Who Profited During the BDF Ration Crisis?

While military leaders were assuring the public that Belizean soldiers were receiving adequate food and supplies, a different story may have been unfolding behind the scenes. Leaked invoices obtained by News Five reveal that companies linked to relatives and close associates of senior government officials were securing contracts to supply rations to the Belize Defense Force at the height of the 2023-2024 ration shortage controversy. The documents raise new questions about who profited from those deals and whether public concerns about shortages were overshadowed by a network of well-connected suppliers. Tonight, as the Ministry of Defense faces growing scrutiny over contracts and payments, we take a closer look at how the ration controversy fits into the expanding scandal. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The BDF ration shortage controversy may be old news, but it is taking on new significance as questions mount over contracts and payments within the Ministry of Defense. Back in late 2023, reports surfaced that soldiers were receiving less food, fueling allegations of mismanagement and corruption in the purchase of supplies. At the time, Prime Minister John Briceño offered this explanation.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño (File: December 13^th, 2023)

“What they have done now is that they have come up with a more wholesome food, a healthier food for the BDF. So, it’s not a matter of volume. But it is a matter of eating healthily.”

 

Yet while officials defended the changes, they never disclosed who was supplying the Ministry of Defense with these supposedly healthier rations. And when questions persisted in January 2024, then Minister of State Oscar Mira dismissed reports of reduced food supplies as nothing more than mischief-making.

 

Oscar Mira, Minister of State, Ministry of National Defense (File: Jan 25^th, 2024)

“I think that is just mischief. The rations have not been cut from the Belize Defense Force soldiers. In fact if we check the records, the Belize Defense Force is getting more and better quality that what they were receiving in the last thirteen years.”

 

Those comments suggested Mira had reviewed the records and knew exactly what was reaching BDF camps. But did those same records also show that one of the ministry’s suppliers was his own sister, Jenny Mira? Newly leaked invoices suggest they did. The documents reveal that through late 2023 and early 2024, Jenny Mira was supplying the Ministry of Defense with tens of thousands of dollars in goods. Yet as questions swirled over ration shortages, officials maintained that nothing was out of the ordinary. In fact, then Minister of Defense Florencio Marin told reporters in December 2023 that there was no cause for concern. Today, those assurances are facing fresh scrutiny.

 

Florencio Marin Jr, Minister of Defense (File: December 13^th, 2023)

“It is nothing out of the ordinary, no? We’re not trying to starve the soldiers. I think even you guys know that under the leadership of Minister Mira and I, we’re not here to play games with our soldiers. We have been there.  We know what it is. I know that every year what the military has requested, we have provided.”

 

But Marin also left out another key detail. At the very time he was insisting everything was business as usual, some of those supplies were reportedly coming from Kukulcan, a company alleged to have ties to him, and J&J Imports, a business linked to the family of PUP Area Representative Ramon “Monchi” Cervantes. Interestingly, only a day after speaking with Mira, News Five challenged Cabinet Minister, Henry Charles usher on allegations of husting happening in the purchasing of rations.

 

Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service (File: Jan 26^th, 2024)

“I don’t know about the aspect of hustling happening, but I certainly, you asked me whether this has come up at Cabinet. It has, in terms of making sure that the BDF is properly resourced, meaning all the resources that they need to carry out their work, including, of course food and rationing. But I can’t say that there have been any allegations of corruption coming forward on this issue. But we continue to monitor it.”

 

Supplying the armed forces with ration is big money business. Soldiers are allocated thirteen dollars per day to eat, amounting to millions of dollars annually. But in solving this problem, did the ministers responsible for the ministry ensure that their relatives and friends feast as well? Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

 

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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