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Daniel Ortiz has that report:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
The smoldering remains on this patch of earth are the only things which can attest to the fact that there was a house sitting here.

That house used to belong to Sarita Lara, and it was destroyed because she was squatting, but she claims that she was living there off and on for over 10 years.

The rest of Lara's belongings - spared from the blaze - were unceremoniously dumped in a heap. And in the distance, the excavator works on the hilly sections of the terrain to level it out for a new football field, which is in Belizean territory.

No one can deny that it is an important development, but Lara says that the Arenal Village Council destroyed her home to make way for that field.

Sarita Lara - Her Home Was Destroyed
"We were promised help to get the land, proper title, and a house to occupy the land, and start a settlement. The UDP won't allow us to have the land because it was promised by the PUP. So, now they are prejudiced against us, and they are trying to get us off the land. So, we settled here, and tried to make a contract with the Minister and with the Alcalde to notarize the contract, and have it signed by a Justice of Peace. It was so that everybody would know what was happening, but the contract was never signed. And now, they've come and bulldozed the land, destroying everything that was there, house and all. And I want justice because it's not normal. We are poor. They came and saw, and they know that they can persecute us because we're poor. But, we are the same as them, poor or not."

"Here on this land, we're four in my family, 5 with me, and my mother who also has her own land here. She depends on me, and so do my 4 children."

She explained to us the circumstances of what led for her to be living there illegally:

Sarita Lara
"From 1992, they gave us the land, and I have people who can vouch that I sent workers to build the house when there were mountains here. The person who always clears the land for me can say that I never abandoned the land. And when I don't have money to pay rent, I come and stay at this house. Now that this has happened, I don't know where to go. So from 1992, it's like 15 years now. I came to live here from since my daughter was 1 years old. I always come and go because I don't have anybody to maintain me."

It was on one of those occasions when she was away that the Village Council destroyed her property. And while the scorched earth approach lacked finesse, the Chairman says that they had a bigger problem to solve:

Lucio Sanchez - Chairman, Arenal Village Council
"We have a plan for a football field for ARENAL BELIZE. You guys are more than welcomed to clear up the public opinion. the story of Arenal is more than 120 years since it's been founded. Arenal didn't have a football field. The only football field that Arenal had was the one down there. Half is in Belize, and Half is in Guatemala."

And that is an issue because the Guatemalan neighbors make problems for the village whenever they try to organize events:

Lucio Sanchez
"That field has been a constant problem for the players. Here on the Belize side, we have 3 teams and various kids. One of the favorite sports of the area is football, and it is a major pastime for the community, and recently, we won the Christmas Championships. We had a game on the 24th, where they cut the football. They beat up a young man. They cut up the net for the goal. They threw some of the posts into the river. It was very bad, and because of this, we decided that we wouldn't play the championships any. But the Belizeans here in the village don't have a field of their own."

And it brings us to the issue where this new field became a problem for Sarita Lara.

Lucio Sanchez
"The lots that you saw there, those people are squatting on is public land, and it is designated for the football field. The area below is being allowed for space to build a community center because we don't have any center."

But other residents claim that her house should not have been destroyed, and she should not have been forced to move because the field in is original planning did not include the piece of land her house was on.

Enzo Hulse - Concerned Resident
"This field is on planning for years; for 13 years now this field is on plan. This field was supposed to build in a certain way but then he wants to do his own thing in another way. That why he came in and wants to destroy the old girl property because he wants to use the land that the house is on to make the field longer."

Whatever the case may have been, Lara's property was destroyed, and they are upset about it.

The Chairman says, she had to be moved, and they moved her:

Lucio Sanchez - Chairman, Arenal Village Council
"It was not our intention to move them unjustly. So, we made a pact with them to give them a piece of lot in Benque, so that they would vacate these lots, and leave them for the community. It's not for me; it's not for any of my neighbors. It's for the community."

It is a legitimate case that Lara should have been moved, but it is arguable that the chairman did it in a legal manner. He wouldn't tell us clearly if he had a court order to do so, as we tried to ask him in Spanish:

Lucio Sanchez - Chairman, Arenal Village Council
"It's is a public area. We want to see papers for leased land. There are no papers for leased land, so this is a public area; that's why we did it."

The family is now upset, and they want to be compensated.

Sarita Lara
"We want them to pay for all the damages that they have done to us."

Lucio Sanchez - Chairman, Arenal Village Council
"This situation has been going for more than a year, and now she's building a house. Why doesn't she build a house on the lot that the Minister is providing for her in Benque."

Indeed, we have seen the documents to show that in compensation - two lots were given to her in Benque Vejo - but she refused to sign and accept it.

Sarita Lara and her family told us that they will be seeking legal advice to see if she is due any compensation for the damages to her property.