Cayo Tour Guides Association Writes Letter to B.T.B. About Caracol Security

Joe Awe

The video we showed you at the top of the newscast captures the moments following the cold-blooded murder of Danny Conorquie. In addition to the tragedy and the continued incursions into our national park, there is also the issue of tourism and the safety of visitors to the prime Mayan Site. There were actually four tour guides at Caracol on September twenty-fifth, when Conorquie was executed. They were all members of the Cayo Tour Guides Association, and they were at the gathering place for the protest this morning. President, Joe Awe, says the one hundred and sixty members of the association are in full support, but despite that they did not accompany the group to the border. Awe told News Five that they believe the protest should be directed at our own government, since the failure was ours. And of course, there is also the fear that the members of the group will be targeted because they must cross the border daily due to their work. Still, don’t mistake their absence for apathy. Awe told us that they are in the processing of firing off a letter to the B.T.B. with seven main points.

Joe Awe, President, Cayo Tour Guides Association

“One is a different type of tourism detail policy that needs to be little; a little education on tourism to the security systems that are there; a suggestion that NICH also invest in the security systems as far as wardens go at the site – a particular way…perhaps we could go to our neighbours in Guatemala, Tikal. They have a fantastic way of security Tikal. It includes roads and particular security options…those are a few of them and I am certain that our tour guides are recognizing that the ease with which this happened, there was a tremendous failure in recognizing that something like this could actually happen. We can’t even imagine what the guests were going through. That place where this gentleman was sitting, and where he was executed by these three people – a lot of guests sit there when they can’t climb the site, so if two or one or a guide was sitting there, or this guide that saw it was sitting there…we would have been mourning him. One of the things that is certain is that we were appalled by the initial government reaction to this thing. We don’t know who it…that is right, we don’t know who they are, but Belizeans don’t go to Caracol like that. Yes you can argue that we don’t know that either…but no Belizean – not even the gangs in Belize City or anywhere that there are gangs, ever pull a gun and kill a Police Officer. So this is somebody or people that really didn’t care.”

According to Awe, the site at Caracol, located five kilometres from the Belize – Guatemala border, is still closed.