In a startling rebuke of his own party dated June 24, 2026, former United Democratic Party (UDP) opposition leader Shyne Barrow has launched a scathing attack on senior party leadership, calling out widespread hypocrisy over recent corruption allegations leveled against party figure Oscar Mira. Barrow argues that the claims facing Mira mirror long-unaddressed controversies tied to top UDP officials — including members of his own immediate family.
Barrow’s criticism centers directly on current UDP leader Tracy Panton, whom he accuses of turning a blind eye to systemic corruption within the party’s own ranks while targeting others for similar misconduct. At the heart of his argument is the high-profile Boledo lottery contract, a decades-old controversial deal that Barrow calls the most “flagrant and deviant” example of the party’s corruption. He alleges that the deal, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was awarded to shell corporations and trusts where the then-prime minister’s son held hidden shares — a relationship that party insiders deliberately concealed from public view.
That son, Barrow confirms, is his own brother. Barrow stresses that he was never involved in the transaction and did not benefit from it, a fact that he says gives him the standing to call out the misconduct openly. He further pushes back on Panton’s criticism of another party member, Khalid, drawing parallels between Khalid’s ties to controversial figure Lev Derman and corruption allegations against John Saldivar. Barrow confirms he has photographic evidence showing Khalid traveling with both Saldivar and Derman, the same connections that have led to corruption claims against Saldivar. Adding another layer of scrutiny, the Belmopan City Council is currently conducting an audit into Khalid over claims millions of dollars in public funds went missing during his tenure.
Barrow also extended his criticism to another senior UDP figure, Patrick Faber, arguing that Panton’s ongoing public support for Faber and other tainted party members automatically disqualifies her from positioning the UDP as a trustworthy alternative government. Until the party confronts the corruption allegations within its own ranks, Barrow says, it cannot credibly claim to offer Belizean voters a clean alternative to the current administration.
This report is adapted from a verbatim transcript of an evening television newscast.