Tourists robbed at Maya site

Over the weekend, a group of tourists visiting a Maya ruin in the Cayo District became the terrified victims of an armed hold-up. According to the police, on Sunday a tour guide from Benque Viejo took ten visitors to Belize to the El Pilar Maya ruin near Bullet Tree Village. The guide says sometime after 1:30 p.m., the group was approached by six armed men who demanded money. The tourists handed over everything of value, which has been estimated to be more than eleven thousand, six hundred Belize dollars. There were no reports of violence during the incident, and we understand that the gunmen left the area as quickly as they came. A police search of the crime scene and surroundings led to the recovery of several personal documents, but no one was arrested. Because of the proximity of the ruin to the Belize Guatemala border, police suspect the robbers may be Guatemalans and are in contact with officials from across the border.