V.O.A. leaves after 18 years in P.G.

It has been a fixture on the southern coast of Belize for almost two decades, but today the Voice of America compound south of Punta Gorda was handed back to the Government of Belize. The shortwave facility, which began broadcasting in 1984, ceased operations on September fifteenth. With the end of the Cold War and its related proxy battles in Central America, the U.S. propaganda broadcasts were no longer a high priority, particularly as America’s attention shifted toward events in the Middle East. The agreement signed today between Foreign Minister Assad Shoman and U.S. Ambassador Russell Freeman terminates the lease on the facility. The question now becomes what will be done with the unique waterfront property. While the sophisticated electronic equipment will be shipped out by V.O.A., the Government of Belize will be left with two hundred and seventeen acres of cleared land, fully fenced, containing a number of buildings and fuel tanks, as well as twenty well anchored broadcast towers, each two-hundred feet high. The departure of V.O.A. means the loss of around twenty-five jobs, many as security personnel. A number of workers have received employment at the U.S. Embassy in Belize City and it is expected that new jobs will be created by whatever use the government decides to make of the valuable site.