Toledo West Area rep. says his constituents are affected by Guatemalan incursions

Oscar Requeña

Toledo West area representative Oscar Requeña, whose constituency is made up of a number of villages near the Belize/Guatemala Border, today raised concerns in the House in light of the recent encounter with illegal Guatemalan loggers in Machaquila.  According to Requeña, residents of communities in those areas have been living under the constant threat of incursion from xateros, loggers and gold panners who enter the country to pillage its natural resources.

Oscar Requeña, Area Representative, Toledo West

“The community of San Jose, the community of Na Lum Ca. In 2010—in October 2010, to be specific—Mister Speaker, we had the Alcalde of San Jose, Mister Ebiliano Cho along with Mister Alfredo Sho who were actually shot at by Guatemalans in the Edward Central Area of the Columbia Forest Reserve. Had it not been for people who were actually in the area, they would have actually died. Those people in the area were able to provide emergency support to get them out to Punta Gorda hospital and eventually on to Dangriga and the Karl Heusner. So these are serious concerns. So even our own law-enforcement authorities, the Alcalde coming under fire from these Guatemalans. Mister Speaker, the people of San Jose are concern that their security is under threat. They have lost under six horses—and this can be investigated; I’m not making this up. People of Na Lum Ca, the people of San Jose have actually lost their horses to the Guatemalans coming in. So this is a serious concern Mister Speaker and I am raising this matter because I believe that it is important that we address this problem urgently.”

The substantive business of the House were four bills that require approval: the Domestic Banks and Financial Institutions Bill 2012, an amendment to the International Banking Act, the Customs and Excise Duties Amendment Bill 2012, and the Hotels and Tourism Accommodation amendment bill.