| Those Guatemalan soldiers were trying to get a clear understanding of what happened when a Guatemalan journalist came in contact with a Belize police officer in in the Adjacency Zone area.
That journalist, Rigoberto Escobar, reported that he was attacked by Belizean law enforcement in the Adjacency Zone - also known as the Belize border - because he was trying to get footage of the area. According to the report from the Prensa Libre newspaper he works for, a policeman and 2 civilians approached him and told him to leave. That's allegedly when the officer assaulted him. After the incident, he reported it to the Guatemalan customs.
This cell phone video of the incident, courtesy Jose Sanchez, shows Escobar in a confrontation with a Belizean police officer. In the footage, it appears that the officer is calmly trying to tell him that he is not allowed to use his camera in that location. Escobar appears to be confronting the officer insisting that he should be allowed to carrying his business. The video does not show what, if anything, happened after that.
So, we asked Elrington about it, and he shared the gist of the incident report that the police produced after the confrontation:
Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Minister of Foreign Affairs
"There is a report coming out from our police department which indicated that in fact, there was some contact made with him, in an attempt to prevent him from taking photographs. I thought that that was not necessary. I personally can't see any good reason why you would want to stop a person taking photographs. As I am saying, everybody seems to have a phone these days, and people can photograph you from any place. So, I can't see any need for any attempt to stop a person who is taking a photograph. And I say that in relation to the police and the Guatemalan, as well as in relation to what transpires on our street every day because we do get compliant that in fact, when police are in operation, and Belizean try to photograph them, they get offended by it, and try to stop the people from doing it. I don't know whether or not that is unlawful. As far as I am a concerned, it is not unlawful, and therefore, the police should not bother you. The suggestion we got in relation to the journalist really was that it may well have in connection with their own education campaign that they are embarking upon. The only information we have is that there was some body contact in an attempt to prevent him from taking a photograph."
The Prensa Libre reports that personnel from the Consulate of Guatemala became aware of the incident and arrived in Belize at the customs office with the objective of collecting information on it. They reportedly told Escobar to file a formal complaint.
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