When Oscar Mira took the oath as Minister of National Defense in March 2025, he made history as a former Belize Defense Force soldier returning to lead the very ministry where he once served. But records obtained by News Five reveal that during his tenure, a company linked to his family received a surge of payments from the ministry. An analysis of leaked Smart Stream invoices shows that more than seventy-four percent of MP Farms’ earnings from the Ministry of Defense were paid out in 2025, while Mira was the substantive minister. The findings raise new questions about how government contracts are handed out, whether proper safeguards were followed, and the role family-connected businesses play in securing public funds. Tonight, News Five digs into the documents, follows the money, and examines Mira’s response to the concerns.
Oscar Mira
Oscar Mira, Area Representative, Belmopan
“I Oscar Mira do swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Belize and will uphold the constitution and the law and that I will conscientiously discharge my duty as minister and do right to all manner of people, without fear or favor.”
In March 2025, just days after the general election, Oscar Mira took charge of the Ministry of National Defense. For Oscar Mira, it was a moment of pride, a former Belize Defense Force soldier rising through the ranks and eventually taking charge of the very ministry where he once served. In March 2025, Mira moved from Minister of State to substantive Minister of National Defense, a post he held until late November. But while he was at the helm, payments continued flowing from the Ministry of Defense to MP Farms, a business linked to the Mira family. According to leaked Smart Stream invoices reviewed by News Five, MP Farms received payments from the ministry beginning in 2024, while Mira was Minister of State, and those payments continued through June 2026, months after he had left the portfolio. Across that three-year period, the company earned well over five point seven million dollars from the Ministry of Defense. But what is even more striking is that this fruit and vegetables supplier earned seventy four percent of that total in 2025, the same year Oscar Mira served as the substantive minister. $4,276,667.09 paid out by the Ministry of Defense to MP Farms in 2025 based on News Five’s analysis of the leaked invoices. These concerns are not new. Back in January 2024, when questions surfaced about alleged hustling inside the Ministry of Defense’s procurement process, Minister Henry Charles Usher responded this way.
Henry Charles Usher
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service (File: Jan 26th, 2024)
“I don’t know about the aspect of hustling happening, but I certainly, you asked me whether this has come up at Cabinet. It has, in terms of making sure that the BDF is properly resourced, meaning all the resources that they need to carry out their work, including, of course food and rationing.”
But I can’t say that there have been any allegations of corruption coming forward on this issue. But we continue to monitor it. Similar questions were raised in January 2026. Here is how Mira, who had recently been moved to the Ministry of Home Affairs at the time, responded.
Reporter
“And have any of your relatives ever been contracted to for these supplies?”
Oscar Mira, Former Minister of Defense (File: January 30th, 2026)
“Yes. They have in the past they had they had applied for tenders and they had been granted both under the previous administration.”
But the records tell a different story. According to the leaked Smart Stream invoices, MP Farms received payment on February second, 2026, just three days after that interview. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
Watch the full newscast here:
