A New Era In Telecoms, SMART Says Gloves Are Off

Tonight, the Chairman of the BTL Board wrote to employees confirming what Cabinet said yesterday: the Speednet acquisition which he endorsed with the zeal of a true believer, is now behind them.
In an employee bulletin issued this afternoon, Lizarraga wearily concludes: "The process of how we could have expanded our business through an acquisition is now behind us. We close that chapter and turn our full attention to how we will expand our business through other avenues in an ever-evolving competitive landscape."
And indeed, they must turn the page quickly. Because in a release issued this morning-their very first since talks of the acquisition started to swirl-Speednet talks about, quote, "a new competitive landscape". The release also outlines what that means, saying, quote, "BTL has held market dominance in Belize for 25 years, and following the Government taking ownership in 2009, regulatory practices have heavily favored BTL, putting Speednet at a deliberate competitive disadvantage."
The release adds, quote, "Yesterday's Cabinet decision will result in BTL facing several mandatory operational, regulatory, and competitive adjustments."
The release says-accurately-quote, "Government ministries must put all telecoms contracts out to public tender to give Speednet fair competitive access."
And if they don't the release says, "Speednet is prepared to take the Government to task on this issue and that the courts are prepared to enforce the mandatory need for tendering."
And that means, welcome to another round of endless Ashcroft litigation.
And Speednet will also pursue the PUC to ensure that BTL shares telecommunications infrastructure with Speednet-and if not? Well, go back to the Ashcroft playbook: Expect more lawsuits.
Speednet says it, quote, "will invest heavily in state-of-the-art technologies and the required systems, equipment and infrastructure, to ensure that it provides the best and latest telecommunications services to the people of Belize, at affordable prices." End quote.
So, bottom line: the Ashcroft Alliance is now going to invest heavily in Speednet to kill BTL's profits-a race to the bottom.

In its release, BTL's Chairman tells employees, "We should not underestimate the headwinds we face. But neither should we allow those headwinds to define what Digi/BTL can become."

PUP Chairman Supports Cabinet Decision to Halt Acquisition Says He Had Reservations

And so while there are rugged days ahead for BTL, it sounds like competition to us, which is always good news for consumers. Both companies acknowledge that the proposed consolidation was hugely unpopular and so did Cabinet in its release yesterday when it formally withdrew support for the acquisition.
But how did Cabinet arrive at that decision? They were supposed to meet next Tuesday to decide-but, sensing a gathering storm on the horizon, the PM seems to have just made a snap decision in an Orange Walk minute.

Today PUP Chairman Henry Charles Usher says he supports the decision, acknowledging that he had reservations about the acquisition:

Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman
"The decision made by Cabinet yesterday is an informed decision. It's a decision that I support. It's a decision that came out of many, many consultations with different stakeholders, both individually by Cabinet members reaching out to different stakeholders and collectively. I supported the Prime Minister and I continue to agree with his position that we had to hear from the different stakeholders as a collective unit. And it was important that we heard from BTL, from SSB, from PUC on the development since we last heard from them in January or February. And what I can say is that out of these presentations and the questions, the issues that were raised, we were able to reach a consensus yesterday. We had hoped to hear from other stakeholders, but we couldn't work out the logistics of that. But we were able to reach a consensus and like I said, it's a decision that I support."

Jaleeza:
"What were your personal thoughts on this acquisition and did you support it?"

Henry Charles Usher:
"So from the very beginning, as I had explained to you before, I had my reservations about the proposed acquisition. And that came out of my consultations with the ultimate owners of this, of the company, the people of Belize, constituents of Fort George. I had many discussions with them, but also because I had spoken to a number of the stakeholders when it came to the uncertainty in the legislation, uncertainty in the regulation. Of course, you know, much has been said about Section 42 (4) of the Telecommunications Act. There was some uncertainty about how we would move forward if there was only one traditional telecoms company, but also because I know globally that the traditional, what they call a terrestrial telecommunication companies are facing an existential threat. And we have to be able to prepare for that. The technology is moving very fast. We are moving away from the tower base operators to what they call mobile virtual network operators, the MVNOs. And we have to be able to keep up with that technology."

The Acqusition Is Off, but NTUCB President Confirms Tuesday Demonstration With New Demands

While they talk about the technological ether, on the ground, do NTUCB and the social partners still want their political pound of flesh?
They had a big protest planned for next Tuesday-but now that the deal is off the table, will they still go for it?
In a Zoom meeting with the NTUCB President this afternoon, she said they are still moving ahead with their plan of action for next Tuesday.

The only thing that has changed is that the NTUCB will be making some fresh demands on Tuesday. President Ella Waight told me more without revealing what the demands are:

Ella Waight, President - NTUCB
"We would like the public to know that we are still continuing with the demonstration on Tuesday, same location first in Belize City in front of the BTL headquarters at 10:00AM to 1:00PM and in Belmopan in front of the administrative building at 10:00AM to 1:00PM. We took some time to come up with this decision because we had to go through our usual process, contacting all our presidents and our general council to ensure we are still moving forward with this. We are still inviting Belizeans as well. I know everyone is very relieved, I think the word is relieved, that the Cabinet has decided not to pursue the acquisition, but we have to ensure that we change, change how we go about doing things in this country. We have to ensure we are not just always acting at a point when it is too close to having a decision made that would negatively impact us but we try to change the status quo, and I don't want to reveal too much right now but we will be asking for some demands on Tuesday, not demands that are not possible but demands that can ensure that we move forward especially at BTL in the right direction."

Unions Want to Be Certian That Speednet Buyout Is Permanently Off the Table

Waight says that they need to certify the process ahead to ensure that this acquisition is indeed D-E-D and does not find its way onto the bargaining table:

Ella Waight, President - NTUCB
"I think as what your news editor had mentioned before, the deal is dead and I feel that same way too. But obviously because BTL did make a, did vote to go ahead with the acquisition I don't know if their internal process would be that they have to go back and meet as a board and either reverse that decision or cancel that decision I am not sure of the way that it has to be done but we have triggered, we have talked to our representative that goes through the SSB at BTL board to ensure that whatever needs to be done is done so we at least have that conversation and if there is a process that needs to be completed that process needs to be completed and it is informed to the public. Just like how I think the Chair sent report or a press release or a notice to its employees about what had happened or what had transpired the same thing should be done now, not just to the employees but to the citizens of this country. He has to report what the process will be next for us to have a full understanding and for us to be comforted that this will not be on the table at BTL again."

Since that interview, the BTL Chairman has sent a bulletin to employees saying the deal is off.

NTUCB Calls for Leadership Changes at BTL Following Acqusition Fiasco

There was a period of uncertainty for the unions regarding how the deal would go, but now that Cabinet has made its decision, President Waight says they feel relieved. However, moving forward she feels changes need to be made in BTL's leadership which clung so steadfastly to an unpopular, possibly unlawful acquisition.

Ella Waight, President - NTUCB
"We are very happy that they listened to the voices of the people. We are happy we were able to strategize with the social partners to ensure that we came about, that the Cabinet came about with this decision. I think if we did not do anything or we did not say anything we would be in a different position today and we would probably be very worried today, so I think the best adjective I can say right now is relieved that we got to this point."

"As you can imagine as a lot of Belizeans a lot of the members of NTUCB and the social partners are not very comfortable with him continuing to lead the BTL board or the institution so but again I don't want to preempt what we will be doing on Tuesday but the conversation is there and the concern is there as well having him remain as the chair of the BTL board."

Henry Charles Defends BTL Chairman Mark Against Removal Calls

And what does Minister Usher feel about BTL Chairman Markhelm Lizarraga? He's had a less than winning round in the public spotlight, but Usher said that he does not believe that Lizarraga-the architect of the rejected acquisition-should be removed:

Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman
"I think that the chairman, like I said, and the management team at BTL has been doing a good job. We can't overlook that taking the return on equity from 2 to 3 percent to 8 to 12 percent, looking at different areas, expanding, diversifying the services being provided by BTL. These are areas that they have to continue to work on. Now, this was one proposal, and they had their reasons for looking into this proposal. And now they have to look at how they can look at other services to continue to move forward. BTL and the CEO of BTL has said very clearly that they're moving away from a telco company, telecommunication, to a techco, a technology-based company. So that is important that they continue to diversify into those other areas."

"I don't think that he should be asked to go. I think that the consultation, in my view, could have been more, but I don't think that they failed to consult. I'm sure that they did a lot of consultation, but they could have done more. They can always do more, and whenever there are so many concerns, especially when it comes to legislative issues or regulatory issues, I think it's important for those to get clarity before moving forward."

"Being that this current chairman, he saw the future as consolidation when it was extremely ruggedly competitive, would you say in that instance, then maybe you should be looking for someone else that would have a similar vision moving forward?"

"I think, as I said just now, the traditional companies, BTL, Speednet, globally, AT&T, T-Mobile, whichever company you want to use, they're all facing existential threats because of the rapid development of technology. So these companies have to be able to look at different areas to diversify, have to look at how they can continue to have a positive return on equity, return on investment for their shareholders, the people that want to make sure that they continue to benefit from BTL. And so I think that's important that they continue to do that."

Did BTL Leadership Really Consult? Min. Usher Weighs In

But while diversification is one thing, public consultation is another.
The current BTL leadership never consulted with the public-even though they were politically directed to do so.
When we spoke with Lizarraga on Tuesday he said the public was consulted through the PUC-which is what would be called a blatant false equivalency.

Well, only 7 submissions were made to the PUC and the Minister said that perhaps that's what the Chairman thought was enough:

Reporter
"We know that Mark Lizarraga's comments as well, when it came to the PUC, he said that they were, that was enough consultation. When he was speaking to me on Tuesday, he said that that is the means of public consultation. There were only seven comments that I understand made their way there. Do you think that that was enough?"

Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman
"Well, the PUC has that as part of their modus in terms of whenever any proposal is made, they have to have a period for public to write in to make their comments known. I think that there were eight. I think they got one more public comment coming in. It was all raising certain uncertainties and reservations about the proposed acquisition. It's an opportunity for the public to put in their views, and I think that it's always best to get more. I always try to consult as much as I can when it comes to these particular issues. Maybe he felt that that was enough, but I certainly think that it's important that everybody who had a view should have been able to put in that view."

Usher Says Ashcroft Is Always About The Profits

But when one of the biggest players in this acquisition, Michael Ashcroft, spoke with the Social Security Board of Directors, he made it sound as if he was doing BTL a favor by offering them a chance to buy Speednet, as if it was some form of charity-which is why he was not open to negotiation and had no interest in an independent valuation. Usher says nothing Ashcroft does is ever charity:

Reporter
"When Lord Ashcroft met with the Social Security Board, he framed the offer of the sale almost as a charity. He framed it as within a threat, and he said that basically he's doing us a favor. That's what he made it sound like. And so what were your thoughts on that?"

Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman
"Well, that gentleman does not get into any business transaction for charity. He gets into business transactions to make a profit. And he does whatever is in his power, in his group's power to maximize that profit. So I would not describe any business deal or any transaction that he has ever proposed as charitable."

Questions Persist Over Months-Long Speednet Acquisition Process - Was It Necessary?

But the question remains, was this all even necessary? 7News first reported on the talks of an acquisition in June of 2025-and for months, the Prime Minister danced away from discussing the deal which stood to benefit his family.

He says that there were certain processes that had to take place before we got to where we are now:

Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman
"Well I think sometimes you have to give the fiduciary persons on board the opportunity to get the information, be able to be informed and you know you have to allow that process to be to be done and I think that sometimes the media, Channel 7 is one of the media houses that whenever they get information they want answers right away and I think sometimes you have to allow the process to go through before that answer is given. An informed decision is a better decision Jaleeza and I always maintain that."

Jal:
"Do you think that due process was taken given now that we factored in the relation to our Prime Minister with these companies, we factored in the union stats, we factored in everyone's stats, so do you think that was a due process that needed us to get to this decision now?"

Henry Charles Usher:
"That's a question that can best be answered by the board in terms of their process in looking at due process. I wouldn't be able to answer for them. What I can say is that Cabinet wanted to have these presentations to be able to be informed of the issues, to be able to ask the questions and to be able to raise the concerns that we were hearing in the public and we got that opportunity with some of the stakeholders collectively. I certainly made sure that I did my consultation with as many persons as possible, as many groups as possible so that I could be better informed and so that's what guided us in the decision that was made yesterday."

Jal:
"Do you believe that the Prime Minister should have recused himself from the beginning being that he has relation to the owner?"

Henry Charles Usher:
"Well whenever this issue came up the Prime Minister offered to recuse himself and you know that's the right thing to do."

NTUCB Explains Why Proposed Cabinet Dialogue Failed to Materialize

But it's the Prime Minister who planned to lead the meeting with the social partners on Thursday. That meeting never happened. But, at the last minute on Wednesday night, the Chamber appeared to have broken ranks with the social partners and said it was ready-and even eager-to meet with Cabinet before Tuesday. When I asked Waight about this she says there was no way they would have been able to meet because the Chamber reps were not in country.

Ella Waight:
"We did agree that we would not meet with the Cabinet on Thursday, well that was yesterday, we would not simply because the BCCI was not in the country, their president and CEO was not in the country but that was before we had finished the coalition with the other social partners so that was the decision that BCCI and NTUCB had made. The Cabinet did not respond back to us when we asked for a postponement to next week so that was left at that point. Then the coalition fully formed and the other members from BNN and the churches insisted that they would also want to be a part of that group that would attend the meeting with the Cabinet and we agreed. We are there as a block, we should attend as a block. However, no other further invitation came along so I don't think the BCCI would have gone without us, that was not the plan. And I think they would have stayed with the plan."

Court of Appeal Dismisses Appeal of Men Convicted in 2018 Oscar Rosado Sr. Murder

Brandon Hughes and Jose Gomez, the men accused of killing 70-year-old businessman Oscar Rosado Sr. back in April 2018, will remain in prison after their appeal case was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
They were convicted of the murder on December 9th, 2022 and Hughes was sentenced to life imprisonment. His accomplice, Gomez, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
In the Court of Appeal, their attorneys, Orson Elrington and David McKoy, argued that the judgment should have been set aside on the grounds that the judge's failure to provide written reasons for her decision added to a miscarriage of justice.
Elrington, on behalf of Hughes, also argued the judge imposed an excessive and disproportionate sentence.

However, the appeal was dismissed, and the men must serve the sentences handed down to them. Rosado's son called this a massive win for his family.

Oscar Rosado Jr.
"But what can I say right now? It's like it's normal to feel, uh, uh, complex and intense emotions right now. I'm full of, you know, emotions."

"I can say this is a massive victory for, for the legal, uh, system in our, in our country. I'm so happy that they upheld this verdict. My family and I are so thankful. I never gave up."

"God, every morning I pray. From the day my dad died, I prayed like everybody pray for justice. And the only person that could have given justice is our God."

"And God has illuminated into these legal judges who heard this appeal. And there's no way, no way. I was there after my dad was shot. I came out. The gun was put to my head."

"I would never forget this person. I still can picture him right now. And so, uh, I'm glad he needs to serve his time, all of them who assisted in this."

"What I can say right now to those criminals, give thanks to God that you are alive. I wish my dad was alive today. That's all I wished for."

"He did not get a court, uh, a court hearing where he could decide if he wanted to be alive or not. He was put-those criminals sentenced him to death."

"And so their conviction of jail time is nothing compared to what me and my family is going through."

Former BDF Soldier Remanded After Shooting Incident With Plainclothed Officers

A former BDF soldier is on remand after he was allegedly shot by three police officers in Pomona Village. 46-year-old Richard Cal was on his farm on August 6th when the officers-dressed in plainclothes-ran towards him.
Startled, Cal fired a warning shot, which led the officers to respond with 7 shots, hitting him in the right leg and also killing one of his dogs. He was treated at the KHMH and released.
However, two days later, uniformed officers came back to his home and arrested him for 3 counts of aggravated assault. He was arraigned this evening and remanded to prison as magistrates cannot give bail for gun offenses.

His wife says she now worries for his physical well-being since he is seriously injured and there is no one to properly take care of him. She's now calling for justice for her family. She spoke to us via phone, choosing to remain anonymous.

Voice of: Wife of Shooting Victim
"While he was resting at home, they come arrest him. Arrest him for the three counts of aggravated assault. That is Tuesday. They have my husband up and down. And then Thursday now, which is yesterday, again, they come for him again. Take him again to Dangriga station. From there, we are there whole day. He's not resting. He's, his foot is hurting him. He's in pain. He is in critical condition right now. He cannot move on his own. He struggle."

"Yesterday when we went to the doctor because his foot is getting blue yesterday, so they end up to take him to the hospital. The doctor write it on a paper that he cannot elevate his foot. But yet there's no, no mercy on that. Again, today he get arraigned and he get remanded. They took him to prison today."

"They took him. They did not put him in a, the, um, in a proper way. They put him at the back of the vehicle. He's right there in hot sun. The place is hot. His feet, he cannot stretch his feet."

"It's really rough on him. Now I'm fearing. What I'm fearing right now, who will be there beside him? Who will take care of him? Who will give him his medication? Who will dress his foot?"

"Now all of that is my worry right now. That is my concern because what the police officer are doing is really wrong. It is not my husband went to those three guys farm."

"It is them that went and look for my husband while my husband is working there alone. He's there alone."

"And yet they are still making it seem like it is my husband is at fault, which I really don't like. I want justice. I have two boys. The first one wanted to go to university and to study his in, in medicine. His in, um, get his bachelor in medicine. Now he cannot do that. He have to work. He used the last penny. He gave his dad to pay the doctor to do his surgery. The same thing with the next one. He was about to finish his associate. Now the study has been failed. Because of what these three men do to my husband."

Caye Caulker Woman Charged With Attempted Murder Following Jet Ski Stabbing

A 27-year-old Belize City woman has been charged with attempted murder following an alleged confrontation with her former boyfriend in Caye Caulker.
Police say 33-year-old businessman Aaron Gentle reported that on Sunday evening, he met his former girlfriend, Courtney Bowman, at a pier near his home after she contacted him to discuss their relationship.
According to Gentle, while he was on his jet ski and Bowman was on the pier, an altercation developed. He tried to leave on the jet ski and Bowman allegedly jumped onto it and stabbed him.
Gentle sustained injuries classified by a doctor as wounding, and he was later transported to the KHMH for further treatment.

Bowman was detained on Wednesday and subsequently charged with Attempted Murder, Use of Deadly Means of Harm, and Wounding.

PUP Chairman Reflects on Corozal Municipal Convention Victory

Turning back now to the PUP Chairman, we asked him to reflect on the Corozal Municipal Convention over the past weekend, where three-term mayor Rigo Vellos was victorious. In his victory speech he said that the convention was "unnecessary". We asked the Chairman his thoughts as many political observers were under the impression that the three-time mayor being challenged by a newcomer was disrespectful:

Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman
"I think that the democratic process is always a process that can be divisive. The passions are raised but it's always important as a party as a democratic party to go through that and so I don't have any problem with conventions. I think that it's the people decide who they want to represent them, who they want to lead them going into the Municipal election next March and I am sure that the mandate that Rigo has gotten that his team has gotten is more strengthened now because so many persons came out to support them. As you said, 3,425 persons came out to support the candidate of their choice. Both teams were very good. They had excellent leaders. They had excellent members of their team and they were able to bring out that support. The people decided who they want. They supported Mr. Rigo Vellos receiving 1,799 votes. Ms. Shajari Rajas again congratulations to her getting 1,125 votes but this is the way that the party decides going forward. The people make that choice in terms of who they want to represent them."

Jal:
"I know we've asked you this numerous times but being that Rigo is a three-term mayor now looking to go towards his fourth, do you really think that it was right or necessary for a newcomer to challenge him?"

Henry Charles Usher:
"I think even Rigo would say that he feels vindicated, that he feels vindicated because the people came out to support him and as I said I think his mandate is even stronger, his support is there and the party will come together to support him so that he can be a 4 time Mayor."

PUP Chairman Addresses Delegate Selection Controversy Ahead of Belize City Convention

And now that the Corozal Convention is over, the next major one is the Belize City Municipal Convention where Allan Pollard Jr. and Eluide Miller will contest the mayoral nomination.
But no convention is without its controversies and this one has plenty. A report emerged online that one long-standing delegate was removed from the list, with accusations that it was because of who she was supporting.

And, it just happened to be in the Fort George constituency, that of Henry Charles Usher. When asked about it, he said that it is nothing personal and they are making room for others to be able to vote too:

Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman
"You know whenever there's a delegate convention this always is an issue. There are only a certain number of delegates that each constituency has and so not everyone in the constituency is able to be a delegate. In the case of the person that you're talking about, I think that what was decided was that we would try to expand the delegate in terms of using different people. You know we want to make sure that as many persons as possible from different parts of the constituency get an opportunity to cast their vote and that is what participatory democracy is all about. We're not able to get everyone on the delegate list. Many of the long-standing members of the committee for instance are not delegates in this particular convention like because as I said we are trying to diversify that group, give new persons an opportunity to be able to have their say and you know I think that after the convention is over there's always a period of healing and we'll go through that."

Reporter
"Can you confirm that you have nothing to do with that delegates list in terms of choosing who is exactly on it? It's a committee that decides?"

Henry Charles Usher:
"Yeah it's always a committee in every constituency. It's actually the chairman of that constituency that signs off on the list. The delegates list was submitted last week Friday and no changes can be made after it's submitted so nobody can be taken off the list after it's submitted on Friday."

PUP Chairman Comments on Mystery of Election Money

And we know that money is the machine that keeps elections moving and with that we asked the Minister what he thought about the Bacon House we located in Corozal Town on Sunday. But more than that we spoke with him about the purchasing power of a vote. These were his thoughts:

Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman
"Well, I think that I can't say for sure what you found or who you spoke to especially speaking like that but it's a convention and people are out there working. You have a lot of workers, you have expenses, you have people that have to be coming in from different parts of the town to vote and I think that you know it is a democratic process and people come out to support the candidates of their choice."

"I certainly can't comment on an alleged from an anonymous source, that is too much now."

Reporter
"What do you make of the claim of vote purchasing?"

Henry Charles Usher:
"I think that it's something that unless you have the evidence, if you're just standing out there, you know, I can't comment on what happens on the day. My job is to make sure that the convention is run in a fair way, that everybody gets a chance to vote, that all the candidates are out there, that they can campaign to their people outside of the polling area and once inside the people can make up their mind."

Reporter
"Looking at it from an objective standpoint, not looking at any colors, when it comes to vote purchasing and buying over votes, what's your perspective on that?"

Henry Charles Usher:
"Well, you know, it's very clear when it comes to election day, that practice should not be happening. It's against the regulations, against the rule of law, so it should not be happening."

Reporter
"The PUP has many conventions to go this cycle. What do you think of the corrupting influence of money that it can have sometime?"

Henry Charles Usher:
"This sounds like a question from your news director. You know, you have to be able to have the resources to carry out a campaign. That's simple. On election day, you need resources for logistics. You need to have persons working for you. You need to be able to feed those persons. You need to be able to transport the persons that are going to be voting at the polling stations. And so, yes, you need the resources. You need to be able to do this. You need to be able to pay for campaign ads, if you have billboards, if you have ads in newspapers on Channel 7. Channel 7 is one of the most expensive stations when it comes to running ads, so you need that finance to be able to do that. So, yes, in a political campaign, money is important, but the people still get to make up their mind, and that's what a democracy is all about."

BTL And Speednet Once Co-Managed And Co-Owned To Competitors Battling To The Death

The tale of two telecommunications companies began in 2004 with a political betrayal. The family of the then Deputy Prime Minister John BriceÃ±o orchestrated a secret interconnection deal between BTL and Speednet. Or at least it was a secret to the then Prime Minister Said Musa.
Fast forward to today, and almost everything about the genesis and development of Speednet is out in the open.

But in the last two decades, there have been many plot twists in this story. Courtney Menzies went into the archives to take a look back at some of the history between BTL and Speednet who have gone from co-managed, co-owned entities to competitors battling to the death-and in the depths-before Starlink arrives in Belize and changes everything:

In 2004, the unthinkable occurred: the family of the then-Deputy Prime Minister John BriceÃ±o-without the knowledge of Prime Minister Said Musa-secretly struck an interconnection deal with the Ashcroft Alliance, the then-majority owner of BTL. It happened on the cusp of the ill-fated sale of BTL to Jeffrey Prosser's Innovative Communications Company-which thought it was buying a monopoly.

At that time, it was a massive shock to BriceÃ±o's own Prime Minister:

posted (March 12, 2004)
Indira Craig
"7NEWS is in possession of documents which show that BTL and its competitor, Speednet-which is nominally owned by first cousins of Deputy Prime Minister John Briceno-have struck a deal to work together. It's a highly unusual arrangement for two companies that are supposed to be competitors, but it's certainly not a crime. But to ICC and the Finance Ministry it's more than a crime, it's very nearly treason, because the deal was secretly orchestrated, apparently to undermine the pending sale of BTL to Innovative Communications Company, ICC."

5 years later, in the House of Representatives, Dean Barrow revealed that the Briceno family had become minority shareholders in Speednet after transferring a chunk of their shares to companies owned by the Ashcroft Alliance.

posted (August 24, 2009)
Dean Barrow, Former PM
"I knew from then companies headquartered there belong to him but it wasn't until later that I found out about the trust and in the meantime you see that 55% has been increased to 77.38% because on 13th January 2009 Jaime Briceno transferred 58 of his shares to a new Ashcroft company Heaver Holdings Limited of #4 Cork Street Belize City for a consideration of $6,090,000. On the same date Renan Briceno transferred 17 of his shares to the same Heaver Holdings Limited for a consideration of $1,785,000. You said I should have taken you to my confidence, how could I? Your family, I nuh say you, are minority shareholders in Speednet which is owned by Ashcroft. Your family, they work for Ashcroft."

It was managed competition-orchestrated by the Ashcroft Alliance, a secret arrangement until then-which led, ultimately to the nationalization of BTL in August of 2009.

Fast forward 17 years, and once again it was BTL and Speednet on the verge of another deal, this time an acquisition-22 years after they started up as a pseudo competitor to BTL.

Reports of the merger began circulating over a year ago, which we broke on the Monday Morning Beef.

Jules Vasquez, Channel 7 News Director
"There are discussions for those cable companies to be bought over by BTL, which had started years ago. Smart may also be bundled in there, right, Smart the phone company which again the BriceÃ±o family has an interest in, but I have to flag it now because the BriceÃ±o family has a vested interest. But if it would happen, the BriceÃ±o business empire, all respect to it, would gain substantially. We're talking 10s of millions of dollars."

"So there are multiple conflicts of interest or related party interests here. And it will be very interesting to see if something like this is broached. It would be, forgive me, in my mind, scandalous."

But whenever we asked the PM-even though his family was directly involved, he denied knowing about those reports:

Courtney Menzies:
"Sir, can you talk about the rumored sale of Smart to BTL? Is that going through?"

Hon. John Briceno:
"I don't know. You'll have to talk to people at BTL and the people at Smart."

Jules Vasquez:
"As you look it over, one has to ask, are you looking it over as a, as a future parent company or the owner of your family owned business, Speednet, is that deal still live?"

Hon. John Briceno:
"I think you need to talk to other people about that, but I would not comment on that. I have nothing to do with that. Maybe you need to talk to Jaime, his number is..."

Courtney Menzies:
"Is there a timeline for the BTL acquisition of Speednet?"

https://www.7newsbelize.com/images/.jpg Hon. John Briceno:
"I don't know, you'd have to ask the people at BTL."

Courtney Menzies:
"Sir, but what would be the public explanation considering that it is a conflict of interest with BTL and Speednet being owned by your family members?"

Hon. John Briceno:
"So then why did you ask me that question if you feel it is a conflict of interest? I have said already that I am not involved with it and if you want to know from the personal or from the business side of my family, you need to go and speak to them, don't speak to me about it, and I'm saying it very respectfully."

Hon. John Briceno:
"That has not come to us yet, if anything is happening they're doing their negotiations and when that happens, when the negotiations are done, they report to us. As I said, whatever decisions BTL would do, it has to be in the best interest of Belize, the company and Belize."

Confirmation of the proposed deal came on February 6th of this year when the Minister of Public Utilities announced a pause:

Michel Chebat, Minister of Public Utilities
"The Prime Minister has instructed that there be a pause in discussions related to this matter. This pause is intended to allow the parties involved to further engage the public in a genuine, open and cordial way and to ensure that the proper regulatory process is followed."

6 months later-after the deal was brought back to the table-and after threats of protests from the combined forces of the four social partners and the opposition-Cabinet has finally announced that it does not approve of the acquisition.

If we follow Smart's trajectory from a telecoms operator interconnected in secrecy, merged into a managed competition partner, and, now, after a failed bid at consolidation, morphs into the ruthless competitor of the company it once sought to be co-managed by.

Minister Usher Discusses Balancing Enforcement and Commerce in the Free Zone, Smugglers' Paradise

But keeping illegal activities out of the Free Zone can be a lot like running from the darkness in the night. We asked Usher about juggling the real and the ideal of the Free Zone:

Reporter
"As Minister of Enterprise, we have received multiple reliable reports that the US government state actors are keeping a very close eye on the free zone. An embassy rep told us today that the Corozal Free Zone, 'As you know, that is one of the places most concerning in Belize.' Are you aware of this US interest and what changes have been made to implement in the free zone?"

Henry Charles Usher, PUP Chairman
"So, certainly it's something not that I'm aware of. I mean, I think, ehm, all the ministers that held this portfolio, the Prime Minister as well. Cabinet is informed of, of that position that you just brought up in terms of making sure that there's nothing illegal happening in there, that we continue to have regular patrols in the zone, outside the zone to make sure that there are no illegal activities happening. So that is something that we continue to do. And we have to make sure that we work with our partners. We work with our partners from the US. We work with our partners from Mexico to make sure that this continues to be the case."

Reporter
"You think that it was challenging being you have ministries you already hold?"

Henry Charles Usher:
"Well, it's always a challenge to take on a new portfolio, but it's a responsibility that I hold very high because I make sure that I give it the best that I can. Whatever portfolio the Prime Minister assigns to me. And, and and he said it was for a temporary basis. So we'll see how temporary it is."

Reporter
"All right. We have received reliable reports that traffic out of the zone is no longer being allowed to cross by the river, only in vans, by Chactemal border point, since most of the smuggled material was moved via the river. Can you discuss this change?"

Henry Charles Usher:
"Well, like I said, we continue to have regular patrols. We continue to make sure that no illegal activities are happening and that will always continue. And again, in partnership with, with the US, with Mexico, with the persons running the zone, we have to remember that the free zone-and I said this before, the free zone is an important economic area for the country, especially for the north. You have 3,000 persons, more or less working in the zone, 333 businesses that are operating in the zone. It is an area of economic opportunity. It is an important area for business, and we have to make sure that we continue to invest in the zone, meaning that you have other opportunities for investors to come in and be able to offer different services, different products, etc. maybe some light manufacturing. That's something that we want to move towards in the zone. It's an area that I certainly think that can be positive. But we have to make sure to, to, to, to keep those illegal actors out, keep the illegal activities out, and to work with our partners to make sure that's the case."

Attorney Dickie Bradley Weighs In on Termination of Speednet Buyout Deal

And finally tonight, as we close the chapter on the whole Speednet acquisition fiasco, we take a few words from Dickie Bradley who appeared on the KREM WUB morning show today and said that with the deal D-E-D, Belizeans should be celebrating today:

Dickie Bradley, Attorney
"We should be dancing in the street. This morning should be for dancing. And later this evening as the sun sets should be for romancing."

"This is a day to celebrate because it represents a victory for the people of Belize. It represents a victory for people power."

"It represents a victory that when the majority of the citizens of the country, from the well-educated to the so-called ordinary man and woman in the street, the unions, a limited extent the churches, the social partners, the, maybe I shouldn't say this, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but the four senators that did an unprecedented matter- of one, publicly joining forces, and two, three out of four then walked out of a Senate meeting."

"The behavior of the board for the BTL they should be asked by the Prime Minister to submit their resignation. They have been disdainful and arrogant towards the views of the people of Belize."

"Never mind they looked down on us and say we are confused, we don't know what we are talking about, we are just listening to the noise in the marketplace and so and so, but this is a day for rejoicing, it is also a day for us to do some sober reflections and to see how we can take it from here, we need to be very careful, we can't get drunk with a little victory."

"Julius Espat, man, big respect to him. He was the man that said the owners of BTL are the people of the country, the people in BTL think that they own it and they answer only to Ashcroft and only to..."

Nuri Muhammad, XTV Wake Up Belize Host
"Yes, they kept saying that this a private company, a private public company, how did it get there?"

Dickie Bradley:
"In other words, they are fish and fowl. The people of Belize own BTL, we were conned out of almost 600 million dollars by the UDP administration to pay Mr. Ashcroft for something which was calculated to value over only 300 million. The PUP came into office and said nothing about how that money gone, how it was paid and where it came from, which law firm got the big slice of this legal fees if any came out of that? So the people of Belize today you won a victory. We won a victory because you smelled a rat because from the get-go when they announced they would buy this cable company, why did they buy it for?"

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