Border incident inquiry to begin in Belmopan

The Commission of Inquiry appointed by the Prime Minister, Said Musa to investigate the death of a Guatemalan, Mateo Ramirez in the border village of Arenal in June, will be convened in Belmopan next week. The inquiry will be held in the Belmopan Magistrate Court on Wednesday and Thursday, July 28 and 29 beginning at 10 a.m. Ramirez, described in the Guatemalan press as an evangelical preacher was shot and killed by a BDF patrol which claimed he had been coming at one of the soldiers with a machete. Witnesses in the village have contradicted this version of events, however, claiming that Ramirez was fleeing from the soldiers because he didn’t have proper documents and was afraid of being arrested. His ten-year-old son witnessed the shooting. The Guatemalan government has asked for a full report and been invited to observe the commission of inquiry investigation. The Minister of National Security, Jorge Espat has told news five that the Ministry stands by the BDF report, but will abide by the commission’s findings. If there is evidence of wrongdoing or excessive force they will take appropriate action.