By Aaron Humes: The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has issued a statement responding to recent attacks on Prime Minister John Briceño by journalist Jules Vasquez, news director for Channel 7 News. The OPM accuses Vasquez of using his media house to launch “petty, personal, malicious, and frankly ridiculous” attacks on the Prime Minister.
The OPM’s statement comes after Vasquez highlighted the Prime Minister’s meeting with Raul Rocha, a Mexican businessman who was recently charged with criminal activities. The OPM claims that Vasquez was trying to create a wrongheaded connection between the Prime Minister and Rocha, despite the meeting being an official governmental discussion on trade and investment opportunities. “PM Briceño has participated in such meetings around the world and has met with persons at all levels of government and business in his professional capacity,” the statement notes.
The OPM also pointed out that Prime Minister Briceño has met with numerous individuals in his official capacity, including the late Nestor Vasquez, Jules Vasquez’s father, who was involved in a corruption scandal at Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL). The OPM emphasized that these meetings do not imply any wrongdoing on the part of the Prime Minister, but reminded that “The late Vasquez was caught embezzling funds from Belize Telemedia Limited, in corruption most foul. In fact, Jules Vasquez himself was implicated, because his father used his position at BTL to funnel exorbitant sums of money to Channel 7, a fact which certainly would have been known by News Director Jules.”
The OPM has warned that if Vasquez continues to make personal attacks without substance, they will seek every legal recourse available to hold him accountable. The statement concludes that while the OPM has no issue with fair and factual reporting in the local press, “The OPM does take issue, though, with the skewed reporting and editorializing by the self-righteous, sanctimonious Jules Vasquez, who has no moral standing to speak on corruption.”
The post Office of the Prime Minister responds to “attacks” by Jules Vasquez regarding PM’s meeting with Mexico’s Raul Rocha appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Aaron Humes: The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has issued a statement responding to recent attacks on Prime Minister John Briceño by journalist Jules Vasquez, news director for Channel 7 News. The OPM accuses Vasquez of using his media house to launch “petty, personal, malicious, and frankly ridiculous” attacks on the Prime Minister.
The post Office of the Prime Minister responds to “attacks” by Jules Vasquez regarding PM’s meeting with Mexico’s Raul Rocha appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
