B.D.F. Official, “Coca Plantations Are As Common As Marijuana Fields”
The Belize Defense Force discovered and destroyed the first coca plantation containing about five thousand plants about a year ago. Recently, it discovered another coca plantation on Belize’s side of the Sarstoon River down south. And while the plantations are believed to be planted by Belizeans and Guatemalans in the area for the production of cocaine, that assertion cannot be proven. When he spoke with the media on the matter, B.D.F. Commandant, Brigadier-General Azariel Loria said that coca plantations have gotten as common as marijuana plantations in the region.
Brigadier-General Azariel Loria, Commandant, B.D.F.
“Just last week we continued to destroy coca plantations along that area and along the Sarstoon on our side. Who is dealing – doing it, we know that the Guatemalans allegedly – we saw some people running], but then we cannot confirm their nationalities, so allegedly it’s a combination of the villagers from, we think, from the area in southern Belize and also the Guatemalans. We knew that the Guatemalans had destroyed some and the Hondurans. Coca plantations in Honduras have turned out to be like marijuana plantations, and also in Guatemala as well, especially in the northern portions of Guatemala, and do you think that – we just finished a meeting with the Mexican Armed Forces – and even they too are reporting that they have started to have these coca plantations in some of their southern states. So, it’s here in Belize and from then to now we have destroyed a number of coca plantations and the last one that we destroyed had over five thousand plants.”
Loria said that in one instance, they found a rudimentary cocaine lab with coca paste that might have been an experimental exercise. The B.D.F. brought in samples of the paste and handed it over to the forensic experts, who confirmed that it was cocaine. In that case, it was found in the Chiquibul Reserve in Cayo.