Carib Scope

分类： politics

  • ASP Stacy Smith Explains Promotion Process Following Recommendation

    ASP Stacy Smith Explains Promotion Process Following Recommendation

    In a public briefing on July 20, 2026, Assistant Superintendent Stacy Smith of the Belize Police Department opened up about the internal promotion framework that has put her name forward for elevation to the rank of Superintendent, breaking down how senior officer promotions are carried out within the force.

    The process has drawn public attention after a formal recommendation was submitted to the Security Services Commission, which holds final approval authority over the promotion. Documents sent to the commission note that Smith has already been fulfilling responsibilities above her current pay grade and earned strong marks from the Promotional Board during her assessment. However, Smith confirmed that even among the cohort of Assistant Superintendents who passed their promotional evaluations, limited open vacancies mean only a select number will advance, and her appointment remains non-final pending the commission’s formal sign-off.

    During the question-and-answer session with reporters, Smith outlined the tiered structure of police promotions that differs based on an officer’s current rank. For ranks below inspector, candidates must first complete a written promotional examination, with a current passing threshold set at 60%. Those who hit the mark then move forward to a panel interview, where their performance alongside other qualifying factors is weighed to make a final hiring decision.

    For officers at the rank of inspector and above seeking promotion, the process shifts away from mandatory written exams. Interested candidates must first submit a formal application to appear before a five-member promotional board, which includes senior police leaders, a representative from the security services sector, and a delegate from the relevant government ministry. Each board member gets the opportunity to question candidates on topics relevant to the role they are seeking to fill. After the interviews, individual scores are compiled and sent to the Office of the Police Commissioner, who reviews the assessment results alongside the candidate’s past performance appraisals and the department’s current administrative staffing needs. A final recommendation is then forwarded to the Security Services Commission for final approval.

    Smith emphasized that hitting the 60% passing mark for written exams is only one small part of the broader evaluation process. All candidates are assessed against a full set of criteria laid out in the nation’s Constitution public service regulations and the police department’s internal policy manual, with different factors carrying different weights in the final decision-making process.

    This report is a transcribed excerpt from an evening television newscast, with Kriol language dialogue standardized to written spelling per published editorial guidelines.

  • “That Is My Sister”: Ella Waight Defends New RECONDEV Chair

    “That Is My Sister”: Ella Waight Defends New RECONDEV Chair

    In a sweeping shakeup of the Reconstruction and Development Corporation (RECONDEV) ordered by the Prime Minister of Belize, long-serving board chairman Brian Mira has been ousted, with retired educator Myrna “Tibby” Waight stepping into the top leadership role. The restructuring, which saw a mix of existing directors retained and new politically aligned appointments added to the panel, has sparked immediate public and political scrutiny over the government’s decision-making process.

    Myrna Waight brings a familiar background to the role: she previously served as RECONDEV’s deputy chair, holds a seat on Belize’s National Women’s Commission, and is the daughter of Samuel Waight, a former People’s United Party (PUP) area representative for Cayo South. Widely recognized as a PUP supporter, she has been the center of questions swirling over potential political ties to the outgoing chair Mira and claims of improper political patronage in her appointment.

    Stepping forward to defend her sister against circulating speculation, National Trade Union Congress President Ella Waight has pushed back firmly against allegations of improper connections between Myrna Waight and the Mira family. In an interview with local outlet XTV, Ella clarified key personal details about Myrna, correcting misinformation that had circulated about her marital ties to the Mira family, stating: “The chair now is my sister. My sister, Myrna Waight. No, she’s not married [to any member of the Mira family]. She is a retired teacher from Belmopan… daughter of Samuel Waight.”

    When pressed to address any lingering questions about political alignment between Myrna and Mira, Ella Waight acknowledged that she could not confirm whether Myrna has ever campaigned for Mira, but confirmed her sister’s long-standing active participation in the People’s United Women, the PUP’s official women’s affiliate group. Beyond addressing personal speculation, Ella Waight also defended the government’s choice to retain some sitting board members rather than dismissing the entire panel, arguing that a full overhaul would eliminate critical institutional knowledge that keeps the agency functioning effectively. She added: “As far as I know, the board did not do anything wrong” to warrant a full purge of its membership.

    Among the directors who will retain their seats on the restructured board are Belmopan Mayor Pablo Cawich, who holds an ex officio position, as well as incumbent members Lysandra Berbey, Wilfredo Galvez and Cedric Borland. Three new political appointees will join the board to fill vacant seats: George Castro, Carla Bradley, and Michael Rudon, who currently serves as the Director of the Government Press Office.

  • Nieuwe Britse premier Andy Burnham belooft ‘nieuwe economie’

    Nieuwe Britse premier Andy Burnham belooft ‘nieuwe economie’

    On Monday, Andy Burnham officially took office as the seventh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in just 10 years, marking another major shift in the country’s turbulent political landscape. Following his formal audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, the new Labour Party leader unveiled an ambitious, if still outline-only, plan to reshape British politics and tackle the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, anchored by a 10-year strategy to build what he calls “a new economy.”

    Stepping into a role shaped by years of successive leadership turnover, Burnham openly acknowledged his government’s potentially fragile position and stressed the urgent need for a break from Britain’s recent fractured political trajectory. “We are going to change politics – it will be less about scoring points, and more about working together and finding solutions,” he stated in his first public address as prime minister. He has pledged to decentralize state power, devolve greater responsibility to local communities, and use robust government intervention to bring essential living costs back within reach for ordinary households.

    A former mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham succeeds Keir Starmer, who stepped down after two years in office and one landslide general election victory, amid mounting internal party tensions and public criticism. Starmer delivered his farewell address on Monday, saying “My work is done. I leave with my head held high and proud of what we have achieved.”

    The handover of power followed longstanding royal protocol with the traditional “kissing hands” ceremony at Buckingham Palace, though the practice of kissing the monarch’s hand was not observed during this meeting. Burnham said he is “very conscious” of the rapid turnover of leadership at 10 Downing Street, and called on his generation of political leaders to “improve the game” and rebuild public trust in British democratic institutions.

    Burnham ran unopposed for the Labour Party leadership, securing the backing of 379 out of 403 sitting Labour members of parliament. He inherits a daunting slate of pressing challenges: a stagnant, slow-growing national economy, the persistent cost-of-living crisis that has squeezed millions of households, overstretched public services stretched to breaking point, and complex global diplomatic priorities including the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

    In his inaugural speech as prime minister, he also committed to ending homelessness across the United Kingdom and breaking up a political system that he argues has been marked by bad policy choices – including widespread privatization – since the 1980s.

    Critical observers are eagerly awaiting the full details of Burnham’s flagship 10-year plan, which he is set to formally present on Tuesday. Joshi Herrmann, founder of Manchester-based news platform The Mill, noted that the plan will only deliver on its promises if the government can unlock substantial, sustained economic growth.

    Beyond policy proposals, widespread attention is also focused on the composition of Burnham’s first cabinet. Major changes are expected at key top posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and Home Secretary.

    Starmer leaves Downing Street with a number of notable legislative and policy achievements, including strengthened worker protections, reductions in childhood poverty, and increased defense spending. Even so, maintaining stable, consistent governance proved an uphill battle during his tenure, amid ongoing internal divisions and external pressures.

    As Burnham moves into 10 Downing Street, he carries an inbox full of urgent, unresolved policy files and the defining mission of restoring public faith in politics for a nation that has long craved stability and tangible progress after a decade of constant upheaval.

  • Police search Azruddin Mohamed’s house in “Paper Shorts” murder probe

    Police search Azruddin Mohamed’s house in “Paper Shorts” murder probe

    On Monday, July 20, 2026, Guyana’s national police force confirmed it had carried out a court-authorized search of the home of controversial local businessman Azruddin Mohamed, located in the Friendship community on East Bank Demerara. The operation, which has amplified already high political tensions across the South American nation, was carried out under a search warrant approved by a local magistrate following a review of evidence gathered by investigators, police said in an official public statement.

    While the law enforcement agency did not explicitly name Mohamed in its formal announcement, the businessman’s sister confirmed the search on social media, noting that the raid took place while Mohamed was participating in official recovery efforts for victims of the MV Barima ferry sinking that occurred on the previous Saturday night.

    Police clarified that the search is tied to the ongoing investigation into the 2021 assassination of Ricardo Fagundes, a well-known local figure better known by his nickname “Paper Shorts.” Fagundes was shot dead in broad daylight on Main Street in Georgetown in March 2021, just moments after leaving the popular Palm Court entertainment venue. Shaheen “Roger” Khan, who was with Fagundes immediately before the shooting, has long stated he believes he was the actual intended target of the attack.

    In recent weeks, law enforcement has interviewed multiple persons of interest in the long-stalled Fagundes case, a development that has prompted sharp pushback from Mohamed. The businessman has publicly claimed the investigations are a politically motivated witch hunt, launched by the administration of President Irfaan Ali in retaliation for Mohamed’s earlier public revelations about a multi-acre private farm owned by Ali located along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.

    The search also adds another layer to the long-running legal troubles facing Mohamed and his family. Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, are currently wanted by United States law enforcement authorities to face trial on multiple federal charges including money laundering, wire fraud, and mail fraud connected to their family-owned gold trading enterprise.

    The development comes as Guyana grapples with growing public scrutiny of political corruption and cross-border criminal activity tied to its booming gold sector, with the overlapping investigations expected to deepen political divides in the country ahead of upcoming electoral cycles.

  • Belize Left Off Spain’s Visa-Free List? Foreign Affairs Ministry “Clarifies”

    Belize Left Off Spain’s Visa-Free List? Foreign Affairs Ministry “Clarifies”

    On July 20, 2026, Belize’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) issued an official statement to clear up widespread public confusion sparked by Spain’s recent publication of an updated visa-free travel list for the Schengen Area, which failed to include Belize.

    The MFAFT emphasized that the July 14 list released by Spanish authorities does not represent a new policy change targeting Belize. Instead, it is merely a consolidated restatement of long-standing visa exemption rules already codified in European Union Regulation 2018/1806, which has kept Belize excluded from the Schengen visa-free regime since the regulation took effect. All decisions on visa exemption status for non-EU countries are made collectively by all EU member states, not unilaterally by any single national government, the ministry noted.

    For Belize to gain full visa-free access to the entire Schengen Area, a formal amendment to existing EU-level legislation is required. This legislative process is entirely separate from domestic announcements individual member states like Spain issue to update their own public travel guidance, the statement explained.

    According to the MFAFT, Belize has pursued full Schengen visa waiver status for Belizean nationals through years of sustained diplomatic lobbying, targeted at both Spanish authorities and EU governing institutions. That long-term effort already delivered a major breakthrough in November 2025, when EU officials approved a new arrangement that allows Belizean citizens holding valid biometric passports to obtain multiple-entry Schengen visas valid for up to five years.

    The ministry framed that 2025 reform as a meaningful step forward that has significantly streamlined travel for Belizeans visiting Spain and other Schengen Area countries for a wide range of purposes, including business trips, leisure tourism, educational exchanges, and family visits. The new regime represents a substantial improvement over the stricter, more restrictive visa rules that were in place before the 2025 agreement, the statement added.

    The nine CARICOM member states that are included on Spain’s updated visa-free list, all of which already hold full Schengen visa exemption under existing EU rules, are Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

    The 27-country Schengen Area, which allows for free movement across internal borders between participating European states, counts Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland among its current members.

    In closing, the MFAFT reaffirmed that it will continue advancing Belize’s request for full visa-free access through all appropriate diplomatic channels, with the goal of securing the legislative change needed to fully remove the visa requirement for all Belizean travelers.

  • STATEMENT: Electoral office responds to ‘false claims’ about voter confirmation procedures

    STATEMENT: Electoral office responds to ‘false claims’ about voter confirmation procedures

    False claims circulating across social media platforms over the weekend have prompted an official response from the country’s Electoral Office, which is moving swiftly to refute allegations that third parties can complete voter confirmation for absent electors by presenting their documents alone.

    In a public statement released to counter the growing spread of unsubstantiated misinformation, Chief Election Officer Anthea Joseph’s office categorically denied that such a practice is allowed or even possible under the jurisdiction’s current voter confirmation framework. The office emphasized that the entire system has been built with layered security safeguards explicitly designed to require the in-person physical presence of every elector seeking confirmation.

    To illustrate the rigid checks built into the process, Electoral Office officials outlined the mandatory workflow that all electors must complete. When an elector arrives at a confirmation center, their personal identifying information is first entered into the official digital system. Next, a live photograph of the elector is captured on-site, and the individual is required to provide a personal electronic signature via a dedicated signature capture pad. Critical procedural blocks are coded directly into the system: the confirmation application cannot be marked as complete until both the on-site photograph and the unique electronic signature have been successfully recorded.

    Because of these non-negotiable procedural requirements, the office confirmed that it is structurally impossible for a third party to finalize voter confirmation for another person without that elector being physically present at the center. The Electoral Office has formally rejected the false information that has spread through social media channels, and moved to reassure the general public that all official confirmation centers are adhering strictly to the prescribed regulatory procedures at all times.

    Beyond this immediate denial, the office offered a second guarantee to voters: comprehensive on-site supervision and oversight are being implemented at every confirmation location to protect the integrity of the entire voter confirmation process. Officials noted that the Electoral Office remains fully committed to upholding the requirements laid out in the Registration of Electors Act and all established administrative protocols for voter confirmation.

    In closing, the office issued a public appeal urging all community members to cross-check any claims related to electoral procedures through the Electoral Office’s official communication channels, rather than relying on unvetted social media posts. The statement also encouraged voters to avoid sharing unconfirmed allegations, which can mislead electors and erode public trust in the integrity of the region’s electoral system.

  • Suriname heeft wel een wettelijke regeling voor ‘fiscale ringfencing’ bij O&G-contractors

    Suriname heeft wel een wettelijke regeling voor ‘fiscale ringfencing’ bij O&G-contractors

    On July 17, 2026, legal expert Siegfried G. Kenswil LLM published an opinion piece titled ‘The Contract That Underpins Suriname’s Oil Era’, where he introduced his book *The Surinamese Production Sharing Contract*. While Kenswil’s piece is overall a valuable read for stakeholders in Suriname’s growing oil and gas sector, one key claim he made requires critical nuance to prevent unnecessary confusion and conflict between the Surinamese government, specifically the tax authority, and oil and gas contractors and their advisors.

    The contentious claim centers on Kenswil’s assertion that the so-called ring fence outlined in Suriname’s Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) is purely a contractual cost-recovery mechanism, and that no statutory fiscal ring fence – which limits tax deduction eligibility to individual fields or contracts – currently exists in Surinamese tax law. Kenswil further argues that introducing such a framework would require legislative action, and applying it retroactively to existing contracts would violate state guarantees of legal certainty and policy stability.

    However, Kenswil’s opinion does not clearly outline the legal basis for his claim that Suriname lacks a statutory fiscal ringfencing regime. This gap risks leading readers to the incorrect conclusion that Suriname has no existing legal rules governing ringfencing for income tax collection from oil and gas contractors. In fact, the opposite is true: Suriname has held a clear legal basis for fiscal ringfencing since the 1990 Petroleum Act, specifically in Article 19.

    Article 19 of the 1990 Petroleum Act mandates that any contractor carrying out operations under a petroleum PSC in Suriname must establish a dedicated local office for each individual agreement, and register this office in compliance with national regulations. Article 11 of the same Act confirms that this requirement applies to every petroleum agreement a contractor enters into. This means contractors are legally obligated to set up separate registered entities for every PSC they sign in Suriname.

    This mandatory separation of entities carries direct implications for income taxation. A local office of a foreign contractor typically takes one of two legal forms: a local branch or a wholly-owned local subsidiary. Both structures are required to register with the Suriname Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKF) and register as distinct taxpayers with the Surinamese Tax Administration. A branch of a foreign enterprise is formally classified as a permanent establishment for Surinamese income tax purposes, falling under local tax jurisdiction.

    Depending on the legal structure chosen, the separate office is classified as either a non-resident taxpayer (for branch structures) or a resident taxpayer (for subsidiary structures) for income tax purposes. Since each PSC corresponds to a single legally defined exploration or production block, this separation requires that income tax assessments are conducted separately for each block. As a result, costs accrued from one block cannot automatically be deducted against revenues generated from a separate block. Through this provision in the 1990 Petroleum Act, Suriname’s legislature already embedded fiscal ringfencing into the regulatory framework for oil and gas contractors.

    This statutory requirement is also explicitly reflected in Suriname’s standard model PSC, confirming that both contractors and the state have long recognized the application of fiscal ringfencing. Article 19.2.1 of the model PSC outlines which revenues and costs are counted when calculating a contractor’s taxable income. For eligible costs, the rule specifies that only expenses linked to or arising from the PSC for the specific block in question can be counted, whether they qualify for cost recovery or not. By signing a PSC containing this clause, contractors voluntarily agree to abide by this ringfencing framework.

    In conclusion, this clarification makes clear that fiscal ringfencing for oil and gas contractors in Suriname already holds full legal grounding under existing law. When the Surinamese Tax Administration applies ringfencing to assess income tax from oil and gas contractors, no additional legislative action is required. This application does not breach existing contracts, nor does it violate legal certainty or the state stability guarantees outlined in State Decree S.B. 2018 No. 52.

    By Roy Shyamnarain, Fiscal and Legal Advisor based in Paramaribo

  • Petro agreed to become president of Pacto Historico party

    Petro agreed to become president of Pacto Historico party

    As Colombia prepares to swear in its newly elected legislative body this week, outgoing President Gustavo Petro has delivered a high-stakes message to members of his ruling Pacto Historico coalition, demanding unified parliamentary discipline and tighter oversight of caucus members’ actions ahead of a key leadership vote in the Senate.

    In his public address, Petro outlined that Pacto Historico will prioritize brokering a broad national consensus to head off violent political polarization between Colombian factions, framing the effort as a commitment to protecting democratic stability across the region historically liberated by South American independence icon Simón Bolívar.

    Petro issued a clear directive to his allies: no member of Pacto Historico — and he extended that appeal to all factions of the broader Alliance for Life coalition — should cast a vote for candidates backed by the incoming conservative coalition, which he accuses of seeking to criminalize political opposition and erode fundamental democratic freedoms. The comment is widely understood to be a direct rebuke of Alfredo Deluque, the conservative-aligned legislator tapped by the incoming government to take the presidency of the Colombian Senate.

    The Colombian leader pushed back against the weaponization of judicial processes in political disputes, noting that democracy is rooted in inclusive political freedom, not the judicialization of ideological differences. “The Right should not be criminalized simply for being right-wing — I granted them full democratic guarantees during my administration — nor should progressivism be criminalized,” he explained.

    Reiterating the stakes of the upcoming vote, Petro declared that “Tomorrow, no one from the Pact (…) must succumb to the temptation of supporting fascism.”

    Petro also voiced public regret over the actions of Rodrigo Lara, the incoming administration’s designated Interior Minister, whom he accuses of having already taken “the first step toward fascism” by improperly meddling in internal party decision-making that falls outside the scope of the incoming executive’s authority.

    The swearing-in ceremony for members of Colombia’s new legislative term is scheduled to take place tomorrow, bringing to a close months of post-election negotiations and political maneuvering over control of the country’s congressional agenda.

  • US war on Cuba is multidimensional, ambassador denounces

    US war on Cuba is multidimensional, ambassador denounces

    A senior Cuban official has delivered a sharp rebuke of U.S. policy toward her country, labeling Washington’s oil embargo a de facto naval blockade that imposes extraterritorial harm on third-party nations alongside devastating Cuba itself.

    In an interview with the Argentine current affairs program *Legitima Manana*, produced by media group Caras y Caretas, she argued that the decades-long U.S. campaign has inflicted widespread suffering on the Cuban people, stripping them of the ability to exercise basic human rights and move forward with national development plans. Far from supporting progress for Cubans, the official emphasized, the U.S. policy is explicitly designed to roll back the social, economic, and scientific progress that Cuba has secured since the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

    She highlighted the stark contradiction between global opposition to the embargo and Washington’s continued enforcement of the measure: Cuba lies just 90 miles from the U.S. border, making it the target of constant harassment from the world’s most powerful military and economic power, even as the United Nations General Assembly has voted 30 separate times to demand an immediate end to the blockade. Most recently, on July 7, Cuba brought its urgent case to the General Assembly once again, reaffirming its sovereign right to engage in international trade and access global fuel markets. The official praised the overwhelming international support for the motion, noting that 136 member states voted in favor of opening debate on the issue, alongside numerous official statements from global representatives denouncing Washington’s hostile stance toward Havana.
    “The United States openly disregards international law and the longstanding norms that govern peaceful relations between sovereign states,” she said. “Washington insists on imposing its own unilateral rules, even within inter-American governance frameworks, to increase its interference in the internal affairs of countries across our continent.”
    She characterized the decades-long embargo as a genocidal silent war of suffocation against Cuba, noting that the campaign operates on two interconnected levels. Beyond the direct economic harm that deprives the Cuban people of critical resources, the official argued that it includes a deliberate cognitive strategy of demonizing the Cuban government and shifting blame for the country’s hardships onto Havana itself. She summed up this strategy as a “diabolical double game,” designed to erode international support for Cuba while masking the human cost of Washington’s unilateral policy.

  • FAO: Dominican Republic no longer classified among countries facing hunger

    FAO: Dominican Republic no longer classified among countries facing hunger

    Santo Domingo — The Dominican Republic has reached a landmark milestone in global food security, earning full removal from the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) official hunger map after cutting its national undernourishment rate to less than 2.5% — the UN agency’s international threshold for defining endemic hunger. The milestone is formally recognized in the recently released 2026 *State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World* (SOFI) report.

    FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu praised the Caribbean nation’s success, attributing the achievement to consistent, high-level political commitment and coordinated cross-sector action to eradicate hunger. He emphasized that the Dominican Republic serves as a powerful global model, proving that targeted, effective public policy can deliver transformative food security outcomes regardless of a country’s geographic or economic size.

    Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader framed the win as a collective accomplishment, crediting coordinated work across smallholder farmers, the domestic private sector, civil society organizations, national public institutions, and key international partners including the FAO, the World Food Programme, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Moving forward, Abinader outlined that the country will shift its focus to strengthening long-term food systems stability, with priorities including boosting sustainable agricultural production, supporting small-scale family farming, upgrading national water management, expanding social protection programs, and building greater resilience to climate shocks and global geopolitical disruptions that threaten food supplies.
    Minister of the Presidency José Ignacio Paliza explained that the progress traces back to a comprehensive national food security strategy rolled out in 2020, built around five core pillars: improving food availability, expanding equitable access to nutritious food, boosting nutritional outcomes for vulnerable groups, increasing climate resilience for agricultural systems, and strengthening multi-stakeholder food security governance.

    Paliza highlighted the suite of targeted initiatives that drove the strategy’s success. These include the national School Feeding Program, which now provides daily meals to 2.1 million students across the country; the Aliméntate food access program that currently reaches 1.49 million low-income households; the Gas Bonus energy subsidy that benefits 1.3 million households; and a dramatic expansion of subsidized Economic Dining Halls, which grew from just 35 locations to 134, distributing 180,000 free or low-cost meals to vulnerable communities every day.

    He also shared new data showing that national agricultural output hit 347 million quintals in 2025, representing a 5.6% increase over 2024 production levels. This growth was supported by targeted government policies including zero-interest financing for smallholder producers, infrastructure investments to expand irrigation access, streamlined land titling processes to formalize small farms, and government public procurement commitments that prioritize purchasing from local agricultural producers.