O.A.S. absolves Belize in shooting of Guatemalan

The Organisation of American States has concluded its investigation into an incident last month in which a Guatemalan was wounded by a B.D.F. patrol…and found that the Belizeans were not at fault. The report, summarized today in a release on the O.A.S. website, concluded that the April seventh shooting occurred sixteen kilometres inside of Belize near Las Cuevas, exactly where the B.D.F. said it happened, and nowhere near the border as claimed by the shooting victim. The Guatemalans, according to the O.A.S., were illegally harvesting xate and were also carrying illegal firearms. And while the report noted that one of the Belizean soldiers interviewed was not certain of the proper B.D.F. procedure for the use of weapons, the patrol did not appear to have used excessive force in its attempt to apprehend the Guatemalan trespassers. The incident was extensively reported by the Guatemalan press, with the apparent intention of inciting public opinion against Belize as well as embarrass Guatemalan officials.