A long-simmering private land conflict in Belize’s Port Loyola has erupted into public controversy after a viral social media video captured elected area representative Gilroy Usher physically tearing down a resident’s boundary fence, sparking heated debate over the appropriate use of political power and adherence to due process.
The incident at the center of the public firestorm centers on Cozet Maximo, a Port Loyola resident who says she has continuously occupied and lived on her disputed plot for 17 years. Maximo alleges that a portion of her land was wrongfully seized and reallocated to a third party, prompting her to construct a chain-link fence to mark and defend the territory she claims as her legal property. That same fence was the one Usher was filmed destroying in footage broadcast live to Facebook.
In audio captured during the confrontation, Maximo can be heard questioning the lawmaker’s judgment: “If you have so much to lose, why would you do this for something that is not for you. You are a whole minister, you have a whole job, a whole top-tier job in your country. So why would you risk that for somebody else’s land?” She repeatedly called for police intervention during the encounter, shouting “Mr. Usher, you are vandalizing my property.”
Shortly after the confrontation, Usher left the property. His son, Darrell “Tutsi” Usher, returned shortly after to discuss the competing land claims with Maximo, but the discussion quickly devolved into disagreement. Darrell Usher pushed back on Maximo’s claims, calling for her to produce formal documentation proving her ownership, while Maximo questioned the validity of the opposing claimant’s title, noting she had attended a 2024 land outreach clinic organized by the government to formalize her ownership of the property. Maximo clarified that the clinic, held in March 2024, was led by Minister of Lands Cordel Hyde, not Gilroy Usher.
Beyond the conflicting ownership claims, the core controversy that has emerged from the incident is whether Usher overstepped the bounds of his authority by personally engaging in the property dispute rather than following formal legal and administrative processes to resolve the conflict.
Local news outlet News Five attempted to request comment from Usher during a People’s United Party convention held in Belize City on Sunday, but he declined to speak with reporters. In response to the incident, Maximo filed a formal complaint against Usher with local police on Saturday, and followed up that filing with a visit to the Belize Lands Department on Monday to escalate her ownership claim.
Maximo says she is turning to the Belizean public to support her fight for what she calls fair justice. “All I want all Belizeans to know is that when it comes to a minister, all we have is our voice,” she said. “If I have to shout and holler for everybody to hear, all I have is my voice.”
The dispute now remains under review by both law enforcement and the national Lands Department, as Maximo pushes for formal action to protect her claim to the land she has occupied for nearly two decades.