Prime Minister Gaston Browne has renewed calls for former United Progressive Party (UPP) leader Harold Lovell to address allegations over his reported links to individuals connected to the Odebrecht bribery scandal.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne show on Pointe FM on Saturday, Browne questioned why UPP members have never publicly demanded an explanation from Lovell regarding reported meetings with Brazilian agents at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami.
According to Browne, Lovell — allegedly met with representatives.
Browne described the individuals as “crooks” and said it was deceitful that Lovell later accused him of meetings that he insisted never occurred.
“I find that these people are so deceitful that I’m sure at no point within the UPP have they ever asked Harold Lovell why he met with these Brazilian crooks at the Biltmore Hotel,” Browne said. “They never asked him why, as leader of the opposition at the time, he ended up on their payroll.”
Browne said he has consistently raised the issue over the years, both in Parliament and on radio, challenging Lovell to respond.
He added that he had provided travel records to disprove allegations that he had any meetings with the individuals in question.
The Prime Minister also questioned the logic of claims that Lovell, as his political rival, would have been trusted to negotiate any deal on his behalf.
“How would you trust your political nemesis to negotiate for you? It doesn’t make any sense,” Browne said.
The allegations stem from the wider Odebrecht corruption scandal, which implicated political figures across Latin America and the Caribbean. In Antigua and Barbuda, accusations linked to the case have remained a point of political tension.
Lovell has not publicly responded to the latest remarks.
