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Here's what he said yesterday.

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"I don't know if any of you have asked him if he renounced his Honduran nationality. I believe that is a fair question and I hope that when you find him next, you will ask him because he certainly will not be able to sit in the House of Representatives."

"If he is. We will do him a favor and hand him a defeat on Wednesday July 17th anyway but I believe it is a fair question and as far as Toledo East is concerned, the party is prepared and fighting fit to deliver victory on July 17th."

"He's registered to vote in Caribbean Shores, if he could show me a light bill or a water bill because I know they were very concerned where I live. I have light bill and I have water bill and I have my bed and my fridge at one of my residences located in Mesopotamia. Osmond Martinez cannot say the same, he's from Caribbean Shores."

"He has been the CEO for the Ministry of Economic Development, according to him, controlling a billion dollar budget and has not done one thing for Toledo East that he can point to. So it would be no different if the people of Toledo East would make the mistake to elect him and the read on the ground is that nobody knows him. Melhem Espat would have been a much more formidable candidate with the history and the legacy they have in Toledo East, the infrastructure, that certainly is the candidate that the party, me personally, I was concerned about, but Osmond Martinez, nobody knows Osmond Martinez."

But Martinez has explained that his mother faced pregnancy complications, which is why she needed to give birth in Honduras, but that he grew up in Belize.

And Barrow has faced slightly different circumstances: he was born in Belize, but mostly grew up in the US, until he was sent back to Belize, which brings his own loyalty to the country into question in the court of public opinion.

So he asked him about the criticisms against him.

Courtney Menzies:
"The similar complaint that you have about him, about where his loyalties lie, many people have that complaint about you. You spent many years in the US, you came back to Belize after you were deported, a lot of people have that criticism that had that not happened to you, you would've still be there, you wouldn't have been here in this office doing what you're doing right now. The criticisms parallel themselves."

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"But you believe what he says as far as."

Courtney Menzies:
"Well I don't have evidence to prove otherwise."

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"But you have evidence to prove otherwise."

Courtney Menzies:
"I'm just saying that's the criticism, you're making a criticism and so is the public."

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"What public? But I could show you criticisms against him that he's not from there and they don't want him in Toledo East. I think that you can't take a few critics and consider it fact. But you're asking me a question. I was born in Belize. I went to school in Belize. I was educated in Belize, so that is a false equivalency, that is a yoga stretch like I have never seen, there is no comparison and the question that I put forward to the media was not a question of his Belizeanism, so you're jumping somewhere else. It's a matter of the constitution, the constitution prohibits any person from serving in the National Assembly if they have dual citizenship. So it's simple, if he has it, he needs to renounce being. Honduran and it's done."

"I visited Belize every summer when I lived in America. I am here by choice."

We reached out to Martinez yesterday about his nationality, he said quote, "If that was true, the opposition failed big time by allowing me to be nominated and to officially put my name on the ballot." End quote. He also sent us a copy of his social security card, proving that he is Belizean.