Apology Enough? PM Briceño Weighs In on Gilroy Usher Land Dispute
It is not the first time a minister’s actions have left Prime Minister John Briceño answering questions from the media. The latest involves Port Loyola Area Representative Gilroy Usher, whose decision to personally intervene in a land dispute has drawn criticism.
Briceño says Usher was wrong to tear down a constituent’s fence, but says he understands why the minister stepped in, particularly given that “people are being killed over land.”
Usher was captured on video removing a fence belonging to a resident involved in the dispute. News 5 asked Briceño this morning whether an elected official should personally intervene in a private land dispute.
Briceño said, “Minister Usher was over anxious probably frustrated in trying to fix a problem that is being created over land and felt that if he did not step in, people are being killed over land. Unfortunately, in Orange Walk my compadre in San Lazaro was chopped up because of an issue with land. And he felt that if he stepped in maybe he can help.”
Briceño quickly followed with a disclaimer, saying he personally would have handled the matter differently. “I called him and said, you should allow the law to take its process, allow the police to take its process, and allow the Ministry of Natural Resources to come in and say these are your boundaries. And he realised that,” Briceño said.
Usher has since issued a public apology, though he continues to defend his decision to intervene, saying he was protecting a family that has been unable to access its legally titled property since 2024. Meanwhile, the resident at the centre of the dispute, Cozet Maximo, says she has occupied the land for seventeen years and disputes the ownership claim entirely.
The matter is now in the hands of the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Usher was seen sitting front and centre along other ministers joining the PM today, invited in his capacity as area representative and dancing alongside Briceño despite the weekend controversy.