Armed gang robs tourists on way to Caracol

It is one of Belize’s most magnificent tourist destinations, but on Saturday a trip to Caracol proved to be a frightening experience for a dozen visitors to our country after armed bandits attacked them on the Chiquibul road and held them hostage for more than four hours. According to tour guide Everald Tut, he was transporting six tourists from San Ignacio to the ancient Mayan site around nine-thirty that morning. But a mile and a half after crossing the Guacamallo Bridge, Tut’s minivan was ambushed by a group of approximately ten armed Hispanic men, brandishing handguns and machetes and speaking only Spanish. This morning Tut told News Five he and his party were then forced off the main route and taken some two hundred feet down an abandoned quarry road where they were robbed of cash, jewellery, cell phones, and their lunch. We understand that over the course of that morning, three other vehicles were similarly bushwhacked and robbed, including two private cars and a Land Rover from the Las Cuevas Research Station. No one was injured during the incident, although Tut says that the thieves vigilantly watched the road, making it clear that they were awaiting the arrival of a specific vehicle. The tour guide says that later, the bandits told him that they had inside information that a tour bus was due to arrive from Guatemala City that day with as much as two thousand U.S. dollars in cash on board. But around one in the afternoon, frustrated that the bus had not shown up, the robbers simply got up and left with their loot. Shaken but determined not to be thrown off course, Tut says the tourists in his care made the decision to travel the additional twelve miles to Caracol to complete their scheduled tour. Tonight information to News Five suggests that the armed bandits who attacked on Saturday match the description given by another group of tourists who were robbed at the Rio Frio Caves in July. Up to news time tonight police have not made any arrests in connection with the incident. In addition to a stronger police presence in the area, tour operators are also asking officials to block the eight trails currently branching off the Chiquibul road. These were used by construction crews to access a nearby quarry during recent road upgrades, but now provide convenient cover for robbers to sequester their victims, unseen by other travellers.