make that argument to the Elections and Boundaries and, if needs be, we’ll go back to court.”

 

Reporter

“But what you’ve said is inconsequential because your reality has just changed with today’s decision.  The fact is that Tracy Panton will claim that she is rightfully, currently as things stand, a member of the UDP and that’s how she will present herself to the electorate.  Yes, but you wanted that to be stopped.  This decision has denied you that, so what are you going to say now to the UDP members and what is it going to look like in terms of the slate that you present that she said.

 

Shyne Barrow

“She was going to do that regardless, in our humble opinion, so nothing really changes and the Elections & Boundaries [Commission] will have to make a determination based on totality of facts. I concede that it would have been, not just in my interest, but in the public’s interest for there to be a definitive clarification given, in addition to what has already happened which is, I sit here in the UDP headquarters, in possession of the UDP headquarters, as the Central Executive of the UDP.”

 Shyne’s Press Conference Gets Fiery

At this afternoon’s press conference, our colleague Marisol Amaya had a heated exchange with Shyne Barrow over Justice Tawanda Hondora’s ruling about the return of the U.D.P. headquarters and the party’s assets to the central executive. The confrontation escalated to the point where Barrow demanded Amaya correct what he saw as a misrepresentation of the decision.

Ship has Sailed’ on U.D.P. Mediation

With the 2025 general elections just around the corner, the United Democratic Party’s internal dispute remains unresolved. Today, the Belize High Court sided with Tracy Taegar-Panton, dismissing the two contempt claims brought by Moses ‘Shyne’ Barrow. Panton remains steadfast, insisting there’s only one United Democratic Party, and in her view, Barrow isn’t part of it. Despite her numerous attempts to mediate with Barrow, he has consistently refused. Now, as Panton puts it, ‘that ship has sailed’.

 

                         Tracy Taegar-Panton

Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert 

“How many times have you been aware of us keeping the door open to Shyne Barrow and his followers take place in the interest of the party’s affairs, in the interest of the people’s affairs, in the interest of the country’s affairs, and he has said No to mediation at every juncture, I certainly believe,  and I will say now, categorically  unequivocally that ship has sailed for us. We will move forward. Up to last week, we made that in between extended an invitation, and  he was so sure. That he was right footed on this matter that he dismissed it and he said publicly he had no interest in mediation. He, as far as I’m concerned, has closed that door.”

 

Tracy Preparing to Announce her Standard Bearer Picks

With less than two weeks to go before the official nominations for the 2025 general elections, the U.D.P. still hasn’t announced all its candidates. Tracy Taegar-Panton has confirmed that Lee Mark Chang is her choice for the Mesopotamia constituency and that she’ll be using red on the ballot sheet. Here’s more on that.

 

Tracy Taegar-Panton, Albert Area Representative

“We certainly have not officially sent out a flyer declaring who our candidates are, and we haven’t officially launched that. There will be an appropriate time when our delegates will be formally introduced. And let me say, the United Democratic Party has thirty-one standard bearers vying for the election.  We maintain that that thirty-one were those candidates. For those of us who went to a contested or endorsement convention, with the exception of Mesop. And the Mesop matter came to be when the executive of committee of Mesop sought an audience with me and ask for a new standard bearer, which is their legal and constitutional right to do. And so there is now a new, based on the strength of that the new UDP standard bearer in Mesop in the name of Lee Mark Chang. There is one United Democratic Party that has thirty-one candidates. I’m not aware that there will be an election on March twelfth of this year. As far as I am concerned, there is one UDP.  I don’t know what determination or consideration will be taken by the Election and Boundaries Commission. The ROPA, the Representation of Peoples Act, gave that discretion to the Election and Boundaries Commission. However, I am certain that they will have to take into account the judgment from today’s hearing where the preferred position of Shyne Barrow has not been entertained.”

 

Tracy Denounces Espat as Albert Standard Bearer

Earlier this week, we reported that Jose Uc Espat has thrown his hat into the ring for the 2025 general election in the Albert constituency. Espat, who initially started an independent party, has now joined forces with the United Democratic Party under Moses ‘Shyne’ Barrow. Today, Sheena Pitts, Tracy Taegar-Panton’s chairperson, explained why they believe Espat isn’t a legitimate candidate.

 

                              Sheena Pitts

Sheena Pitts, United Democratic Party

“Don’t forget the backdrop of the argument of Barrow and his console that status quo anthem  means before October twentieth, and everything should be before then so putting into its proper context, you can really have each of both ways, if status quo and means, which we know are clear, now no clearly what the court meant when he gave the order. But if we are to entertain his argument, and it means that status quo ante is prior to October twentieth, 2024, then it would mean those standard bearers prior to that. And certainly what Honorable Panton is saying, that the standard bearers under UDP  Are those standard bearers from then with the exception of the Mesopotamia division where the constituency committee invited an audience and indicated that they are no longer desirous of being represented by Barrow and so there was a departure and by the UDP constitution,  which permits that to happen and the procedure was followed and there is a different and new standard bearer. So although we, we like that there are persons. Who want to put themselves forward for service to the people and country. Unfortunately, you will be cajoled into boycotting procedures to, to get yourself in the foot of a person who can’t properly serve under the UDP banner. So in short, Mr. Espat did not enjoy his position through the procedural regulations of the UDP.  And so it is the honorable, honorable Penton’s view that he is not the rightful candidate for the UDP in the Albert Division.”

 

CWU Still not Pleased with Government, Despite ESAT

On December eighth, 2023, the Government of Belize took over the Port of Belize Limited, and the interim board they appointed is still in place. Since mid-2024, the Christian Workers Union (C.W.U.) and PBL’s management have been negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement for the stevedores. On January thirty-first, 2025, the C.W.U. issued a twenty-one-day notice of industrial action to the Minister of Labor. In response, the minister set up an Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal to resolve the dispute. However, the C.W.U. argues that the government can’t just rely on this tribunal, which includes three government representatives out of five members, to fix the mess they’ve created. The C.W.U. has warned the Government, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, and the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industries that moving forward with this flawed tribunal is nothing short of a farce and a tragedy for the workers and the people of Belize.

 

                     Leonora Flowers

Leonora Flowers, President, C.W.U.

“Our concerns surround the fact that it does not bode well for the CWU, its members and all the workers of Belize that the government owns the company.  The government as its management that has not made a decent offer to the stevedore and then when we reach an impasse and we indicated such and we sent this to the minister, the government turns around and empanels a tribunal and the government, again, chooses its three members to sit on a five-member panel.  NO matter how you cut that, no matter how you slice it, that doesn’t look fair.  There is no justice that we can await coming from such a makeup of the tribunal.  And we don’t say this to cause any slight on the tribunal, they believe, they may want to believe that we are putting their integrity into impunity.  We are not.  We are not looking at the person, we are looking at how it looks on the face of it.  We cannot ask the same government who owns the port to set up a tribunal to give us justice.”

CWU Demands that Government Comes Clean with Stevedores

The C.W.U. has pointed out the flaw in the Labor Minister’s decision to set up the tribunal. While the law does give the Minister the power to form a tribunal when a notice of industrial action is received, the principles of natural justice and fair practices mean the current tribunal can’t be seen as impartial.

 

Leonora Flowers, President, C.W.U.

“We are asking the government to do what it needs to do to come clean. You own the port, you can make an offer to the stevedores and resolve this matter.  Cost of living has gone up for every single worker in the country of Belize.  Every single household can tell you, what I use to buy with a hundred dollars, I can no longer buy that. My bags are this tiny when I go to the stores and the government knows that.  We have a statistical institute that explains that from month to month.  So the government, we are asking them to come to the table, make a decent offer and close the deal, resolve it to the extent that you don’t need to empanel a tribunal which is a farce, in the face of the Belizean people whom you came to on the eighth of December 2023 and said that we took over the port, we acquired the port for the people of Belize. It now belongs to the government, but they still continue to take us down the same road that the other person took us. How can that be just?”

 

Disabled Baker Traumatized After Police Raid

Tonight, a local baker has come forward with a harrowing account of her experience with the Belize Police Department. Dylan Ysaguirre, a disabled baker from Dangriga, claims that on Thursday night, police stormed into her home on suspicions of her selling cannabis and possessing illegal guns and ammunition. She alleges that the officers overturned the baked goods she was preparing to sell and is demanding compensation for the loss of her goods and the emotional distress she has suffered. Ysaguirre, who was charged once back in 2023 and has been diligently paying her fine, further alleges that one of the officers disrespected her and even kicked her wheelchair. She suffers from a stress-induced autoimmune disease, which she says has worsened since these raids began.

 

On the Phone: Dylan Ysaguirre, Alleged Raid Victim

“They have been, this is like the tenth time that they’ve come to my house and it’s over the course of the past like year and a half, because last year I had gotten arrested and charged for some marijuana that they had found in my house. It was my personal,  they didn’t believe it, so they put  a traffic in charge on me and I wasn’t happy with that because, I tell them that, I tell them what is the main reason that I use it for, that I use it for herbal medicine, yes I smoke weed, but the main reason I’m using it is for my remedies and for my medicine for my son because, I am disabled, my mother is also disabled but my son, he is special needs, he’s not just disabled. They keep harassing me not even my personal, that’s the part that really hurt me yesterday because yesterday they were roughing me up and I had less than two grams on my table.  And they’re still accusing me of selling weed even though I had less than two grams on my table and they’re still accusing me of selling weed.. I do not appreciate the way how they disrespect me as a disabled woman because, I know how women are, sometimes we’ll have scuffle and we’ll back and forth, but that’s not the way to treat someone in my position that’s disabled because they’re not shaved. She kicked my wheelchair while I was trying to stand up to make me fall. She disrespected me, she disrespected my stuff, and I feel unfair and I feel like I should get compensated for the cupcakes that I had lost. And also emotional damages. After they left my house, And after I did that live, I was so upset that I was physically sick, like my hands were shaking, and I felt like I wanted to vomit.”

 

Ex-Sports Council Accountant Gets 5 Years for $1M Fraud

Former Senior Accountant Ivan Ayuso is still behind bars after admitting to one count of theft and three counts of money laundering. He embezzled over a million dollars from the Government of Belize and has been sentenced by Justice Nigel Pilgrim to four, five-year terms at the Belize Central Prison. These sentences will run concurrently starting from September 27th, 2024. In a detailed twenty-two-page ruling from the High Court, it was decided that the forfeiture of Ayuso’s Belama property will be addressed separately. This comes after an application by the Crown, with his wife, Tanya Savery, who has filed for divorce, stepping in to contest the ownership.

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