Posted: Thursday, March 27, 2025. 9:13 pm CST.
By Aaron Humes: Channel 7 News Director Jules Vasquez has been told to apologize, retract and pay damages for accusations of spreading false information regarding former Leader of the Opposition Moses “Shyne” Barrow. Barrow has publicly challenged Vasquez to retract statements related to a purported passport issue, which he claims simply does not exist.
A letter from the legal firm W.A. Lindo LLP and its principal William A. Lindo to Vasquez alleged that Channel 7 News had erroneously reported online and in its newscast that Barrow was being pressured to return his C-3 Diplomatic Passport following his defeat in the general elections, and had yet to do so.
To the contrary, Lindo wrote, the passport was returned to the office of the CEO for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday morning around 10:51 a.m., hours before the Channel 7 News article was published online and in its broadcast. The content of both publications was therefore patently false and defamatory in their suggestions, per Lindo.
On social media, Barrow asserted that the only individuals suggesting issues with the return of the passport were, in his view, “mischief makers” like Vasquez. He accused the journalist of prioritizing sensational headlines over the pursuit of truth, suggesting that such tactics are primarily motivated by the desire to increase online traffic and engagement and called for him to be criminally charged.
“There was no passport issue!” Barrow stated emphatically, calling for accountability in reporting standards. “I await a retraction and apology, or I will see all who defame me at trial.”
Meanwhile, the ‘lawyer letter’ makes the standard call for retraction, apology, payment of damages and undertaking not to repeat the alleged defamatory matter on pain of trial.
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