Minister Requeña on Guatemalan Incursions in the South

While we were with Minister Oscar Requeña, we asked him about the concerns of increased incursions by Guatemalans in the south. In a most recent incident on Tuesday, a Guatemalan xatéro reportedly shot police officer Ronaldo Camara. Camara was part of a joint patrol and while travelling from San Jose Village encountered two Hispanic men, one of who fired a shot which caught the constable in the leg. Minister Requeña says that the government needs to find a way to mitigate this problem.

Oscar Requeña

Oscar Requeña, Area Representative, Toledo West

“This has been a problem for quite a long time where we have seen Guatemalans having incursions into Belizean territory and taking advantage of all our natural resources – whether it is our wildlife, whether it is archeological sites and even forestry products. This is an issue that we need to deal with. I know our government has responded. There is currently discussion to build additional outposts in those areas; we need to see more man power on the ground to ensure that we can protect that area. But I will tell you, I believe that it is time the government needs to consider putting people along the border. For example our security forces, our B.D.F., our police men who have served this country, maybe it is time for them to consider giving them a piece of land in the area so that they can develop and protect our areas. We must protect our country, we must protect the resources because at the end of the day, it is for all Belizeans and we cannot allow the Guatemalans or anybody else to be coming into this country and taking advantage of us.”