Guatemalan farmers expelled from Chiquibul

Two Guatemalans who were cultivating land in the Chiquibul National Park were escorted back to their country and a complaint has been lodged with the Guatemalan Ambassador to Belize. According to the Ministry of National Security the men and their corn and bean plantations were discovered by members of the B.D.F. and police on a joint patrol on March fifth. The Ministry says B.D.F. personnel confirmed that the Guatemalans were indeed on Belizean soil through both normal navigational methods and global positioning equipment. The crops were subsequently destroyed. Belize’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs David Gibson has met with Guatemalan Ambassador Rafael Salazar to discuss the continuing problem of encroachment onto protected areas of Belize by farmers.