What Did P.M. Know and What is Status of Vega Lands

Dean Barrow

As the Prime Minister contended in our interview after the House meeting of August twenty-first, the transactions detailed in a prior set of leaked documents involving the Vegas appeared to be legitimate on the surface and “I don’t know that there is any actionable illegality there.” But he had previously stated that he had not seen and would not see the documents, at best effectively conceding that the transactions were questionable, and at worst looking guilty of gross negligence. Opposition Leader John Briceño believes that the Prime Minister knows more than he is telling. We also questioned what the Vegas are doing with the lands in question, particularly on the ground in Orange Walk where Briceño is from. He responded that the grab is mostly for show, but that the complaints have been loud and long – and mostly ignored.

Andre & Gaspar Vega

John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader

“I suspect that the Prime Minister knew all along what was taking place; that is why he was trying to dismiss it, and tried not to answer it, and almost gave you the middle finger to the Belizean people; that he’s not going to do anything about it and he didn’t even want to look in the files. It is only because this brave Belizean has decided to challenge the Prime Minister and this U.D.P. Government and to challenge the very powerful Vega family, that the Prime Minister is taking action, otherwise he would have done nothing, despite the fact that he was getting countless reports, countless – in many instances where people were complaining, be it on the radio, be it on social media, we in the P.U.P. from day one have been calling out the Prime Minister; almost every House meeting we go we talk about the corruption taking place in his Government and all the Prime Minister has been interested [in] is trying to prop up a government that is falling apart; a government that is on its knees right now.  A part of it has been developed – I understand that he and his brother have some cattle; which I understand some of the cattle was taken from Central Farm ended up over there also, at least that’s what I have been told.”

Reporter

“So except for that particular instance, it seems that this land is just sitting there when it could be used, you are saying…”

John Briceño

John Briceño

“The point is – we should not lose sight of what is happening – is that Gaspar Vega, while he was the Minister of Natural Resources, transferred land from all across the country, valued at millions of dollars, for a pittance to his family. And I am sure that some of this land, a) has been already sold, or waiting for the appropriate time to be able to sell it at a hefty price. And we have seen the lifestyle that Andre Vega has been living; we can go into that later. But the point is that this has been a get-rich scheme from the day that Gaspar Vega got into the Ministry of Natural Resources.”

Briceño reminded of other instances of acquisitions across the country by the Vegas, aided by their effective takeover of the Lands Ministry.