No Tears for Paumen and Modiri from FECTAB Execs

Bradley Paumen

Last week, businessmen Bradley Paumen and Michael Modiri renewed open hostilities in their ongoing war over access to the cave tubing system in the area known as “Dark Night.” The men traded accusations via the press and on Friday, Paumen’s employees marched on the National Assembly in Belmopan, seeking Government’s intervention. The Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize (FECTAB) has remained on the sidelines, mostly neutral, after levelling harsh criticism at the Government for following up Paumen’s company. Today, two-thirds of the “Three Musketeers” of FECTAB, David Almendarez and Yhony Rosado, told us that their sympathies lay with their fellow workers, not their bosses.

David Almendarez

David Almendarez, Tour Operator

“It’s ironic that about a couple years ago, the Minister of Lands acquired that land in the public interest for the sole benefit of Dark Night. And the orchestrated move was so nicely planned that we even had Mister Morrison from N.I.C.H. involved in that process. They acquired that land, they gave him his own cave, and he did that knowing full well that he didn’t have full access to that land. He used the Government’s corrupt powers that be to illegally acquire the land, and the courts decided that that was illegally done. So while I empathize with the workers of Dark Night, I think it’s just fair. But it goes to show a bigger light: that these foreign investors come to Belize, they get their own way, they get to do what they want, and the cruise ships that pride themselves on doing the best tours, use these guys who are accused of murders, who are accused of doing things illegally, and give them awards, and the B.T.B. big them up and all of that good stuff. It just goes to show the level of inequality that we have in our country. So while I feel very sorry for the workers of Dark Night, I think the law is fair. And if Mister Paumen figures that he needs to do that cave, then go buy the land from Mister Modiri, and stop trying to sucker the man out of his thing and trying to short-change the man.”

Yhony Rosado

Yhony Rosado, Tour Operator

“We must say that we have been invited by Mister Paumen to do cave tubing at his caves when NICH caves closed, but we refuse it, because we have pride. We must say that Mister Modiri tried to give us access and opportunity to do business with him; we refuse it because we know the level of fight that he and Mister Paumen is carrying out. So we at FECTAB, we as local tour operators, we want to make money, but not with those guys. We want to make money with our government…”

David Almendarez

“Clean!”

Yhony Rosado

“Clean money, and NICH. But NICH, they are giving preference to that cave now, so you can go and do Paumen caves rather than NICH.”