De la Fuente’s Two Cents on Guatemala’s Anti-Belize PR Campaign

We also asked De la Fuente to weigh in on Guatemala’s obvious intent to wage a PR war against Belize. The incident in which Guatemalan minor Julio Alvarado Ruano was killed has received what seems to unprecedented attention from the highest levels of Guatemalan government and military. Guatemala has continued to pursue the vilification of Belize even in the absence of any investigation into the incident which occurred in the Cebada region of the Chiquibul. So has it worked?

Orlando de la Fuente, Member, Northern Territorial Volunteers

“I think we’re way behind Guatemala when it comes to internationalizing the issue and getting our version of events out there. I don’t think we have used international media effectively and I don’t think we have used our allies effectively either. I think that we should have readily condemned the O.A.S. when they drew a conclusion that the young boy, the Guatemalan boy, was killed under the circumstances that they say he was killed in their statements. I think Belize has been slow to react.”

Orlando de la Fuente

Reporter

“I ask as well if you feel a sense of security after the Prime Minister indicated that the major crisis or the threat of a major crisis was averted.”

Orlando de la Fuente

“No, not in the least and I don’t think he should have said that either. I don’t think that a crisis of this magnitude could be averted so easily from one day to the next; the troops are still amassed at the border. I don’t think he should have made that statement at all. He should have give some reassurance to the Belizean public, but behind the scenes, you should have been working feverishly to prepare for what’s coming next. I don’t think it is over at all.”