Illegal Guatemalan settlers served with expulsion order

In
what is believed to be the first eviction of Guatemalan settlers since
four Belizean law enforcement officers were kidnapped by the Guatemalan
Army in February, BDF and police personnel today served an expulsion order
on illegal immigrants near the border. The forty-five Guatemalans had
set up two farming settlements deep in Toledo’s Columbia River Forest
Reserve approximately two miles inside of Belize. The Belize Government
took extra care not to provoke an international incident with Guatemala
by arranging for Human Rights Commission President Simeon Sampson to accompany
the BDF patrol and insure that all legal requirements were met. A police
officer duly served the expulsion orders which gave the settlers seventy-two
hours to leave the country or face arrest, imprisonment and fines. While
admitting that they were on Belizean soil, leaders of the Guatemalan families
explained that they could not find any land in Guatemala and had no choice
but to come to Belize. They went on to ask for Sampson’s help to petition
the government for a place to live and farm in Belize. Not only are the
Guatemalans living as illegal immigrants, they have also violated the
law by clearing land and engaging in agriculture in a forest reserve.
A BDF squad remains in the area and on Friday will return to the settlements
to dismantle the buildings and make sure that the settlers return to their
country. They will be allowed to return temporarily in several weeks to
harvest their crops. On tomorrow’s newscast we will present a full report
from the scene.