FCD’s Executive Director says Guatemalans Have Become More Brazen in Chiquibul

On Saturday, Staff Sergeant Richard Lambey was shot on the hand and abdomen while he was on duty at Camp Valentin in the Chiquibul. Lambey was assaulted by a group of men, believed to be from the community of La Rejoya, Guatemala. He was at a routine water supply and administration task when he and other soldiers came under attack. The Chiquibul has become a hotspot for illegal incursions by poachers, gold panners, xateros and loggers. Rangers from the Friends of Conservation and Development co-manage the area on foot patrols. Executive Director Rafael Manzanero says that Guatemalans have become more brazen.

Rafael Manzanero

Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, FCD

“It is one that we had already understood that with more presence on the ground and more governance in terms of enforcement then there will be more of just probabilities to occur because there will be more chances of meeting with Guatemalans. There are particular areas along the western boarder that are pretty much hot spot areas and so I think that it is one that we always have to be prepared for and I think it is one that we just really need to see that it is a serious matter that has to be more documented but also understood in what we need to do. I think Guatemalans over the last many years we have realized that they are well determined individuals and they move with illegal logging with up to seven kilometers within Belize. So they move with boldness and the determination to do any kind of the illicit activities. And so it is just something that we need to be prepared for and as a joint unit as well I think it is important because Belize has very limited resources we certainly have to adjoin and be more coordinated in dealing with those issues.”