On October 29, 2026, Belize’s Prime Minister John Briceño publicly addressed the recent resignation of Ambassador Alexis Rosado, who had served as the nation’s co-agent for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) proceedings tied to Belize’s long-running territorial dispute with neighboring Guatemala. Rosado’s departure followed weeks of escalating public scrutiny, stemming from active criminal proceedings that allege rape, sexual assault, and aggravated assault against the veteran diplomat. In his official resignation letter, Rosado emphatically maintained his innocence, framing his exit as the outcome of a coordinated “campaign of calumny” targeted to discredit him, and noting he intends to formally defend himself against all allegations in a domestic court of law, where he is confident the unsubstantiated nature of the claims will be fully exposed. Prime Minister Briceño expressed gratitude for Rosado’s voluntary decision to step down during a recent media interview, noting that the former co-agent had recognized his ongoing public controversies had become an unhelpful distraction that prevented him from fulfilling his duties on the ICJ legal team to the best of his capacity. The departure came amid growing cross-party calls for Rosado’s removal, including a public push from Speaker of the House Valerie Woods, whose position was publicly endorsed by cabinet minister Henry Charles Usher. Briceño clarified that while some points raised by Woods were valid, he disagreed with a significant number of her arguments, and chose to avoid public partisan back-and-forth on the issue, emphasizing that Woods’ advocacy on the matter was made in her personal capacity, not as a formal representative of the House of Representatives. When pressed by reporters to address whether Rosado’s sudden exit would disrupt Belize’s carefully prepared ICJ case, Briceño declined to offer specific legal assessments, deferring all relevant questions to the nation’s dedicated ICJ legal team. The proceedings before the global court will now continue uninterrupted under the leadership of Ambassador Assad Shoman, Belize’s designated lead Agent at the ICJ.