Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum
transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast
are conducted in Creole. In the interest of clarity for our foreign readers,
we attempt to paraphrase the Creole quotes in English
Tonight, Former Minister of Home Affairs Oscar Mira remains benched from Cabinet - the fallout from hundreds of leaked Smart Stream entries exposing a systematic pattern of under-the-radar payments from the Ministry of Defence to his family's businesses.
While the Mira family is primarily known as vegetable vendors supplying rations to the BDF and Coast Guard. But the manner in which payments were made - 98% of them below $10,000 - shows a deliberate strategy to escape oversight from the Ministry of Finance - or the Contractor General.
Tonight, 7News can confirm that the 1,300 leaked transactions paid out to Jenny Mira, FAST Construction, MP Farms, and Stanley Mira net a combined grand total of $9.5 million. The undisputed top earner was MP Farms, pulling in $5.5 million alone.
Keep in mind, that 9.5-million-dollar price tag only accounts for the 1,300 Smart Stream entries leaked so far; the records indicate there are at least 500 more entries still hidden from public view. Of the known data, 1,249 payments were kept under $10,000, while a mere 28 ever crossed that regulatory line.
The data reveals that these family earnings peaked in 2025 - coinciding exactly with Mira's seven-month stint as the full Minister of Defence.
Now, Mira can technically argue that he wasn't the accounting officer on record - that legal responsibility falls on the CEO. But sources tell 7News that the Minister maintained a heavy hand over the Ministry of Defence's procurement pipeline.
Jules Vasquez reports:
"Minister Mira is the decision maker", that's what a senior public officer told one Ministry of Defence supplier who had submitted an estimate to supply one of the armed forces and did not hear back on it.
Usually, the process of open tendering should be transparent and free from influence:
Francis Usher, CEO - Ministry of Defence "There are several layers. We, in every open tendering process, we have a representative from the Ministry of Finance that sits on our evaluation committee. We have representation from the BDF and the Coast Guard - as the end users. We have an auditor that's on the on the tendering committee. And then, and I do not sit on it, neither does, the minister. When the evaluation is done, it's submitted for us to then just to sign off and send over to the Ministry of Finance for them to review the entire, documentation. So there are there are several layers of oversight that's conducted."
But, the ideal is very far from the real - and there are multiple ways to circumvent that procurement model. Sources tell us that traditional procurement processes were routinely sidestepped during Mira's tenure - an allegation which he denies.
June 17, 2026
Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs "I sit on no procurement committee. I had no say, I had no influence and I have never in my ministry or any other Ministry tired to influence the position of that committee."
But not everything goes to a committee - we have reviewed dozens of tenders provided to us and did not see any for boots or uniforms.
Typically boots like this cost $400 dollars each and an order like this contains as many as 1,000 units per shipment - that's a 400,000 dollar purchase - the size of acquisition which is required by law to be approved by the Contractor General. But, apparently they didn't get that approval.
These photos were taken in March of 2021 and in October of 2022, responding to a query about the supply of uniform items for 2021/2022 the Contractor General concluded grimly:
"Our records show that this matter was executed without the certification of review by the Office of the Contractor General."
Sources tell us that pattern of acquisition continued until 2025 - which would mean that there were likely hundreds of thousands of dollars in acquisitions that passed under the oversight radar and under the $10,000 threshold. Whether that was legal is a question that needs answering.
For clarity, Mira family businesses did not supply BDF uniforms, and the apparent absence of contracts to supply is most likely linked to others in the Ministry, not Oscar Mira. But there are many "known - unknowns" and we'll keep looking for answers.
And, tonight we're looking at another leak for a business with a family connection to Oscar Mira. FT Williams is a well-established mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractor and Oscar Mira's sister is married to a principal of the company.
But Smart Stream leaks from 2021 suggest that the government bought a Mitsubishi vehicle from that electrical contractor-totaling $96,000 spread out across 10 payments - all under $10,000.
The current CEO for Defence Francis Usher told us, quote, "I do know that the Ministry of National Defence and Border Security has a Mitsubishi L200 truck that is assigned to the Ministry, and also there were 2 of those trucks that were assigned to the BDF.
I am not certain if these payments were specifically for that, but the trucks did arrive during that time frame."
Today the new Minister Of Home Affairs was on a familiarization tour in the Eastern Division where he met with senior commanders in the Belize District. The meeting lasted about 2 hours at the Racoon Street station but one of the topics of concern was the roof.
In July of 2025 the then Minister Kareem Musa said, "I am hoping that in a month or two, you can come back here and we'll have a roof on this building." which he claimed was being left up to MIDH to finalize.
Well, nothing ever happened.
But now the Minister of Infrastructure Development is also the Police Minister but today when we spoke with Julius Espat, he said that after seeing it for himself he now sees the urgency:
Julius Espat, Minister of Home Affairs "I just came from the roof, I saw it personally right now. It's in deplorable condition, it has to be done. The Chief Engineer has sent engineers already to do an analysis. So I will now ask for that report."
Reporter "Do you see it happening within the near future as in within the next 3 months especially being that it's starting to rain again?"
Julius Espat, Minister of Home Affairs "I will do everything in my power for it to happen, you have to go up there and see the conditions these officers are operating in and it's inhuman."
"Right now I'm just meeting and learning and asking for more information. I met with the senior command this morning, it's been good. It was 2 hours it's been good just gathering information, they have loads of information and a large percentage of the complaint is resources and the roof is a clear example where it is drastically needed. We cannot ask the police to assist us in solving crime if we do not give them the necessary resources for them to do it. We cannot expect the police to be nice to people when the environment in which they are working is horrible. It's basic human nature so we have to be able to, if we are asking them to do the work and do it properly and asking them to be disciplines then we have to do our part, that's how I see it. So I will do everything in my power within the timeframe that I am given to try to facilitate the resources that they need to be able to get the work done."
The Minister is expected to continue his familiarization tour throughout police formations countrywide.
Last night we told you about the death of Giovanni Gillet which was the 6th murder in the Belize district in just a month. Gillette was inside a yard in Lords Bank with two other men when a gunman approached and fired several shots, seriously injuring three men, including the 19-year-old Gillette, who died the next day. Today we spoke with his aunt Natasha Gillette who said that her nephew was trying to change his life path but just couldn't give up the company he kept:
Natasha Gillette, Aunt of Deceased "We were looking forward to my nephew, you know. He was, although he got in a different situation hanging around with bad crowd, because as parents, you know, we could try our best if we tried train them and try, bring them up the right way."
"But they always have their... some of them have their own mindset. And he was one, you know, like even though he was trying, because he was at Gwen Liz Evening Division School was about to graduate."
"Auntie, I'm on a scholarship. They're going to pay for my next year. You know, he was looking, still looking forward for, you know, positive things in his life. The last time I spoke with his social worker, she was like, where do you see your nephew in the next five years?"
"And I told her, like, I want my nephew to come out of this charge that he's on, get a job, go back to school, you know, and be somebody productive in society. He was doing the first step, going back to school, you know, but God has his own route for him, you know."
"He just arrived at the location and he was going there to hang out with some of his friends. I'm not sure what he was going to do, you know. And by the time he reached like 15 minutes, it's like they were drilling him."
"Because like five minutes or less, I heard they blaze up fire. And my nephew get shot in his chest, his leg, didn't recover. Didn't sound like the most life-threatening shot at the time as other else people that was there in the vicinity, but it turned out to be the deadly one."
"I will always remember my nephew as a number one helpful person. Anybody who ever come in contact with him, always know he is helpful ready for us if you need him to help you do anything without you even asking him."
"He's a loving person too. Always there around me and auntie, I love you, auntie you're good. And you know, he always checks up on me. So I will always remember him as a loving person. And the name Giovanni, and I always call him Jojo, he's a jovial person."
"All his pictures, always smiling, always laughing, always being idle. He's that bubbly person, always bring a good vibe to everybody that he hangs around."
Three people are free from a murder case after the crown was forced to enter a nolle prosequi. The incident occurred back in 2023 in Gracie Rock when Denver Montero was killed during a robbery.
However, the nolle pros was entered only 24 days after the trial started. According to Ronelle Gonzalez - who represented Tyrone Young Sr - key witnesses did not show up.
Ronell Gonzalez, Attorney "The prosecutor entered a nolle pros in the matter today and as a result all three defendants were set free."
"The trial in this matter started on the first of June 2026 and it lasted for about two weeks, we had a break in between, there were several witnesses and there were also numerous witnesses that were aggrieved by both the prosecution and the defense in this matter. And as a result today was set for key eyewitnesses to appear before the court. There was a failure to present those witnesses and therefore the prosecution entered a nolle pros in the matter."
Young was charged alongside his son, Tyrone Jr, who was only 16 at the time of the crime, and Aaron Smith Jr, who was 15. It is alleged that Smith handed the gun to Young Sr who then fired the fatal shot.
On Wednesday we showed you a video of an altercation between two cops in Dangriga. In that video, Sergeant Marvin Salam, who was in uniform, was seen assaulting Corporal Kendis Mortis, who was in plain clothes.
Well, that altercation actually started much earlier, outside a club, and it was caught on surveillance cameras. Courtney Menzies has that story.
This was the scene outside the Lakeland Recreation Center in Dangriga early on Saturday morning.
Two cops - Corporal Kendis Mortis and Sergeant Marvin Salam - got into an ugly altercation on the street, but what caused the brawl?
Thats tory started two unfold about two hours earlier - around 12:30 am. This surveillance footage shows Corporal Mortis causing a ruckus at the entrance of the club, reportedly not wanting to pay the fee to get inside. He came in plain clothes with a drink already in his hand and shoved a female patron to make his way in. That's when the other officers stopped him.
Eventually, he paid and went inside. However, later when he came back outside around 3:00 am without his shirt, he was still belligerent towards the other officers and ultimately attacked Sergeant Salam. That is what led to the altercation and the video that was posted online - which tells a story, but only one side of it.
When we asked the ComPol about it, he said the fault was with the Sergeant.
Jomarie Lanza: "We recently saw a video where Corporal Mortis was being lashed by Sergeant Salam in the street. What is the story behind this?"
Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police "Well, I was made to understand there was some altercation at the establishment, and to-from what I view, I do believe that the police did use excessive force, hence the reason he was arrested and charged."
Reportedly, Mortis said that because he was a ranked police officer, he didn't have to pay, and he also claims that he was not intoxicated. Salam has retained an attorney.
Yesterday you heard the Blue Economy Minister say that the fishers' audit which was presented to him was "questionable" and that they would still use the data from the Fisheries Department.
Well, today in San Pedro Town the fishers had a meeting with the minister where they laid out their concerns. After that meeting, they explained what those concerns were. The minister also said a few words except he refused to be on camera. Here's how that went:
Jorge Aldana, President, San Pedro Fishers Association "The meeting was basically to have fishers discuss some of the issues affecting the industry. We had a small delegation from across the country, all the way from Barranco, all the way from Corolla and the Cayes. We brought forward some of the issues affecting fishers, issues having to do with security, issues to do with a lack of funding for fishers, better representation on the council. And those are some of the issues we discussed."
"It was a very productive meeting, I think the minster listened to our concerns, he did address some of the concerns that fishers raised. He also made commitments to looking at some of the areas where we have concerns that are not fulfilled and he said he was going to take a look at them and see how he could address some of those issues."
Andre Perez, Minister of Blue Economy "I did listen to them, they had concerns, every different community has a different concern but all in all the common trend is the issue of security, sea piracy, the preparation when it's time for the seasons to be opened such as the lobster season the conch season, the patrol that they have to do, how much money it's costing them, the riding cost of the fuel is also affecting them as well and also something legitimate they feel more and more waters are being displaced for fishing so they wanted to reach us in what consideration can be done and that is something that our ministry is very acutely aware of and we're working on it as well so it was a fruitful meeting, I heard them, I have everything documented, certainly will be sharing it with my CEO in the ministry."
In other fishing news, as fisherfolk prepare for one of their busiest times-the fast-approaching lobster season-the Wildlife Conservation Society honored three hardworking fishers who are making a difference within the fishing industry. Jomarie Lanza attended the Fisher Of The Year Awards today and here's what that looked like.
No official announcement of his travel was made but Prime Minister John Briceno is in El Salvador to assume the pre-term presidency of SICA. At the official handover, Briceno reaffirmed the country's commitment to strengthening regional integration and cooperation.
This week Cabinet announced its approval for Belize to sign and later ratify a Partial Scope Agreement with the Government of the Republic of El Salvador. The Agreement will be signed on the 2nd July 2026 in San Salvador.
And in other diplomatic news, this week at the Organization of American States General Assembly, the governments of Belize and Guatemala officially signed a new Joint Declaration, recommitting themselves to peaceful border relations.
Both nations committed to maintaining a peaceful, friendly dialogue, ensuring that old border disputes remain a thing of the past.
The declaration highlights the ongoing process at the International Court of Justice. Both countries formally agreed ahead of time to accept the ICJ's final ruling as legally binding, promising to implement the decision in complete good faith.
June is recognized as Men's Mental Health Awareness month, but the Belize Cancer Society has taken a different approach at raising awareness and encouraging action when it comes to men taking care of their mental health.
The Belize Cancer Society organized a Men's Forum today at the Civic Center, and the event was not solely focused on men and their mental health. Instead, it looked at encouraging them to care for their overall health.
We spoke to one of the panelists, a former pathologist and he explained how the presentations tackle each aspect of men's health.
Dr. Hugh Sanchez, Board Member of Belize Cancer Society "As you know, June is Men's Health Month, and we have had previous presentations at Old Belize, and we tried a new venue this time."
"As was mentioned in the interaction was that women tend to take care of themselves, but men, for some reason, as was shared by the mental health expert Dr. Cayetano, that stigma or whatever, we tend to be a little bit hesitant in seeking health and follow through on our health. So the purpose of this men's forum is to try and sensitize, remind, encourage for us to take charge and to, you know, men are needed. And because of the way we are reared-macho, men don't cry, men don't clomping, men don't get emotional and we keep things in-it messes us up and as a result of that, we crash. Or, as was shared in the statistics, between 30 and 50, five times the suicide rate because we take the burned, we sit on stand, we suffer in silence, and when it comes to a crisis, then we seek health. And when it is a very bad diagnosis, we withdraw, we become more depressed, we try our own methodology-i.e., silence, drinking rum, whatever-and at the end of the day, it is not helping because when you are out of the picture, that is a person who is a provider who has gone. So as a society, we say we need to address this issue, we need to put it on the front burner, and we need to make it so relevant that we can effect a change in our men, and the purpose was to achieve that."
As we showed you in our top story - there were consistent and glaring irregularities with procurements at the Ministry of Defence.
And while businesses owned by family members of former Minster Oscar Mira have been in the spotlight - it's not all on him.
There were many other service providers and suppliers who were receiving scores of payments under that $10,000 dollar threshold.
Mira was the Minister of State for Defence from November 2020 to March 2025. During that time, the full Minister was Florencio Marin - and our reports say he also knew about sub ten thousand dollar payments.
But, at an event today in Belmopan - he refused to discuss any knowledge of such payments. Here's how he danced around the issue. This video from X-TV:
Reporter "Was there ever a time that you or your Minister of State, Minister Mira at the time, was informed of these large volumes of payment, invoices or the repeat of these same vendors in the system?"
Florencio Marin, Minister of Defence "Please let me defer to when I speak with the auditor general in these questions."
"Like I said, I don't want anything to prejudice any at all. I think there will be some people want to hear."
Reporter "Does the $10,000 threshold present any sort of constraints based on your experience in government?"
Florencio Marin, Minister of Defence "I will comment after the audit on that."
Reporter "I understand, Minista. What has become of that FO that was under you and Minister Mira when these payments, these multiple invoices were signed off? Can you at least tell us that?"
Florencio Marin, Minister of Defence "When I returned to the ministry, the FO was no longer there. And I'll be honest with you, I don't know where he is right now."
One-hundred-and-seventy-three public officers were honored last night for a quarter-century of dedication to the country. The milestone was celebrated during the 2026 Public Service Awards Ceremony, held under the theme of advancing innovation and inclusion.
Minister of Public Service Henry Charles Usher praised the honorees:
Henry Charles Usher Minister of Public Service "173 outstanding public officers who have each dedicated 25 years of service to the people and nation of Belize. Let us pause and truly appreciate what that means: 25 years of showing up every day with a commitment to serve; 25 years of helping citizens navigate their challenges and aspirations; 25 years of contributing to the functioning of government, institutions, and the development of our country; 25 years of choosing service above self."
"Collectively, the women and men in this room, as we honor tonight, represent more than 4,000 years of combined service to Belize. That is an extraordinary legacy. Together, you carry decades of institutional knowledge, professional experience, and invaluable wisdom that have helped shape the Belize public service into what it is today. This evening is about far more than the presentation of awards and certificates. It is about pausing to recognize those whose work often takes place quietly and without fanfare, yet whose contributions touch the lives of Belizeans every single day."
"You are the technical experts, support staff, and public servants who work behind the scenes to ensure that our institutions remain strong and responsive. You are, in every sense of the word, nation builders. Public service is not simply a profession. It is a calling, and it requires integrity when difficult decisions must be made. It demands resilience during times of uncertainty. It calls for compassion, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to serving others. And perhaps most importantly, it requires an understanding that every task undertaken in service to our country contributes to building a better Belize."
If you're an educator who has been having a tough time planning your lessons and coming up with project-based assessments, a homegrown AI platform called AIden Teach might be for you. It's a platform developed by Dr Adriani Coleman that uses AI to change the way teachers maneuver the classroom. Courtney Menzies was at the launch and has this story.
Email
Print
Tonight, Former Minister of Home Affairs Oscar Mira remains benched from Cabinet - the fallout from hundreds of leaked Smart Stream entries exposing a systematic pattern of under-the-radar payments from the Ministry of Defence to his family's businesses.
Francis Usher, CEO - Ministry of Defence 
"I sit on no procurement committee. I had no say, I had no influence and I have never in my ministry or any other Ministry tired to influence the position of that committee."
And, tonight we're looking at another leak for a business with a family connection to Oscar Mira. FT Williams is a well-established mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractor and Oscar Mira's sister is married to a principal of the company.
Today the new Minister Of Home Affairs was on a familiarization tour in the Eastern Division where he met with senior commanders in the Belize District. The meeting lasted about 2 hours at the Racoon Street station but one of the topics of concern was the roof.
Julius Espat, Minister of Home Affairs
Last night we told you about the death of Giovanni Gillet which was the 6th murder in the Belize district in just a month. Gillette was inside a yard in Lords Bank with two other men when a gunman approached and fired several shots, seriously injuring three men, including the 19-year-old Gillette, who died the next day. Today we spoke with his aunt Natasha Gillette who said that her nephew was trying to change his life path but just couldn't give up the company he kept:
"Auntie, I'm on a scholarship. They're going to pay for my next year. You know, he was looking, still looking forward for, you know, positive things in his life. The last time I spoke with his social worker, she was like, where do you see your nephew in the next five years?"
Three people are free from a murder case after the crown was forced to enter a nolle prosequi. The incident occurred back in 2023 in Gracie Rock when Denver Montero was killed during a robbery.
"The trial in this matter started on the first of June 2026 and it lasted for about two weeks, we had a break in between, there were several witnesses and there were also numerous witnesses that were aggrieved by both the prosecution and the defense in this matter. And as a result today was set for key eyewitnesses to appear before the court. There was a failure to present those witnesses and therefore the prosecution entered a nolle pros in the matter."
On Wednesday we showed you a video of an altercation between two cops in Dangriga. In that video, Sergeant Marvin Salam, who was in uniform, was seen assaulting Corporal Kendis Mortis, who was in plain clothes.
Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police
Jorge Aldana, President, San Pedro Fishers Association
"I did listen to them, they had concerns, every different community has a different concern but all in all the common trend is the issue of security, sea piracy, the preparation when it's time for the seasons to be opened such as the lobster season the conch season, the patrol that they have to do, how much money it's costing them, the riding cost of the fuel is also affecting them as well and also something legitimate they feel more and more waters are being displaced for fishing so they wanted to reach us in what consideration can be done and that is something that our ministry is very acutely aware of and we're working on it as well so it was a fruitful meeting, I heard them, I have everything documented, certainly will be sharing it with my CEO in the ministry."
No official announcement of his travel was made but Prime Minister John Briceno is in El Salvador to assume the pre-term presidency of SICA. At the official handover, Briceno reaffirmed the country's commitment to strengthening regional integration and cooperation.
And in other diplomatic news, this week at the Organization of American States General Assembly, the governments of Belize and Guatemala officially signed a new Joint Declaration, recommitting themselves to peaceful border relations.
June is recognized as Men's Mental Health Awareness month, but the Belize Cancer Society has taken a different approach at raising awareness and encouraging action when it comes to men taking care of their mental health.
"As was mentioned in the interaction was that women tend to take care of themselves, but men, for some reason, as was shared by the mental health expert Dr. Cayetano, that stigma or whatever, we tend to be a little bit hesitant in seeking health and follow through on our health. So the purpose of this men's forum is to try and sensitize, remind, encourage for us to take charge and to, you know, men are needed. And because of the way we are reared-macho, men don't cry, men don't clomping, men don't get emotional and we keep things in-it messes us up and as a result of that, we crash. Or, as was shared in the statistics, between 30 and 50, five times the suicide rate because we take the burned, we sit on stand, we suffer in silence, and when it comes to a crisis, then we seek health. And when it is a very bad diagnosis, we withdraw, we become more depressed, we try our own methodology-i.e., silence, drinking rum, whatever-and at the end of the day, it is not helping because when you are out of the picture, that is a person who is a provider who has gone. So as a society, we say we need to address this issue, we need to put it on the front burner, and we need to make it so relevant that we can effect a change in our men, and the purpose was to achieve that."
Florencio Marin, Minister of Defence
One-hundred-and-seventy-three public officers were honored last night for a quarter-century of dedication to the country. The milestone was celebrated during the 2026 Public Service Awards Ceremony, held under the theme of advancing innovation and inclusion.
"173 outstanding public officers who have each dedicated 25 years of service to the people and nation of Belize. Let us pause and truly appreciate what that means: 25 years of showing up every day with a commitment to serve; 25 years of helping citizens navigate their challenges and aspirations; 25 years of contributing to the functioning of government, institutions, and the development of our country; 25 years of choosing service above self."
