What is John Saldivar?
'''John Birchman Saldivar''' is a [[Belizean]] [[politician]]. A member of the [[United Democratic Party]] (UDP), Saldivar served as the [[Minister of National Security and Defence]] from 8 March 2012 to 2020. He is also the [[Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Belmopan consituncy|Belmopan constituency]] in the [[House of Representatives (Belize)]] since its creation on 7 February 2008. He was previously [[Area Representative]] for [[Cayo South]] from 29 October 2003 to 7 February 2008. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cananews.net/news/131/ARTICLE/21414/2008-02-12.html |title=New Belize PM names 16-member Cabinet |date=12 February 2008 |publisher=CANA News |accessdate=25 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227102121/http://www.cananews.net/news/131/ARTICLE/21414/2008-02-12.html |archivedate=27 February 2009 }}</ref> On January 20, 2023, he was sanctioned by the [[United States Department of State]] citing corruption.<ref>{{Cite web|title=7031(c)|url=https://www.state.gov/subjects/7031c/|website=United States Department of State}}</ref> ==Early life== John Birchman Saldivar was born in 1967 in [[Belmopan]], then known as [[British Honduras]]. He lives in [[Belmopan]] and has lived there since birth. ==Electoral history== Saldivar first joined the UDP in 1993. In 1997 he submitted his nomination to be endorsed as the new UDP Standard bearer for [[Cayo South|Cayo South constituency]] in a convention and election. The former Standard-Bearer, [[Melvin Hulse Sr.]] was thought to contest the [[Convention (meeting)]], but declined the offer and resigned from the UDP to join the [[National Alliance for Belizean Rights]] (NABR). Leaving Saldivar to be endorsed. Saldivar went on to face PUP Standard-Bearer, [[Agripino Cawich]]. Both Saldivar and Cawich were political newcomers. The PUP was at the helm of [[Cayo South]] for over 3 decades. So Saldivar knew that defeating Cawich would not be easy, despite the lack of his political experience. ==References== {{reflist}} {{DEFAU