The government says it was a mistake. Human error. Nothing more sinister than an imperfect system run by imperfect people. But for many Belizeans, thirteen million dollars paid to relatives and friends of elected officials does not sound like a simple clerical slip. It sounds like a betrayal of trust. Tonight, we look beyond the political explanations and public relations spin to ask what these payments have really cost the country, and whether those sworn to protect Belize are the ones being left behind. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
The corruption allegations against the P.U.P. administration continue to dominate public discussion, and over the weekend, Prime Minister John Briceño used the party’s National Party Council meeting to respond. He did not shy away from the issue. Here’s his message to supporters.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I will be the first to admit that we’re not perfect, we make mistakes. And that’s natural, that’s human nature.”
“Mistakes were made,” he said, a simple explanation for more than thirteen million dollars in payments routed through the Ministry of Defense to relatives and friends of elected officials. The Prime Minister framed it as human nature, but for many Belizeans, the figure is far too large to dismiss so easily. Embattled Area Representative, Oscar Mira, also gave a similar excuse when we challenged him about his complaint against Alberto August.
Oscar Mira
Oscar Mira, Area Representative, Belmopan (File: July 1st, 2026)
“I think we can always reflect on what has happened in the past. We are humans and we can always look back and see how it could have been done better.”
For weeks, the P.U.P. has been taking hits. Its credibility is now under fire, even from loyal voices like former P.U.P. candidate Major Lloyd Jones.
Lloyd Jones
Lloyd Jones, Former PUP Candidate, Belize Rural North
“We promised that we were going to be different. We promised we were going to do better and hopefully this is the extent of it and it does not go to other ministries. But, it is troubling for me as a supporter of the party.”
Prime Minister John Briceno
“We will make mistakes.”
Financial Secretary Joseph Waight referred to the purported mistakes as suspicious.
Joseph Waight
Joseph Waight, Financial Secretary (June 23rd, 2026)
“Certainly it does not look good. In my view somebody dropped a ball, fell asleep or they moved together on it.”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“We will make mistakes.”
Oscar Mira described it as “human.” But that so-called human error landed Alberto August behind bars overnight and cracked open a wave of Smart Stream leaks.
Alberto August
Alberto August, Former Deputy Chairman, UDP (June 23rd, 2026)
“This is by Belizeans, as somewhat of a blessing in disguise, all of this was happening unknown to the Belizean people, unknown to the taxpayers of this country who are being saddled with increasing cost of living, increasing prices of fuel, and here we have these people engaging in this kind of activity.”
But the biggest cost may fall on the men and women defending Belize’s borders and seas. Major Lloyd Jones says the millions paid to relatives and friends of elected officials for supplies do not match what soldiers see on the ground.
Major Lloyd Jones (Ret’d), Former BDF Officer
“If you speak with soldiers they will tell you what they are seeing on the news in terms of the quantum, the millions they spent, that is not being translated on their plates. So somewhere along the line we are losing value. And if you don’t feed your soldiers well, you lose moral. You undermine the moral of a soldier who is away from his family, I want to remind you that these are our children, your brother, your sister, your friend. Parents send their children to the BDF with the hope that those who are in command will look after them.”
If these were only mistakes, as Prime Minister Briceño says, then the question tonight is simple: who is paying the price? Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
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