And so now, the social partners are unified in opposition to the acquisition-but they question how and why it was done. But there also seems to be a betrayal of a political commitment to the public regarding widespread consultation about the national telecom, BTL. Jules Vasquez looked at that:
February 15, 2026
Cordel Hyde, Deputy PM
"Listen, I will not lie to you, when the Prime Minister, when it was announced that the Prime Minister pressed the pause button on the acquisition, me mi happy, happy, happy, happy, happy. You all tell the truth? You all wasn't happy too? Tell the truth, man!"
"The pause, that's PUP at its best. What was happening before? We don't know what is that. That is not PUP. The pause is PUP at its best. Because what the pause allows us to do now is to make sure that there is real, genuine consultation with the people of Belize on this issue, so that the technical people from BTL can go all across this country, go to the schools, go to UB, go to the community centers, all across the country, and talk to our people in a cordial way, in an honest way, in an open way, in a friendly way, and take their time doing it with no gun to nobody head."
But was there such consultation? If it happened, it surely escaped the attention or notice of our newsroom-and we don't see it on Digi's Facebook page. All the consultation meetings they posted were with high-level parties-and all of them before Hyde's mid-February speech.
February 15, 2026
Cordel Hyde, Deputy PM
"Take their time, one consultation at a time, and if after a couple of months of consultations the people aren't with it, then BTL will have to take a chill pill, you know. They will have to take a chill pill, they will have to shelf it, because, ultimately, it's the people of Belize who owns the company. It's not Mr. Lizarraga, it's not the board of BTL, it's the people of Belize."
In the end, that populist spin didn't count for much though-that chill pill lasted for about 6 months.
5 days ago on July 31, Chairman Mark Lizarraga told the NTUCB in a letter, quote, "Belize Telemedia Limited ("BTL") confirms that stakeholder consultations were undertaken in relation to the proposed transaction..."
He adds, quote, "responsibility for this matter now rests with the Public Utilities Commission ("PUC"). Accordingly, BTL will continue to respect and participate in the applicable regulatory process and will abide by any determinations made by the PUC."
But four days later, Lizarraga's board took a vote on the acquisition-without any PUC approval, and they voted 8-2 in favor.
A press release announcing the long-delayed vote makes scarce mention of the PUC and any regulatory constraints; it simply says that the only thing pending now is "the satisfactory completion of continued due diligence and the negotiation of appropriate representations, warranties and other contractual protections for BTL as the buyer. Once negotiations advance to the definitive agreement stage, the Share Purchase Agreement will be submitted to the Board for separate review and final approval before execution."
And while the PUC put out a feeble and toothless release today saying "Accordingly, the Commission is unable to comment on the public discussion on the proposed transaction or indicate a likely outcome before completing its review. The Decision will constitute the PUC's official position on this matter."
This accountant and business leader says essentially the BTL board's announcement is the PUC's decision:
Giacomo Sanchez, President, BCCI
"The transaction essentially is a foregone conclusion because that vote yesterday essentially tells everyone that this deal is going through one way or another. And from a PUC standpoint, it's just a matter of timing before they give some sort of indication that it would have been approved."
Courtney Menzies:
"So you don't trust that the PUC is particularly acting in the best interest of the public?"
Giacomo Sanchez:
"I think until we hear from the PUC I think I'd be reserved to make a comment on that."
Reporter:
"So do you consider it a done deal?"
Giacomo Sanchez:
"From BTL's standpoint, yes, it's a done deal. I don't think this will go back or be reversed, it's just the nature of things."
Reporter:
"The PUC has to approve otherwise BTL and Speednet will be in contravention of the Telecoms Act."
Giacomo Sanchez:
"Well, the honest truth is that there may be some legal maneuvering to circumvent that, so I mean that's just the reality of how things happen and I can see that happening. Outside of that, there's not much as an interested public that we can do."
Reporter:
"What is the Chamber prepared to do? Well, other sectors of the public, the unions, are also opposed as is the Opposition at this time and they may take to the streets, what can the Chamber do?"
Giacomo Sanchez:
"We would love to be in that position where we just are out there and in the faces of, opposing the transactions. Unfortunately, that's not the nature of how our constituency operates, so we still need to go back to our constituency to get a feel for their feeling because oftentimes when you're dealing with public funds, it's so far removed from our own individual pockets that people kinda lose interest."
