Will John Saldivar Face Political Repercussions?

Dean Barrow

It is believed that much of what Mason purports to have would involve Minister of National Security John Saldivar.  Saldivar, by his own admission, was very close to Mason – so close that Mason contributed more than fifty-thousand dollars to Saldivar’s football team, the Belmopan Bandits.  Saldivar also introduced other Ministers to the man now accused of kidnapping and heinous murder – including Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber.  Most recently in this weeks-long saga, Mason has claimed to have evidence against Saldivar and other Ministers.  So with so much heat on the Belmopan Area Representative and Minister of national Security, is his political status in jeopardy?

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“Minister Saldivar is at this moment in good standing. Look, the question of a cabinet shuffle is always one that a prime minister has in his arsenal so to speak. It is an ever present consideration; at all times, all options are on the table. So that is the case now, it is going to be the case tomorrow, it is going to be the case next week, it is going to be the case next month, it is going to be the case next year; for as long as I continue to hold this office. So that is the general position. I don’t think that I can take it beyond that at this juncture. I accept that the optics of this situation is bad. Moving beyond optics though, I have not been provided with any material to suggest that any minister did anything that could be considered improper from the point of view of the bar of impropriety that would oblige the sort of action you ask about—that would act as the sort of trigger you described. I have not been provided with that sort of evidence. I repeat, the situation is clearly still evolving.”