Guatemala President wants investigation into fatal shooting
There is mounting tension tonight over the shooting death of a Guatemalan farmer that took place over the weekend. The situation bears watching because there is a new government in Guatemala headed by Otto Perez Molina, a retired military general. It is the first such incident under his presidency and Perez Molina wants a full scale investigation. The issue will consume discussions this Thursday when the Foreign Minister of Guatemala, Harold Caballeros meets with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington. Caballeros will be accompanied by Vice Minister Carlos Raul Moralez and Ambassador Manuel Tellez. Caballeros arrives in the morning and will leave in the afternoon and the shooting death of the twenty-nine year old Juan Choc Chub, is top on the agenda. The Belize Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday stated that the incident happened in the Chiquibul National Park where a Joint Forces Operation involving the B.D.F., police, forest officers and Immigration had two confrontations with Guatemalan nationals inside Belizean territory and that one had been fatally injured. The Foreign Ministry of Guatemala, however, does not acknowledge any shoot-out and has condemned the incident saying it happened near Monte de Olivios, Dolores, Peten. The Guatemalans are asking for a thorough investigation and early reports attribute the shooting to the B.D.F. Choc’s brother, Daniel was also injured. The Guatemalans are also saying that they are expecting a report so that they can take action in the context of international law to ensure that those responsible are punished. The Organization of American States has been to the area to investigate and their report is pending. As we said, a Guatemalan farmer has been killed in the Peten area, and his brother injured. According to our information, the last such incident happened about seven years ago.
I can recall a Custom officer being killed in Melchor. I know that our logs and xate are being stolen by Guatemalans. Where was the Presidente when these things happened and continue to happen to Belizeans? Now, he wants to talk?
Stay pan u land nobody weh frig with u
Congratulations!! to the B.D.F for finally taking a stand to protect our borders from these people who for years have been ravaging our forests, in no way am i happy that a life was lost but we are a sovereighn nation and we have the right to protect it and sometimes that will include deadly force. So keep up the good work guys, and i do wish that the government invests more in our military.
Thats what the BDF need to do to all them harassing Guats that come into our borders and feel as they can do as they please. Now this is where our Government ie. (UDP/ PUP) needs to invest and backup our soldiers that out there protecting our a** from these devastating pests. Good job BDF.
I HEAR THERE WAS 2 ATTACKS BEFORE THE BDF SHOT BACK. ANYONE THAT WOULD NOT HAVE SHOT BACK NEEDS TO MOVE OUT OF BELIZE AND INTO GUATEMALA BECAUSE I WOULD SHOOT THEM TOO.
Maybe now the Pres will listen to us when we have been telling him that his people are stealing logs..etc from Belize. These people are well armed and as soon as they see our people they start shooting. Lets stand behind our men that guard our borders!
More Power to BDF and their Joint Forces. Job well done guys, it is a part of your job to kill when necessary and are paid to protect our Borders, wherever the imaginery line is according to Sedi on a talk show last year. Now Sedi get to go and have a physical look at the Imaginery Border Line he talked about last year. As a matter of fact, he should spend two weeks with you guys out in the field before his term is up to experience what you guys go through on a daily basis. The Guatemalans sunk boats with Belizeans who got killed from Punta Gorda and never once their or our Government requested investigations as to whether it was done within our waters or not. grieving family memebers had to put one and one together after their loved ones just never showed up after a while, or if there was a witness to say what happened, yet no investigations done. Two wrongs thoes not make a right, but we as a people always has to stand up for our RIGHTS. Shoot up dem !–$ again if dem cum again.
its long over due. of course the guate newspaper will always say that their people was on their part of the adjacency zone. y? because they are claiming that Belize is theirs.. common sense..these stupid piece of guate.
i applaud the bdf for standing up but the gov. does not care they are only concern about politics and winnnig the election to get some more money time in gov.
the pm does not have any interest on what is happening at the borders………we as citizens need to stand up for our own……these ministers can pickup any day and roll out of Belize with full pockets……
You all dont get it yet, probably he was on his way to get nationalized and could nt find his way to the elctions and boundaries dept, if i was that bdf who shot the guate i would find another job, u juss killed a udp voter, you will be fired/vicitimized/retrenched for that.
But your Foreign Minister, Mr SEEDI said that there was no borders, it is only artficial, so me and my compadres come cross to cut xate, kill parrots and log rosewood. we get permission from MR Seedi.
LOL….funny but true. I agree with your comment Freetown voter
I totally despise Guatemala and her government not simply because I am Belizean, but because their government has no interest in letting their people know that they are not supposed to stray into Belize and exchange fire with our security forces and do illegal xate extraction and logging. Why can’t Guatemala just live with the current border since Guatemala has not collapsed or gone into chaos because they do not have the parcels of Belize which belong rightfully to Belize. Trust me even a trained killer in the form of a soldier does not want to kill some one unless they feel they have to because that killing thing gives you sleepless nights and nightmare, not to mention the worries about what you will tell St. Peter when he is scrolling down the “invitations to heaven.”
Knew this would happen before long. Just hope Belizean authorities do not let the OAS persuade them to stop patrolling our border.
We no want no Guatemala…remember that song? They are the ones that keep encroaching on our territory. They are bigger and have way more military might then we do so who do you think is picking on who; simple!
Teach your children in your schools to respect Belize’s boarder and stop teaching them that Belize is part of Guatemala; then stay on your side and none of this will happen. What is so hard to understand Mr Guatemala President?
Dumb Guate! Check the definition of artificial! The word artificial means manmade not none existent! The boarder was made by man not made by nature or by God but you need to respect it.
The name of the country should be changed from Guatemala to Guatepeor!
Ask this fool if guatemala did anything when all of our Belizean people were held up on the Southern Highway and those gutemalan fools killed one of our BDF soldier. I have your apology right here a middle finger in your face. We need to stand behind our security forces because we can’t stop the internal invasion because our own government is helping them to overrun us; so if we can’t put them back over the boarder at least we can try to stop them from invading us externally. I am tired of these guatemalan idiots taking advantage of me, my people and my country and what’s worst our own government allows it by not having any balls to stand up to them. If they want to invade I am prepared to take up arms against them as I will never become guatemalan. To that fool guate screw you and your illiterate country you won’t get my country until our government has completed their sell out agenda and not before.
If Belize allows the OAS to investigate, it is a done and sealed deal, Belizeans will get the end of the shaft. Pardon my French. We all know that the OAS favors Guatemalans. In-fact, the U.S. did not even support Belize in getting its independence. If we pay compensation to the Guatemalans then we are all a bunch of wuzzes. I concur with Juan Gongora, when a customs officer was killed in Melchor (Guatemala) nothing was done, not even investigated. Another man from Succotz was killed in melchor also and nothing was done. Our government did nothing. When a young man from Belize city was imprisoned wrongly in Melchor again nothing was done. What about the many skirmishes at the western border. Nothing done. i personally saw a police run after a Belizean into Belizean territory and point a gun at the man, if it wasn’t for a brave immigration officer that guatemalan police would have killed the man. Nothing was done. how about the many Belizeans that have been killed in Melchor during their municipal fair, the bodies found floating in the Mopan river- nothing done, Yet we did not cry foul. We did seek compensation. now they want our security forces to pose for them as a shooting target and do nothing, please. They are illegal in our land, they steal our lumber, our scarlet macaw, our xate and our flora and fauna and they want us to be okay with that. Are we afraid of an ex-military Guatemalan president? Come Belize let us not get Bullied- certainly not from Guatemala! I say dontt pay a cent to them- no matter what the OAS report says. If it would have happened on thier side they would have killed all involved not only one and cover it and no compensation paid. Guats like to harass our security forces and when something happens to them they bitch and grind about it. They report a different story to their side. Let us not be Bullied.
It is unfortunate that such life was lost, regardless of what nationality. However, it is in my opinion, that the newly “elected” Guatemalan Government has now place paramount importance on such small matters because they are now confident that they can tackle the issue of the Belize-Guatemala Land Claims..and if necessary, under the leadership of ex-military president….prepare for war..its what they always wanted.
slave land!!!! jajajajaja
Wow!! It’s interesting to stumble upon an article like this and read the comments posted and the way you all express yourselves about Guatemala and it’s people. I am Guatemalan and had no idea we are so hated in your country. I was raised in Guate and grew up knowing that Belize is an independent and sovereign nation and it has been that way for years.
The new generation of Guatemalans doesn’t really care about Belize to be honest.. we have enough on our plate as it is. It is very sad to see you all celebrate the MURDER of a poor farmer that is leaving a pregnant wife and two orphan kids. There is no piece of land more valuable than a human life.
bola de pendejos!!!! seems like many of you have no education instead of trying to show peace to the world, you are penetrating hatred into your hearts and minds! no matter from where you come from or where you go we will be humans so say no to discrimination and hatred!