Belmopan, November 27, 2025.
The Office of the Prime Minister is compelled to respond to the latest in a series of petty, personal, malicious, and frankly ridiculous attacks on Prime Minister John Briceño by Jules Vasquez, using his media house.
There have been many instances of Vasquez weaponizing his media house to attack the Prime Minister without cause or substance, in his daily ‘yellow journalism’ newscasts and on his morning show, where he often targets the Prime Minister in hysterical rants.
On November 26, 2025, Channel 7 posted about Miss Universe Co-owner Raul Rocha, a Mexican businessman, being charged for criminal activities. Mr. Vasquez felt it was necessary to point out in that same post that the Prime Minister had met with Rocha over a year ago, no doubt trying to create some wrongheaded connection and to cast aspersions on the integrity of PM Briceño.
To clarify, Prime Minister Briceño was part of an official governmental meeting with Rocha and others, in 2024, to discuss opportunities for trade and investment. 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 Office of the Prime Minister asserts that if Vasquez is indeed on the hunt for corruption, he need not look far. Prime Minister John Briceño also met with the late Nestor Vasquez, father of Jules, on numerous occasions. That certainly does not mean that he was connected in any way with the corruption perpetrated by Vasquez.
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 Office of the Prime Minister has no issue with the media, or with fair, factual reporting, even in those cases where it challenges the Prime Minister or members of the Government. Belize is a democratic country, and the Prime Minister is the most accessible in Belize’s political history.
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. If these personal attacks without substance continue, the Office of the Prime Minister will seek every legal recourse available to bring Mr. Vasquez and his runaway mouth to account.
