Carib Scope

作者： admin

  • Always Alive

    Always Alive

    Questions of immortality and enduring legacy have long captivated human thought: How can a man continue to live, shape consciousness, and remain present long after his physical departure? How does he hold his place across generations, and how does his influence persist through changing times? For those who never encountered the extraordinary figure at the center of this reflection, or for those whose judgment has been clouded by ideological opposition and prejudice, these questions may seem unanswerable. Yet history shows that there is a path to eternal life that transcends physical existence: when a leader dedicates every breath of his life to the people he serves, he leaves an indelible mark that centuries cannot erode.

    This kind of enduring survival is rare, but when it takes root, no earthly force can uproot it. It grows from the collective heart of a nation, where exceptional figures who put collective good above personal gain are forever enshrined. These are the leaders who carry the suffering of their people as their own, who do not merely demand justice but dedicate every moment of their lives to fighting for it, who never place faith in random fortune but instead believe that meaningful victory comes only through boundless, unwavering sacrifice.

    When a nation is blessed to call such a figure its son, brother, and father, it will never allow his memory to fade into the obscurity of history. Instead, it elevates him to the status of a permanent guiding force: as constant as the sun that warms the earth, as vast as the sky that arches over every citizen. He earns the right to endure through his own choices and his lifelong commitment, and no power on earth can strip that right away.

    A core truth anchors this reality: any leader who earns the sincere devotion of an entire people earns it forever. Noble, courageous nations do not forget the leaders who fought for them; they are grateful, sincere, and loyal in reciprocating the sacrifice that was given for their freedom and well-being. That gratitude becomes the foundation of a lasting legacy.

    So for those who still ask how a man can outlive his own time, the answer is clear. This is no ordinary leader. The figure who traverses decades, who remains present in the lives of Cubans and resonates with justice seekers across the globe, is Fidel Castro Ruz. To speak his name anywhere on Earth is to invoke the highest, most authentic, and most just ideals of what humanity can achieve: a legacy written not in stone, but in the permanent heart of a grateful people.

  • Leisure : Did you know ? #50

    Leisure : Did you know ? #50

    As part of its popular twice-weekly general knowledge series “Did You Know?”, online media platform HaitiLibre has highlighted Haiti’s most celebrated native fruit variety in its 50th installment, released August 13, 2026. The quiz-style feature posed a question about the identity of Haiti’s famous exported mango known for its sweet, lightly fibrous texture, and the answer reveals the outsized cultural and economic role of the Francisque mango – also commonly called Francique – widely regarded as the “queen of Haitian fruits”.

    Primarily cultivated across the fertile Artibonite region and Haiti’s Central Plateau, the Francisque mango carries easily recognizable traits: when fully ripe, it develops a vibrant orange-yellow skin and boasts a distinct slightly flattened, elongated shape. Unlike many common mango varieties, its flesh balances rich sweetness with a mild fibrous texture that has made it a beloved staple among Haitian households and a highly sought-after product in international export markets, most notably the United States.

    Beyond its appeal as a fresh fruit, the Francisque mango is deeply woven into Haiti’s local culinary culture. During peak harvest season, it is commonly enjoyed fresh for breakfast or as a quick, nourishing snack throughout the day. For thousands of small-scale Haitian planters who grow the fruit in traditional Creole household gardens, the annual Francisque mango harvest is far more than a seasonal tradition: it serves as a vital source of income that supports livelihoods across rural communities.

    This feature is pulled from the answer key for HaitiLibre’s Haiti Fruits Quiz 1.1, part of the platform’s expanding collection of free educational quiz games. As of the August 2026 monthly update, the platform has added 30 new interactive quizzes, bringing its total catalog of games to 210, with new content added every single month. Designed to be accessible to learners of all ages and skill levels, all quizzes on the platform are 100% free to access, require no user registration, and are offered in both French and English, with three adjustable difficulty tiers: easy, intermediate, and hard.

    Readers and quiz enthusiasts are invited to explore the full collection of general knowledge content covering topics ranging from Haitian history and culture to global current events at the official quiz portal https://quiz.haitilibre.com/en. The platform encourages users to share the resource with family and friends, leave feedback via a comment form available at the end of every quiz, and engage with ongoing content to build new general knowledge skills over time.

  • Parmessar wil duidelijk tijdpad voor resterende anti-witwasmaatregelen

    Parmessar wil duidelijk tijdpad voor resterende anti-witwasmaatregelen

    PARAMARIBO, Suriname – August 13 – Rabin Parmessar, leader of the National Democratic Party (NDP) parliamentary faction in Suriname, is pressing the ruling government to deliver a full, detailed breakdown of all outstanding legislative, regulatory and institutional actions the country must complete to strengthen its frameworks against money laundering and terrorist financing, calling for the document to be submitted in the very near term.

    Speaking during a public plenary session of the National Assembly (DNA) on Tuesday, Parmessar warned that Suriname cannot afford any delays in meeting binding international regulatory standards, and is calling for clear accountability: for every outstanding action item, he wants the responsible government body and mandatory completion deadline clearly spelled out.

    Parmessar stressed that currently, no unified, transparent overview of all pending work exists for legislators to track progress toward compliance. The required actions go far beyond draft laws awaiting DNA debate: they also include executive state decrees, ministerial orders and capacity-building upgrades for domestic regulatory institutions, all necessary to bring Suriname’s framework fully in line with global norms set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

    Suriname is a member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), the regional body that monitors implementation of FATF standards covering anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF) and counter-proliferation financing.

    The NDP leader acknowledged that Minister of Justice and Security Harish Monorath already shared general updates on ongoing work during recent national budget debates, and expressed gratitude for that information. But he argued that this high-level briefing is insufficient to allow effective parliamentary oversight of progress. Parmessar is calling for a structured document that lists every remaining action, its priority level, the responsible agency or ministry, and the required completion date.

    For the National Assembly, this clarity is non-negotiable: legislators need to know exactly which draft bills are pending, when they will be ready for debate, and the same level of detail for executive decrees and orders prepared by individual cabinet departments. “Who, what, when” is the simple summary of the information Parmessar is demanding from the administration.

    Parmessar also issued a stark warning about the potential consequences of slow progress, emphasizing that he remains deeply concerned about the current pace of implementation. He stressed that Suriname must avoid not only being placed on an international blacklist for weak AML/CTF controls, but also the lower-level designation of greylisting – a outcome that would still carry significant economic and reputational harm. “We cannot accept either of these outcomes,” he stated, noting that Suriname is in no position to absorb the economic damage that would come from delayed compliance. “I do not see the sense of urgency that this issue demands from the government,” Parmessar added. He pushed for the requested overview to be sent to parliament as soon as possible, particularly ahead of the upcoming legislative recess.

    Parmessar’s concern is rooted in Suriname’s ongoing compliance review process within CFATF. In the body’s 2024 second Enhanced Follow-Up Report, CFATF confirmed that Suriname had made substantial progress since its previous evaluation, with the country re-assessed on nine core FATF recommendations. At that time, Suriname was rated compliant or largely compliant on 21 out of 40 total FATF recommendations.

    Suriname’s national Anti-Money Laundering Project Implementation Unit (AML-PIU) has confirmed that multiple government agencies are involved in strengthening the national AML/CTF framework, including the Suriname Financial Intelligence Unit, the Central Bank of Suriname, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Suriname Police Corps, the national Gaming Board, and multiple cabinet ministries.

    Parmessar argues that tracking these separate efforts in isolation is ineffective, and called for all outstanding actions to be consolidated into a single public timeline that the National Assembly can use for ongoing oversight. He stressed that this issue transcends partisan divides between the ruling coalition and the opposition, saying: “This is not a political game – government and parliament must work together to speed up progress to ensure Suriname meets all international requirements.”

    To underscore the gravity of the situation, Parmessar told legislators: “Sometimes when I think about how much is left to do, I get short of breath.” He reiterated his request that the government send the full compliance overview to DNA as soon as possible, so that legislators and the executive can jointly review all outstanding actions and agree on binding deadlines for completion.

  • Agriculture : The Ministry is transforming the rural landscape

    Agriculture : The Ministry is transforming the rural landscape

    Haiti’s agricultural sector is undergoing a major transformation through the Resilient Agriculture for Food Security Project (PARSA), a World Bank-backed initiative designed to boost food security, upgrade rural infrastructure, and improve living standards for small-scale farming communities across the country. On August 11, 2026, Haiti’s Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, agronomist Marcelin Aubourg, led a delegation of senior agricultural officials on a day-long inspection tour of completed and ongoing PARSA projects in the southern Nippes department, a region where farming forms the economic backbone of 11 local municipalities.

    The tour began in the commune of Petite-Rivière-de-Nippes, where the delegation inspected a state-of-the-art grain storage warehouse constructed by MARNDR for the Network of Agricultural Producer Organizations of Nippes (ROPANIP). Spanning 380 square meters, the facility has a total storage capacity of 580 tons and includes an on-site water reservoir and dedicated product drying area. Built to address longstanding challenges of post-harvest loss, the warehouse will improve grain preservation, strengthen local food supply chains, and ensure consistent stock for school feeding programs across the department.

    From Petite-Rivière-de-Nippes, the delegation traveled to Anse-à-Veau, where they viewed two additional completed infrastructure projects. The first is a new modern rice mill located in the O-Rouck area, built on a 72-square-meter plot with PARSA funding. The mill has a processing capacity of 800 to 1,000 kilograms of rice per hour, eliminating the need for hundreds of local smallholder farmers to travel long distances to process their harvest and cutting post-production costs significantly. During the same stop, Aubourg inspected the upgraded O-Rouck irrigation system, developed under the Resilient Productive Territories (TPR) initiative with support from PARSA. The upgraded infrastructure now provides reliable water access to roughly 50.5 hectares of cultivated farmland, helping farmers mitigate the impacts of climate variability and boost overall crop yields.

    Next, the delegation inspected ongoing rehabilitation work on a critical agricultural access road in the Baquet communal section of Arnaud. The project, being carried out by MARNDR, involves upgrading approximately 800 meters of rural track linking Carrefour Azor to Chalumeau via Morne Katina, alongside the construction of 200 linear meters of concrete verges, a 59.28-meter river ford, and an 84-meter retaining wall. Once completed, the upgraded route will serve as a vital transportation artery, enabling local farmers to move their products more efficiently to the Gros-Bassin regional trade hub and surrounding markets, while also providing a reliable bypass for the Grande Rivière des Nippes during seasonal flooding.

    The tour concluded in the Morne Borga area of L’Asile, where 15 new family water tanks have been constructed as part of PARSA’s community resilience program. The tanks bring a critical source of water within close reach of local households, eliminating the long daily trips community members previously made to collect water and reducing the overall burden of domestic work. Beyond meeting household needs, the tanks enable families to irrigate small-scale Creole kitchen gardens, supporting greater household food security, crop diversification, and resilience to recurring drought events that often disrupt agricultural production in the region.

    As part of the broader national PARSA initiative, these infrastructure investments are targeted at addressing longstanding barriers to agricultural development in rural Haiti: limited access to water, poor transportation connectivity, high post-harvest loss, and low resilience to climate shocks. By upgrading core infrastructure and centering the needs of local producer communities, the project aims to build a more sustainable and food-secure future for rural Haiti.

  • KPS versterkt misdaadanalyse met Amerikaanse ondersteuning

    KPS versterkt misdaadanalyse met Amerikaanse ondersteuning

    On August 12, a five-day specialized data analysis training program for the Korps Politie Suriname (KPS) concluded with a certificate ceremony, marking a key milestone in the South American nation’s transition to modern, data-centered law enforcement. Developed to address gaps in how the Suriname Police Force collects and interprets crime data, the initiative aims to help officers deploy limited resources more strategically and target crime-fighting efforts more effectively.

    The training was delivered through a partnership between the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) under the U.S. Department of State, the Pan American Development Foundation, and the U.S. Embassy in Suriname. Participants included criminal intelligence analysts from KPS’s Criminal Information Service, alongside the force’s information and communications technology staff.

    Over the course of the program, attendees built practical skills in core tools including Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, alongside learning standardized practices for data validation and data visualization. The curriculum is designed to not only improve the accuracy of crime information recording but also enable systematic, repeatable analysis of emerging criminal trends.

    According to a statement from the U.S. Embassy, upgrading KPS’s capacity for crime data collection, management, and analysis will empower police leadership to make more informed, evidence-based operational decisions. Enhanced data capabilities will also allow the force to allocate personnel and equipment to high-need areas more precisely, and track shifting crime patterns in real time. This aligns with the global shift toward data-driven policing, where decisions about patrol deployment, surveillance coverage, and anti-crime initiatives are shaped by empirical data rather than anecdotal observation.

    The closing certificate ceremony was attended by senior officials including U.S. Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Paul Watzlavick, Suriname’s Minister of Justice and Security Harish Monorath, and KPS Chief Melvin Pinas. This training is part of the broader Better Police Readiness in Caribbean Law Enforcement Organizations project, a regional initiative focused on supporting law enforcement agencies across the Caribbean to transition to modern, data-centric institutional structures that prioritize evidence-based decision-making.

    U.S. officials noted that the support initiative forms part of Washington’s broader commitment to strengthening law enforcement capacity across the Caribbean and improving public safety outcomes for local communities. The partnership reflects ongoing security cooperation between the United States and Caribbean nations to address shared transnational and domestic security challenges through capacity building and institutional modernization.

  • Ombudsman presses for clearer promotion rules, stronger complaint systems

    Ombudsman presses for clearer promotion rules, stronger complaint systems

    A damning new annual report from Barbados’ independent government watchdog has laid bare widespread public service dysfunction, revealing that complaints were filed against nearly two-thirds of all state agencies in 2025, prompting a series of urgent recommendations to overhaul accountability, transparency and service delivery across the civil service.

    Presenting his 2025 annual findings to Parliament, Ombudsman Rev Dr Nigel Taylor outlined that the scope of public dissatisfaction is far-reaching: official complaints were registered against 70 percent of all public service organizations in the country. While many agencies received only one or two grievances, nine departments attracted five or more formal complaints, with three agencies accounting for the bulk of concerns. The Barbados Revenue Authority topped the list with 43 complaints, followed closely by the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS) with 33, and the Ministry of Education Transformation with 15. Other agencies with five or more complaints include the Barbados Police Service (11), Barbados Prison Service (7), People Resourcing and Compliance Barbados (7), Planning and Development Department (6), Grantley Adams International Airport (5), and the National Housing Corporation (5).

    As an independent statutory officer, the Ombudsman’s core mandate is to investigate grievances against government agencies and departments, facilitating fair and impartial resolution of disputes between members of the public and the state. In his report, Taylor emphasized that unaddressed public service inefficiencies pose more than just an inconvenience: they erode public trust in government, damage civil service staff morale, and create long-term risks to Barbados’ social, economic and political stability.

    To tackle these systemic issues, Taylor has put forward a targeted package of reforms, starting with a comprehensive public sector human resource audit. The audit will specifically examine patterns of unfair workplace practices, including unauthorized supercession, untransparent non-promotion decisions, and inconsistent grievance handling, with the stated goal of advancing enhanced human resource fairness across the civil service. Taylor also called on policymakers to improve transparency around promotion processes by requiring clearer communication of criteria to all staff, a step designed to reduce widespread perceptions of bias in career advancement.

    Central to Taylor’s recommendations is a push to embed accountability and transparency as core values of the civil service. One key proposal requires all public agencies to publish regular public reports that detail the volume of complaints received, the rate at which complaints are resolved, and the specific reform measures agencies have implemented to address recurring issues. Taylor also suggested adding structured citizen feedback mechanisms, such as regular client satisfaction surveys, to complement the complaint data collected by his office, giving the public more opportunities to weigh in on service quality.

    Taylor further recommended that the government strengthen existing legislative frameworks to enforce compliance with minimum service delivery standards, alongside building out more robust internal complaint resolution systems within agencies. He pointed to existing successful models already in use by high-complaint agencies: he proposed expanding dedicated communication channels across all major public bodies, modeled on NISSS’ established email update channel and the Barbados Revenue Authority’s dedicated team meetings to share Ombudsman case updates.

    The Ombudsman also called for systemic investment in institutional learning and professional development across the civil service. He urged policymakers to embed targeted training into the existing Performance Review and Development System (PRDS) to close documented performance and knowledge gaps among staff. Additionally, Taylor recommended cross-agency mapping of organizational mandates to create structured cross-training and knowledge-sharing opportunities, breaking down bureaucratic silos that hinder effective service delivery and foster institutional learning across the public sector.

    Finally, Taylor pushed for a widespread cultural shift toward greater public responsiveness across all government agencies. He called for regular joint review meetings between the Ombudsman’s office and agencies with the highest volumes of complaints, following the successful collaborative model already established with the Barbados Revenue Authority. He also insisted that the government operationalize formal public service charters that clearly outline citizen rights, agreed service standards, and agency obligations to the public. To improve access and efficiency, Taylor added that the government must expand and strengthen ongoing monitoring of e-governance platforms, which have become a primary channel for public service delivery in recent years.

    In closing his report, Taylor noted that the recommended reforms are designed to both advance and streamline public service delivery for all Barbadians, addressing systemic gaps that have contributed to widespread public dissatisfaction.

  • Environment : The climate injustice facing Haiti

    Environment : The climate injustice facing Haiti

    The stark contradiction at the heart of global climate inequality has been laid bare in Haiti, where a nation contributing almost nothing to global greenhouse gas emissions faces some of the deadliest consequences of the climate crisis. Speaking at an August 11 closing workshop in Port-au-Prince focused on advancing Haiti’s national climate commitments, Xavier Michon, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Haiti, spelled out the full scale of the climate injustice the Caribbean nation confronts. With Haiti responsible for just 0.02% of the world’s total historical greenhouse gas emissions, its outsized exposure to climate breakdown stands as one of the most glaring examples of global climate inequity today.

    While Haiti’s contribution to global warming remains negligible by any global measure, the impacts of the climate crisis are already accelerating and devastating across the country. The nation now faces increasingly powerful and destructive hurricanes, more frequent extreme flooding, prolonged crippling droughts, widespread agricultural losses that threaten food security, and billions in cumulative economic damage that has derailed long-term development efforts.

    Against this backdrop, investing in proactive climate disaster prevention is not an optional luxury for Haiti, but an urgent strategic priority, Michon argued. He reminded attendees of the proven cost-benefit of early action: every one dollar invested in risk reduction and prevention can avoid up to seven dollars in post-disaster recovery and economic losses, a ratio that makes proactive climate action one of the most impactful investments for vulnerable nations.

    For the past 18 months, Haiti’s Ministry of the Environment, UNDP, and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) have collaborated on a targeted initiative to support Haiti in delivering on its existing Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) — the national climate action plan countries submit under the Paris Agreement. Beyond on-the-ground climate activities, the partnership focused on strengthening national institutional capacity, improving climate governance frameworks, and building an inclusive dialogue platform that brings together central government ministries, local government authorities, civil society organizations, private sector stakeholders, and international technical and financial partners.

    Through a series of national stakeholder consultations, targeted technical working workshops, and the completion of eight key strategic policy deliverables, the project has laid a more solid foundation for climate action that is more coherent, better coordinated across government and non-government actors, and far more effective in delivering tangible results on the ground.

    Marco Antonio Peñín Toledano, Spanish Ambassador to Haiti, emphasized that the lasting legacy of international climate support projects extends far beyond the initial funding mobilized. “The true legacy of a project lies not only in the funding mobilized, but also in the skills transferred, the institutions strengthened, and the partnerships that endure,” he noted during the workshop.

    Valéry Fils-Aimé, Haiti’s Minister of the Environment, called for global and national actors to turn formal climate commitments into tangible, on-the-ground results for Haitian communities. As Haiti begins work on developing its third iteration of national climate commitments, NDC 3.0, he stressed that stronger national ownership of climate action is critical to turning climate policy into a core driver of inclusive, long-term sustainable development for the country.

    Beyond the formal assessment of the 18-month project, the Port-au-Prince workshop brought a pressing global reality into sharp focus: for the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, climate justice requires more than just global recognition of their disproportionate vulnerability. It demands sustained investment in capacity building, institutional strengthening, and proactive risk reduction that empowers these nations to anticipate climate impacts, adapt to irreversible changes, and act before disasters strike — rather than scrambling to respond after catastrophe unfolds.

  • Could BTL’s Speednet Acquisition Mean Savings for Customers?

    Could BTL’s Speednet Acquisition Mean Savings for Customers?

    In a proposed $80 million industry consolidation set to reshape Belize’s telecommunications sector, Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) is pushing back against growing public skepticism, arguing that its planned acquisition of rival Speednet will deliver long-term benefits to consumers, including lower monthly rates and improved infrastructure. The deal has sparked fierce public debate since it was announced, with Belizean residents and industry stakeholders raising pointed questions about pricing transparency, competition risks, conflicts of interest, and the $80 million purchase price. Now, BTL’s leadership is making its case for consolidation, while industry watchdogs call for strict regulatory guardrails to protect consumers.

    Markhelm Lizarraga, chairman of BTL, argues that much of the public discourse has fixated on potential downsides while ignoring the core efficiencies a merged entity would unlock. “Because of the efficiencies that will come from market consolidation would allow for even a decrease in rates,” Lizarraga explained. “For example, there would be no more need for interconnection charges between BTL and Smart. Efficiencies will bring savings to consumers, increase dividends to shareholders, improve working conditions and benefits for workers.”

    Lizarraga’s core argument centers on the tiny size of Belize’s consumer market, which he says cannot sustain two fully parallel national telecom networks. Currently, both BTL and Speednet (which operates under the brand Smart) maintain duplicate infrastructure: separate cellular tower networks, independent national fiber optic cables, duplicated software systems, and parallel marketing and administrative teams. These overlapping costs, he insists, are ultimately passed on to consumers in the form of higher rates.

    “Picture this, we have a system that can do a million people. Our system only holding about two hundred and twenty-five thousand. Smart has one hundred thousand. Even after consolidation we’ll only be using thirty something percent capacity of our system,” Lizarraga noted. “Why have two systems? Consumers pay for it you know. Consumers pay for having two systems, two sets of fiber, and two sets of towers. Two sets of everything. All of these things make rate decreases difficult in this industry.”

    Critics of the deal have repeatedly raised alarms that the acquisition would create a harmful monopoly controlling nearly all of Belize’s telecom market, but BTL has pushed back against that claim, pointing to the existing Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) regulatory framework as a built-in guardrail for competition. Under the MVNO model, third-party businesses can sell telecom services to consumers using the existing infrastructure of the merged network, allowing for continued market competition without requiring new entrants to invest billions in building duplicate national networks from scratch. Lizarraga said BTL is still working with Belize’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to address competition concerns and confirm that the MVNO framework will be sufficient to prevent price gouging after the merger.

    “We still need feedback from the PUC about concerns regarding competition through MVNOs and other means of assuring the public that concerns about increasing costs or BTL taking advantage of them are unfounded,” he added.

    William Usher, vice chairman of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), told reporters that the business community does not inherently oppose the merger, but stresses that strong regulatory protections are non-negotiable to deliver on BTL’s promised benefits. “I think from a business standpoint there are many things. A lot of what they are saying probably will be beneficial. That for me and for us at the Chamber that is really not the problem,” Usher explained. “The problem is the guardrails that needs to be in place. Without the guardrails that is where we will fall short of whatever positiveness they are proposing to do. It is just simply business. And you know that if the guardrails are in play, if it is going where it should go, that there are measures in place to deal with it.”

    For ordinary Belizean consumers, the core questions remain straightforward: Will the acquisition deliver on its promise of lower rates? Will service quality improve across the country? And will regulatory safeguards be strong enough to prevent the merged company from exploiting its market power to raise prices long-term? As the PUC continues its review of the proposed deal, those questions remain unanswered for the 325,000 existing BTL and Smart customers across Belize. This report was prepared by Paul Lopez for News Five.

  • Can BTL Afford the $80 Million Speednet Deal?

    Can BTL Afford the $80 Million Speednet Deal?

    A major debate has erupted in Belize’s telecommunications sector over Belize Telemedia Limited’s (BTL) proposed $80 million acquisition of rival provider Speednet, with the core question at the center of discussions being whether the regional telecom can actually afford the eight-figure deal.

    BTL’s leadership is standing firm behind the financial viability of the transaction, saying the acquisition’s numbers add up to a solid strategic investment for the company. In an interview with local reporters, BTL Chairman Markhelm Lizarraga laid out the company’s financial roadmap for the deal, confirming that the negotiated purchase price currently stands at $80 million, pending the results of final due diligence to close the transaction.

    According to Lizarraga, BTL projects it will fully pay off the cost of the acquisition in approximately 4.2 years. The repayment structure calls for interest-only payments during the first two years, followed by principal payments carrying a 4.5 percent interest rate for the remaining term. Lizarraga emphasized that this repayment timeline has not been pulled from thin air: three independent third-party bodies have conducted their own analyses and substantiated BTL’s financial projections.

    The key to making the deal work, Lizarraga explained, lies in cutting redundant operational costs across the two merged companies. By eliminating duplicated expenses, BTL expects to redirect those savings toward increased cash flow that will cover the acquisition costs. He added that the company also plans to leverage unused excess capacity already existing in BTL’s current network infrastructure to generate additional revenue without major new capital investments.

    When pressed about what would happen if BTL fails to meet its repayment obligations, Lizarraga dismissed the scenario as extremely unlikely. He noted that both BTL’s board of directors and executive management team hold formal fiduciary responsibilities to act in the company’s best financial interest, and the leadership would never move forward with a transaction that carried any meaningful risk of default.

    “We would not be doing it if we thought that there was the slightest chance that through efficiencies in the market place we would not be able to pay it back,” Lizarraga told reporters. “The board has a fiduciary responsibility to the company. The management has a fiduciary responsibility to the company, we take that seriously.”

    This report is based on a transcribed transcript of a local evening television news broadcast from Belize District, originally published on August 12, 2026.

  • Independent Senators to BTL: Don’t Say We Were Invited

    Independent Senators to BTL: Don’t Say We Were Invited

    A high-stakes proposed acquisition in Belize’s telecommunications sector has sparked a public dispute over stakeholder consultation and industry transparency, as four independent senators push back against claims from Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) that they refused repeated invitations to discuss the deal.

    BTL, the country’s major telecom provider, has moved forward with plans to acquire Speednet Communications, the parent company of competing provider SMART. If approved, the merger would reshape Belize’s entire telecom market, impacting everything from consumer call and internet pricing to service quality and customer choice. BTL chairman Markhelm Lizarraga claimed publicly that the company had repeatedly extended invitations to independent senators to brief them on the proposal, accusing the lawmakers of refusing to engage with the company.

    But the four senators – Kevin Herrera, Glenfield Dennison, Rev. Louis Wade, and Janelle Chanona – have issued a flat denial of Lizarraga’s claims. They assert that no invitation, whether verbal or written, was ever extended to them directly to discuss the acquisition. Senator Chanona confirmed she received no such outreach, and an internal check with the Senate Clerk’s Office also confirmed no formal request from BTL to meet with the independent caucus specifically.

    Further clarification from Senate President Carolyn Trench-Sandiford has since shed light on the confusion: a formal briefing request was indeed sent by BTL CEO Ivan Tesucum on February 6 this year, but it was addressed only to the Office of the Senate President, asking to brief the full Senate as a collective body – not independent senators individually. That request came on the same day that Public Utilities Minister Michel Chebat announced in the House of Representatives that all discussions on the proposed acquisition would be paused, pending board approvals from BTL and the Social Security Board, plus a formal regulatory submission to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

    The Senate President acknowledged BTL’s request four days later on February 10, but noted the briefing would need to be scheduled at a later date, factoring in the paused acquisition process, existing Senate legislative workload, other National Assembly commitments, and an upcoming parliamentary recess. Now that BTL’s board has formally approved the acquisition, the Senate is moving to schedule the information session, with plans to invite all senators and request participation from the PUC for the briefing.

    The dispute has elevated broader concerns about the lack of open consultation around the deal, which critics warn could consolidate Belize’s telecom sector into a single monopoly – a step the independent senators have already labeled a regressive move for the country. Frustrated by the lack of proactive information sharing, the four lawmakers have sent formal letters directly to the PUC, the Attorney General, BTL’s board chair, and the Office of the Prime Minister requesting official answers on the proposed merger.

    At the core of the conflict is a growing public question: before regulators and government officials greenlight a decision that will impact every Belizean’s access to telecommunications, will the public receive a full, clear, and honest accounting of the deal’s potential impacts? The dispute now centers not just on whether the acquisition will be approved, but on whether all stakeholders – including elected representatives and the voting public – will get a chance to weigh in before the country’s telecom landscape is permanently altered.