And now, as the new Minister of Defence and Border Security, the PM will have to figure out some of the supply issues for the BDF and Coast Guard - because many favored suppliers are linked to politicians in his party.
Today in Orange Walk, he turned to a well-worn defence and told CTV-3 that he was unaware of what was happening:
And inflated prices are what government may have been paying when they bought rations from the politically connected companies that dominated the BDF supply chain. They are A & Y Fresh Vegetables, J & J Imports, Kukulcan, and Mount Pleasant Fresh Produce. We've already told you the story of the Mira-connected Mount Pleasant or MP Farms which is at a distant fourth but as Jules Vasquez found out, at least two of the other top three suppliers appear to have had a deep political connect. Here's his investigation:
Kukulcan Company Limited it is a major supplier of rations to the BDF. In the fiscal year 2023/2024 which is the only year for which we have a tender they were the third biggest supplier, with 2.2 million dollars.
But did Kukulcan get to that prime position through connections or merit?
The owners of Kukulcan are Bryan Enrique Tzul of San Joaquin Village, Olguin Elmer Hall of Ranchito Village, and Susan Daniels, also of Ranchito all close associates of their Area Rep and former Minister of Defence Florencio Marin. Daniels is reportedly Marin's secretary.
The SmartStream leaks we have received show a four-year transaction history for Kukulcan Company Limited spanning 2021 to 2025; however, while the system log reflects a total of 1,303 records, our 20 screenshots only capture a fraction of them, leaving over 1,000 transactions still unseen.
But those 204 leaked payment records totaling 1.8 million dollars suggest once again a deliberate strategy to circumvent the $10,000 oversight threshold.
93% of the payments we have seen are below $10,000.
One of the notable ones above $100,000 dollars was from the PM's office and dated December 13, 2021.
Further, on March 1st of 2022, 21 payments were processed back to back in a single day you'll see a staggering succession of the same figure: $6,683.30.
In 2025, there were 9 consecutive invoices run on a single day, for $9,912.50 each right at the threshold limit, 87 dollars below.
We note, though, that this leak is less than 16% of the payment records in SmartStream.
But Kukulcan was in third place; who were the other top suppliers?
Number one would be A & Y Fresh Vegetables registered in April 2021, they were paid 3.6 million dollars for their supply of 29% of the BDF rations.
But who is that company?
Leaks from company records show that they are from Corozal Antonio Patt and Yolanda Patt from Chunox Village.
In second place, J & J Imports a company registered in 2022.
In the fiscal year 2023/2024, they got 3 million dollars in business from the BDF that's 24% of the BDF rations. And who is this company?
That is Enrique Javier Requena & his son, Jamir Requena from Orange Walk, close relatives to PUP Minister of State Ramon "Munchie" Cervantes.
And while these business owners may have political connections, did the public get value for money?
On the only tender document we have it did not.
Kukulcan, for example, was consistently priced above competing vendors in meats and seasonings the two categories that make up the bulk of its contract value.
Ground chicken, shrimp, and fish fillet alone account for over $137,000 in annual overpayment relative to the cheapest available alternative.
If the Ministry had consistently sought out the best possible price the cheapest available supplier for every comparable item there would have been a potential annual saving of $287,800.
