Prosser asks Miami judge to impose fines on Belize

As expected, Jeffrey Prosser and his attorneys in Miami did not react well to the Belize Supreme Court ruling yesterday that two of his directors were no longer eligible to sit on the B.T.L. board, and that in fact he was no longer eligible to be chairman. Today in Miami, Prosser’s people filed Justice Conteh’s decision with the Miami Court, and were scathingly critical of both the decision and the judge, alleging that G.O.B. found a judge who would, “give them a favourable ruling.” They also criticized the arguments presented by G.O.B. and E-Com, characterizing them as “irrelevant and entirely frivolous.” Prosser maintains that G.O.B. remains in contempt of the Miami court and urges Justice Ursula Ungaro-Benages to impose fines on the government. They asked Ungaro-Benages to “send a message” that Belizean assets in the United States are not immune to attachment, a fact she had previously noted. They also asked her to send a message that compels both the government’s compliance with the Miami court’s order and the government’s honesty with the court. In addition, Prosser has been busy trying to muster support from people in the United States government. In fact, he has succeeded in convincing a Congressman from Illinois, Jerry Weller, to pay a personal visit on Prime Minister Said Musa this week to present him with a letter urging him to, “look at the facts of this case and direct the Government of Belize to comply with the ruling in the U.S. District Court” and return control of Belize Telecommunications Limited to its rightful owners. He attempted to turn up the heat on G.O.B. by saying that “foreign investors will be watching to see the outcome of this matter and will make decisions about whether Belize is a good choice for investing based on the actions in this case.” It is not clear at this point exactly what Congressman Weller’s interest is in the matter, or the nature of his relationship with Jeffrey Prosser. An interesting note however is that Weller is no stranger to Central America, having married the daughter of former Guatemalan General, Efrain Rios Montt. He also serves on a congressional anti-terrorism committee, which has among its post Nine-Eleven responsibilities, the elimination of the sale of passports in other countries.