Bandits on the loose at Arenal border

In other news, two incidents involving Spanish speaking bandits near the Belize/Guatemala Border are creating fear among the residents of Arenal Village. In the first incident, two men from Benque Viejo were robbed by a farm near Arenal last Friday morning around eight thirty. Uvildo Howe, a taxi driver of E Street Benque Viejo Town was travelling in his car with twenty-eight year old William Ruiz and when they reached Gollo Cunil Farm near Arenal they were confronted by four men who came out of the bushes. The men had rags covering their noses and mouths and were armed with rifles and pistols. The bandits ordered the taxi to drive them to a nearby feeder road. Ruiz was robbed of his Casio watch, cap, wallet, cell phone and one hundred and fifty dollars in cash.

About two hours later, about ten thirty, five other residents of Benque reported that they were robbed by eight bandits near Arenal. Forty-nine year old Belarmino Toralla, forty-five year old Alvaro Gogra, twenty-two year old Marco Guzman jar., Carlos Barrera and fifty-two year old Teresina Penados were the victims in the second incident. All five individuals were inside a small wooden house on a farm belonging to Penados when they were approached by the men. The eight men were not wearing masks as the four other men in the previous incident, but they were heavily armed with what appeared to be M-sixteen and AK forty-seven rifles. The bandits seemed to be about eighteen to nineteen years old and were all dressed in full black. The five residents were robbed of their jewelry, watches, cell phones and cash by the bandits who escaped in the bushes. The police detected two men outside of Arenal Village on a farm and one of them was carrying an M-sixteen rifle. There was crossfire between the police and the bandits. No one was hit by the bullets and the two men managed to escape. The police are investigating but have no leads as yet.