Victim’s interview before triple murder

The grisly murders of thirty-five year old Carmita Rivas, her fourteen year old son Carlos Wagner and her common-law-husband sixty-five year old Pantaleon Navarro, has the small northern community of Carmelita in a complete state of shock.  Rivas and Navarro both lived with their eight children on a remote farm several miles off the northern highway where Navarro worked as a caretaker and farmer.  Back on July twenty-eighth News Five’s Isani Cayetano and cameraman Chris Mangar visited the farm on assignment where they met the humble family.  Carmita and Carlos were both more than helpful in giving interviews about a locust infestation that was plaguing crops in the area.  Navarro, who spoke only Spanish and the children, were present at the time but did not make it into the story.  At the time the mother was in her third trimester of pregnancy.  Sadly, the family had welcomed its newest member ten days prior to the triple murder on Tuesday.  The following news story was shot at the family’s residence on Codd’s Ranch a few weeks ago.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

The twitter of crickets on this remote farm several miles outside of Carmelita Village serves as a constant reminder to the Wagner family that their homestead is under siege by a voracious predator.  The situation at hand is somewhat reminiscent of the plague of locusts as it was told in the Exodus.  The seven acre plot on which the family plants vegetables has over the past few months become a virtual buffet table as these insects are feeding on any and everything grown for commerce on the local market.  Needless to say they, like other farmers in the area, are losing money on crops that are being eaten by these pests.

Isani Cayetano

“For several weeks residents in rural Belize and Orange Walk Districts have expressed concerns over the presence of an invasive species of locusts, as seen here, that have been eating away at their agricultural produce.”

The locust which measures about four or five inches in length is considerably larger than its grasshopper cousin.  Its appetite for leaves is not restricted to those of root vegetables.  In fact, a tour of the plantation shows that the swarm has taken up residence high atop the branches of several fruit trees.  According to Carmita Wagner she first took notice of the insects in late May and believes that they flew southeastwards from the direction of Guinea Grass Village.

Carmita Wagner, Resident, Codd’s Ranch

carmita rivas

“We discovered them three months after. They’re eating all coconut trees, cashew trees, mango trees, avocado trees, every kind of trees.”

Isani Cayetano

“You guys have been living on this farm for quite some time now what kind of crops does your husband grow that are being affected by this particular insect?”

Carmita Wagner

“Well right here we plant pumpkin trees, watermelon trees and everything, they are eating all that.  They’re eating the cocoa trees; they’re eating that too.  They like to eat how I tell you every kind of plants.”

While the family has tried spraying their crops the locusts seem resistant to the poison being used.  They have instead resorted to terminating them manually.

Carmita Wagner

“What we do we find them and mash them with a stick or we beat them so dehn could dead.”

Isani Cayetano

“But there are too many of them for you to mash with a stick.  If you look around at the plants, the trees around here, they way too many.”

The family has gone as far as killing and piling the insects for use as feed for their chickens.  Fully aware that the attempt is futile however, Wagner says she desperately awaits help from the relevant agencies to address the matter urgently.

Carmita Wagner

“With help if somebody could help we fu spray it or see what the government going to do with them because the government he will not going to do nothing at all if I say well come to help me to spray it.  But how I tell you there’s too much and we cannot work with that out.”

A few miles south of Codd’s Ranch corn farmers are wasting no time spraying to prevent the plague from taking hold of their crops. The Belize Agricultural Health Authority says it is aware of the problem that vegetable farmers in the north are facing and that it has appointed an inspector to assess the problem fully before recommending the necessary pesticides. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.