Sunday, October 16, 2011
SUNDAY October 16, 2011
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THE BELIZE TIMES
www.facebook/Belize Times
Issue No. 4767
Landslide! Support for Mark Espat as next PUP Leader is overwhelming
Belize City, October 12, 2011 If an election for Party Leader were to be held today or tomorrow, PUP Albert representative Hon. Mark Espat would win by a landslide. That is the indication given by official information from officials at the People’s United Party headquarters. On Wednesday evening, the PUP’s Eastern Caucus, which includes twelve constituencies in the Belize District, gave its overwhelming support to the three-term Albert Area Representative as the next leader of the PUP. This comes after endorsements from the Southern, Western and Northern Caucuses which have been recorded by the Party Secretariat. Together, they represent the 31 constituencies throughout the country. The leadership of the PUP became
3 term PUP Albert Area Rep. Mark Espat has majority support to become next PUP leader
42 deadly weapons stolen from BDF! Belize City, October 12, 2011 With our national security being called into question by the Barack Obama administration, the Barrow Administration cannot afford more black eyes. But that’s just what it got today with the news that dozens of highpowered rifles had been stolen from the Belize Defense Force armoury at Price Barracks, Ladyville.
Example of high powered weapons stolen from BDF
The burglary reportedly happened sometime between last week
21,000
Reasons for
a Referendum See page 6
when the last routine check was done at the
Continued on page 4
CAYO MAN
ACCUSED OF INTERCOURSE WITH A BULL See page 6
vacant last week Friday, October 7th, when Opposition Leader Hon. John Briceño announced he would be stepping down as leader of the PUP for health reasons. Briceño had been quietly battling a serious health complication for some time, and only recently did it worsen to a point that his medical advisors told him it was time to bow out. Aware of the repercussions, Briceño humbly and boldly stepped aside. The resignation sent shockwaves, and like with the swiftness of his announcement at a National
Executive meeting held Friday, so did the Party act. With majority support of the Executive, Espat was nominated as the Interim Leader, with responsibility to hold over until the process of selecting a new leader within 30 days was completed. That Executive nomination has turned into an overwhelming endorsement, as the support coming from Caucuses as well as Party’s standing units is indicating. Wednesday night’s meeting was focused on the Party forging ahead in unity. No one dissented Hon. Espat’s interim leadership nor questioned his capacity as Party Leader. Meanwhile, eleven of the twelve constituencies supported his bid for Leader, including Freetown which was represented
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Unemployment Time Bomb Despite $15m US assistance, Belize’s national security is highly compromised Belize City, October 11, 2011 The Barrow Administration’s failure to secure Belize’s border and protect citizens from increasing crime and major illicit activities has become a major concern for the United States Government. In mid-September, the Obama administration announced that it was blacklisting Belize because it was considered a major drug player in the region. The news cast a major black-eye on Belize. The Barrow Administration attempted to disregard the move, claiming the U.S. was only retaliating to Belize’s decision to support
How to Steal An Election See page 19
Palestine’s independence movement. It appears the US is now upping the
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See page 15