BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – Agriculture Minister, Jose Abelardo Mai, is reported to have resigned from the cabinet of Prime Minister John Briceño. Still, there has been no official confirmation of the resignation.
The government has issued no official statement regarding the resignation, even as several media outlets said that Mai’s resignation late Monday came amid reports of pressure from the United States Embassy in Belize and follows allegations from a Mexican news outlet linking him to criminal activity, claims Mai has strongly denied, calling them “defamatory” and politically motivated.
He has threatened legal action against what he describes as “fake news” and opposition operatives.
The purported resignation also comes a week after Prime Minister Briceño defended a cabinet reshuffle, saying these adjustments will, as a whole, strengthen his executive team while bringing a fresh approach to several difficult spheres of governance.
The announcement from the Office of the Prime Minister did not provide any reasons for the cabinet changes, noting only that they will take effect on Monday, November 17.
The statement said Mai would remain as Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, with the added portfolio of New Growth Industries.
Opposition Leader, Tracy Panton, said the opposition is “extremely concerned about what we perceive to be, and I am sure the rest of the country perceives to be, the unravelling of a corrupt regime.
“I think that the government has a duty and obligation to act in the best interest of this country and should not be coerced or forced to seek the resignation of a member of its Cabinet, as I understand allegedly is the case with the Mai situation,” she added.
She is calling on Prime Minister Briceño to “explain why immediately after a reshuffle of his Cabinet, not only a reshuffle, but a reshuffle remix, we say it almost jokingly, but it is a serious matter, that we have the resignation of a senior member of Cabinet and there is no explanation from the government on this matter”.
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