PM Briceño Talks Leadership and Development as UB’s Guest Lecturer

Prime Minister John Briceño may not often boast about the honorary doctorate he received in Taiwan back in 2022, but today he put that distinction to work at the University of Belize. The two‑term leader stepped into the lecture hall in Belmopan as a guest speaker, sharing his take on leadership, economics, and national development through a Belizean lens. And after his presentation, he opened the floor to students and faculty, fielding questions on everything from soaring fuel prices to Belize–Cuba relations, and even BTL’s controversial bid to acquire Speednet. Here’s how he responded.

 

John Briceño, Special Guest Lecturer

“We recognize the challenges with the cost of living. It’s something that’s affected worldwide, and I’m sorry to give you the bad news, but right now it’s going to get worse because of the war in Iran. We have nothing to do with that but look, the price of diesel fuel has already gone up, and the next shipment, it’s going to go up more and we have no control over that.”

 

PM Briceño Addresses Questions on Cuba Relations

 

Belize’s long‑standing partnership with Cuba is facing a delicate moment tonight, as Prime Minister John Briceño navigates sensitive negotiations over the future of the Cuban Medical Brigade, a team of doctors and specialists who have supported the country’s healthcare system for decades. With several Latin American countries scaling back their agreements amid U.S. pressure, Belize has remained cautious but grateful, acknowledging the brigade’s crucial role in rural and specialty care. This evening, PM Briceno responded to questions about the present state of affairs between Belize and Cuba.

 

John Briceño, Special Guest Lecturer

“As to the Cuban [Medical] Brigade, you know we feel very strongly about the Cuban Brigade, we are very grateful for the tremendous work that they have done and that they are in areas where we don’t want to be. Some of our doctors and also, they have specialties that we don’t have. We are with some delicate negotiations with the Americans and with the Cubans and hopefully then with the Cubans to see if we can find a hybrid to be able to keep as many as possible of the Cuban doctors here. But as you know, we are just a speck in a big pond and now we have our big brothers up north and they don’t care about anything. They just say, you do it our way or, then, we are going to deal with you. And now, just imagine, we say, to hell with you, we are with Cuba and we wahn raise the flag, this, that and that, and then dehn seh we wahn cancel all the visas of Belizeans. Unu wahn be the first one weh wahn jump pan my back. True or false. Be honest. Be honest. Unu wah be the first one weh wahn jump pan fu we back, like weh wrong wid you. We di lose fu we visa, we cyant go da United States.”

 

Still, Briceño says the government must strengthen Belize’s own medical workforce, even as Cuba’s worsening humanitarian crisis and regional political shifts raise new questions about what comes next. We’ll have more from a one-on-one with PM Briceno elsewhere in the news.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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