By: Omar Silva – Editor/Publisher

National Perspective Belize – Digital 2026

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

Belize City: Wednesday 4th February 2026

🧨 Editorial Framework:

I. The 2020 Mantra That Fooled the Masses

In 2020, then-Opposition Leader John Briceño and the People’s United Party (PUP) rode to power under a banner of reform and anti-corruption, vowing to implement UNCAC and to root out the wealth accumulated by the “few without evidence of means.” The promises were as sweeping as they were seductive: political cleansing, transparency, public contracts by merit—not nepotism.

But five years later, the record tells a different story. The UNCAC roadmap was shelved, not institutionalized. The PUP government mastered the art of “lip service transparency,” while entrenching new forms of elite capture, political enrichment, and impunity.

II. From Mantra to Malice: The Rise of the Extractive Few

What emerged instead was a network of political families, loyalists, and financiers, now entrenched as what can only be described as the “Belize Extractive Few.” The modus operandi shifted from accountability to acquisition—using state instruments to quietly orchestrate sweetheart deals, insider acquisitions, and opaque land transfers.

The Stake Bank Island saga is only the tip of the iceberg. That deal—shrouded in compulsory acquisition lawfare, backdoor negotiations with foreign debtors, and potential cruise port monopolies—mirrors the exact behaviour the PUP campaigned to stop.

Yet no UNCAC audit. No Commission of Inquiry. Just silence.

III. BTL/SMART: The Telecom Scandal That Unravels the Curtain

The most glaring sign of crony capitalism, however, now unfolds in the BTL/Speednet/SMART entanglement.

Once framed as “strategic telecommunications reform,” this saga now reeks of conspiracy and abuse of public trust. From regulatory capture at the PUC, to undisclosed contractual advantages for SMART (believed to be linked to political financiers), and possible BTL dismemberment—this is no ordinary case of market competition. It is a scandal of state-facilitated private enrichment.

If left unchallenged, this will become Belize’s textbook case of institutional betrayal.

IV. Constitutional Violations and Scandalous Decisions

Throughout its term, the Briceno Administration has repeatedly sidestepped constitutional norms, whether through Statutory Instruments that stretch executive power (like the 90-day State of Emergency detentions), or cabinet decisions without parliamentary or public oversight, especially in land matters.

These are not isolated incidents—they represent a deliberate erosion of democratic safeguards.

V. A Call to Action: Stop the Shrinking Deal and Growing Deceit

The current BTL dismantling bid must be stopped cold.

This is not merely a telecom policy issue—it is a national integrity crisis. Belizeans are being groomed to accept a monopoly privatized through stealth, legitimized by silence. If this government is allowed to proceed, every future national asset will be fair game to the Extractive Few.

🔨 Editorial Verdict:

“You cannot claim to be the guardian of democracy while handing the keys of the nation to your Political financiers.”