Shyne Threatens Legal Action Against 7News, BNN, and HoTP

Former Opposition Leader Moses ‘Shyne’ Barrow is demanding a retraction and apology from 7News Belize, claiming they defamed him in a report about his diplomatic passport. Through his lawyers, Barrow alleges that the media house, led by News Director Jules Vasquez, falsely suggested he resisted returning his diplomatic passport to the Government of Belize. The controversial report, aired on March 26th and posted on 7News Belize’s Facebook page with the headline “GOB Says to Shyne, ‘Game Over’, Yanks Diplomatic Passport,” claimed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had instructed Barrow to return his passport and that he was reluctant to comply. However, Barrow’s attorneys argue that he had already handed over the passport earlier that morning at around 10:51 a.m., hours before the report was published. The letter to Vasquez and Tropical Vision Limited (7News’ parent company) states that the report was designed to damage Barrow’s reputation, making him look defiant and uncooperative.

In related news, Barrow has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Belize News Network (BNN), also accusing them of spreading false and defamatory statements about his diplomatic passport. The letter, from Pitts Pitts & Associates on Barrow’s behalf, demands the immediate removal of a March 26th article on BNN’s Facebook blog. The article allegedly claimed that Barrow refused to return his diplomatic passport and had stolen government property. Barrow’s attorneys refute these claims, stating he voluntarily returned the passport to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via his staff before the article was published. They argue that BNN’s post was not only inaccurate but also intended to cause “intentional embarrassment and malicious harm” to Barrow’s reputation.

Legal steps are also being taken against Hot Off the Press – Belize, a Facebook blog, for defamation. The law firm Pitts Pitts & Associates, representing Barrow, issued a cease-and-desist letter on March 27, 2025, demanding the immediate removal of a defamatory article published on March 26, 2025, on Hot Off the Press’s Facebook and Instagram pages. According to the letter, the article, titled “Shyne’s Diplomatic Days Numbered,” falsely alleged that Barrow refused to return his diplomatic passport, suggesting dishonesty and non-compliance with government directives. The letter says these claims are entirely baseless. It added that Barrow had voluntarily returned the passport to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to the publication of the article. The law firm has demanded the removal of the defamatory statements, a public apology, and compensation for damage to Barrow’s reputation.