A political standoff has intensified in Belize’s San Pedro area this week, as caretaker leader of the ruling United Democratic Party (UDP) Gabriel Zetina pushed back against pointed criticism from San Pedro Mayor Wally Nunez over the sudden cancellation of a high-stakes press conference.
The event, first announced two weeks prior, was billed as a forum to expose explosive, damaging findings from a financial audit of the San Pedro Town Council. But just before it was scheduled to begin, the press conference was called off without explanation, prompting Mayor Nunez to publicly condemn Zetina and the UDP leadership, accusing the party of backing away from promised transparency.
In a new on-the-record interview with local outlet News Five on June 29, 2026, Zetina rejected Nunez’s accusations, explaining that the delay has nothing to do with a lack of evidence or a fabricated audit. Instead, he argued, the party made a strategic decision to combine the audit reveal with the official unveiling of its full municipal candidate slate, a combination that required pushing the event back to align with the schedules of prospective candidates.
“Some of them still have personal and political matters to sort out before they can publicly put their name forward,” Zetina explained. “That is the only reason we hit pause. The audit documentation is already in our hands, complete with the findings we promised. This is not a manufactured story — the evidence is there for anyone to review once we go public.”
When pressed for a timeline for the rescheduled event, Zetina confirmed that party leadership would hold a key meeting with senior party elders and central executive members the same evening he spoke to reporters. He said the press conference and slate reveal would be held “very soon” following that gathering.
Local news outlet News Five has committed to continuing coverage of the developing story, and will publish full details of the UDP’s municipal slate and audit findings once they are officially released.
This report is adapted from a transcript of News Five’s evening television broadcast, which was made available to online readers.