Vega and Darlene Padron Must Go!

Briceño also discussed the role of various Vega family members and acquaintances in roping off the Lands Ministry for their personal grab-tub, most notably former National Estate Officer and Justice of the Peace Darlene Padron, whom he alleges has done this many times before.  It appears, he said, that this was a mostly internal cabal of operatives loyal to the Minister and who appeared willing to follow his every dictate. As for Vega himself, Briceño said he must either go voluntarily or be expelled by his party, with the option of a recall also on the table.

John Briceño

John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader

“I don’t know, personally Miss Padron; but we know about her. We know that she is a U.D.P. operative; she has put her name forward to try to represent the U.D.P. both in San Felipe and in Orange Walk South. We know that Gaspar Vega brought in key people in key areas in the Ministry. Remember his nephews? He had one as deputy commissioner of lands and one as deputy registrar of lands – two individuals that knew nothing about land. And then he brought in Miss Gillett, the daughter of Derrick Gillett, who is compadre with Gaspar Vega, who has benefited in the hundreds of thousands of dollars by getting land from Gaspar Vega, his compadre. And he also brought in Darlene Padron, and even appointed her as justice of the peace, so that they can sign the documents within themselves – they don’t have to go outside the Ministry. So then, Darlene Padron, as the justice of the peace, signed that she saw that Amy Forte signed, got the land, and then that she, Amy Forte, signed the conveyance to transfer the land to Andre Vega. And I can assure you that there have been countless other files that Darlene Padron has signed.  The Prime Minister will tell you that he is no longer in my cabinet. But I want to point out to the Prime Minister: Mr. Vega is still seated in the front row, as one of the senior members of his party, and secondly, if the Prime Minister is so much against corruption in his party, then he needs to make a move to expel Gaspar Vega from the United Democratic Party. Because if he continues to defend Mr. Vega, then that means that the entire U.D.P. is [part and] parcel of all the rank corruption that has been taking place since 2008 under the Right Honorable Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, and the U.D.P. government.”