Patrol Base at Bacalar Chico to Deter Cross Border Criminal Activities
North Ambergris Caye has been an area well-known for illicit activities, from wet drops to murders and drug trafficking. Narco-traffickers, in particular, have been operating there with general ease in the movement of cocaine, other drugs and weapons. Today, the Ministry of National Security opened a patrol base at Bacalar Chico in northern Ambergris to assist in deterring criminal activity in the general area. The base, which was funded by the government at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars, is located a mile and a half from the Mexican border which is the corridor used to get drugs further north. News Five’s Hipolito Novelo reports.
Hipolito Novelo, Reporting
Mounted on top of a recently cleared parcel of land at the very end of Northern Ambergris Caye, this patrol base at Bacalar Chico is a significant development as it relates to the country’s national security.
John Saldivar, Minister of National Security
“I will remember when I became the minister of National Security, it was only a few months after that our forces came under attack, came under fire here in almost this location. There were some civilians casualties. It highlighted for us the situation that was confronting us in Northern Ambergris Caye.”
In August, ground was broken for the construction of the patrol base. With construction now completed today, Minister of National Security John Saldivar and Area Representative for Belize Rural South Manuel Heredia Junior officially declared the base operational. The base comes after Coast Guard officers had to patrol the area on foot for the past three years to carry day-to-day operations.
John Saldivar
John Saldivar
“And it emphasizes for us the need to have our presence in here in this area in order to counter the activities that were taking place in this area and along the shores.”
The base is located a mile and a half from the Mexican border. The area is known as a major hot spot which criminals use as an avenue for cross-border criminal activities such as drug trafficking and weapon trafficking.
John Saldivar
“There are a lot of criminal activities that take place on this side of northern Ambergris. For years we have known that we have had to put a permanent presence out here. We have had a makeshift or temporary base but now we have established a permanent presence. That, we hope, will help to curb some of the illicit activities that happen in this area. The important thing about it is that the illicit activities that happen in this area really drives crime throughout the country whether it be Belize city or another part of the country. A lot of what takes place here drives the crime in the rest of the country.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Sir do you believe that this base will deter these international drug peddlers because they can be persistent especially when it comes to cocaine and what is found in this area?”
John Saldivar
“We are very hopeful that it is going to curb the activities. We are very hopeful that it will discourage these criminals from working in this area.”
Reporter
“Will the officers here work along with their Mexican counterparts?”
John Saldivar
“We always do. We do conduct operations with our Mexican counterparts every two months. We do patrols with them and we are in constant daily with them with whatever communications or intelligence that we can share.”
According to Saldivar, the strategic importance of the base is also to provide stability for economic prosperity. The base includes basic amenities along with a thirty feet lookout tower. Officers are equipped with adequate communication equipment to keep in touch with HQ. The government invested more than two hundred thousand dollars in the construction of the facility.
John Saldivar
“Proper sleeping facilities, bathroom facilities. Water is going to be a problem if we don’t get a lot of rain but right now we are going to depend on the rain to catch water for them. This is one of the better facilities in terms of the amenities. The coast guard really leads the way in terms of providing proper accommodations for their people.”
Hipolito Novelo
“And they have adequate communications devices?”
John Saldivar
“Yes, we have radio communications and we are in constant in touch with the base.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Hipolito Novelo.
