Three “dead” Guatemalans alive and well in Hattieville prison

Details are still sketchy but police reports to News Five indicate that three Guatemalans have been arrested and charged after they were caught harvesting xate leaves in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve. The detainees have tentatively been identified to us as Freddie Perez, Nery Abdulio Mantar and Humberto Hernandez. All three were arrested and convicted of illegal entry and remanded to Hattieville Prison when they could not pay their fines. The arrest has sparked controversy in the Guatemalan press since local officials in the Peten told the media that all three men were shot and killed on the Belize side of the border.