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Courtney Menzies highlighted the subtle friction between their contrasting statements to the media:

The Prime Minister and the Minister of Home Affairs haven't been seeing eye to eye, and that came out in the interviews they did outside the National Assembly on Friday.

Their first point of contention is with the Ministry of Home Affairs and whether the PM will choose a permanent minister to take over the portfolio. Julius Espat previously stated he was willing to take it on. But he had a different position when we spoke with him:

Julius Espat, Minister of Home Affairs / MIDH
"I'm humbly requesting to the Prime Minister: make up your mind. Put a minister, any minister, bring him from Timbuktu if you want. But place somebody that you have trust in, that you can work with, that the people in Belize are comfortable with, that your police officers are comfortable with, and I will be 100% in support."

Jules Vasquez:
"But you have said you are prepared to be that person."

Julius Espat:
"That is waning. I'm not too sure."

Jules Vasquez:
"What accounts for your waning?"

Julius Espat:
"Uncertainty."

Jules Vasquez:
"Limbo."

Julius Espat:
"In limbo. I am a man... limbo drives me in a different direction."

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I don't know how he can say it's in the limbo-he is the minister. I did not appoint him minister of limbo, I appointed him as the minister, not even the acting-he's the minister responsible for the police. But we need to appreciate... I just came back on Monday, and as soon as I got back on Monday, we had the visit from the Taiwan Foreign Minister and we've been dealing with that. Yesterday we had Cabinet, today we have House Meeting, so it would have been difficult to answer. I think that it's not a matter of me being pressured or being given a timeline when to answer. I think as the Prime Minister, I should be given the opportunity to make the decision when I believe is the right time. I was hoping that we'd be able to get a report from the Auditor General on what are her findings and what if any are the recommendations we can do. I haven't gotten it as yet. Maybe sometime next week I'll try to find out if she needs more time-maybe we have to make a decision sooner than later."

Another point that the two disagree on is whether the PM is prone to ill-informed outbursts. Last month, Briceño publicly chastised Espat for comments that he made. However, Espat stated that the PM had gotten some wrong information and they were able to work it out. So was that the case when Briceño used profanity directed at 7News Director Jules Vasquez? Espat seems to think so:

Jules Vasquez:
"What did you think when you heard the Prime Minister using profanity?"

Julius Espat:
"I think one of the concerns I have is in the information that he receives at times is not correct. And then he reacts to information that's not correct. And then when he reads it himself and realizes the facts, then he is the first to apologize, as he did to me. And so I just would hope that his advisers advise him properly. We need that. And by the way, I saw what you said, and I didn't... I didn't think it was offensive."

Jules Vasquez:
"We also asked him about the comments you made on Love FM's morning show. He said you guys worked it out and that sometimes you are given wrong information. Is this the case that you mischaracterize sometimes or misspeak?"

John Briceno:
"I think that's best left unanswered-let's leave that as it is."

But Espat has taken a nonchalant attitude to the public scolding, chalking it all up to stress:

Julius Espat:
"Can you imagine the stress that a Prime Minister is under? So you have to work with what you have, and you have to understand his emotions take over at times, and if I eased it a bit, then I'm good with that."