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It's unfortunate, and about the sixth snorkeling death we have reported in the last 7 years, but CHUKKA's adversaries in FECTAB say it's symptomatic of a deeper problem. Today, they held an emotional press conference to make broad allegations of malpractice against Chukka. 7News was there:...

Daniel Ortiz reporting
FECTAB presented the information they were given about the week of incidents which happened on Chukka operations. It all seemed a bit incredible yet, Tom Greenwood took the time out to outline them.

Tom Greenwood - President, FECTAB
"One; two guests were abandoned at the Maya site of Altun Ha, it took the police to bring them out. Now somebody might say these things happen, oh ya right. Your granny is dying and so you won't do anything about it? Come on. You don't abandoned people. When a bus moves somewhere, it's got 40 persons and when you are moving form there you must have 40 persons, a simple thing of mathematics and logic. If you believe in quantity instead of quality - that is going to happen."

"Then, there has been a terrible zip line incident. There was an incident at Xunantunich. All these things happened within a week. Somebody fell down and smash their face and busted their nose and all that. Some people will say that if you climb the ruins - that will happen."

"This is why when you are tour guide, professionally trained and not some very young tour guide unfairly put to do a job that needs training - this is what is needed."

"Then, the last incident we heard of was the snorkeling incident. People will again say. you are snorkeling and these things will happen. I believe that in the very near future the true details of that incident will come out and they are going to not be nice."

David Almendarez - Member, FECTAB
"If this would have happened to my company, I would have been labeled, I would have been banned and my tour operations licensed would have been taken away."

They had one other complaint, an outcry really, hoping that the Government hears. Chukka, they said had used savvy business tactics, in what is supposedly the biggest money earner as a tour operator.

David Almendarez - Member, FECTAB
"Guys, Carnival and Chukka Tours has embarked on a series of strategies that I believe in my opinion are aimed directly at local tour operations. Lately, Carnival Cruise Lines lowered their prices on the cave tubing tour only. Cave tubing is the bread and butter of a lot of tour operators in Belize; cavetubing.com, cavetubing.bz, majortomcavetubing, cavetubingrus, CCT Travels, center point #1 inland tour in Belize. Chukka and Carnival has turned this particular tour into a Wal-Mart tour. The very best tour we have in our country, the number one inland booked tour is being sold at the lowest bottom sale price and this is aimed directly at hurting our native Belizean companies."

"In this high season guys, doesn't feel like a high season for anybody. It's no ho, ho, ho. No Christmas right now. Last year our bookings are practically in half. It's a direct attempt to sabotage and run our native Belizeans out of business."

Tom Greenwood - President, FECTAB
"Bare in mind the incident with one of our executive members, Yhonny Rosado in which he was accosted and surrounded by police officers (TPU) in the middle of the street at terminal one, in front of guests making Yhonny look as if he was a criminal. Naturally the guests are looking on and saying what's going on there and his own guests as well. Why? Because they accused Yhonny of operating without a Tour Operators License. I mean, come on. Would they have done that if that was a Chukka person?"

Yhony was then invited to the podium to share his thoughts, and he couldn't put words together, still remembering the incident at the Tourism Village about his tour operators' license.

Yhonny Rosado
"This Christmas comes and we don't have jobs. I own my busses. I invested every penny in the tourist business and this is what they gave us. BTB have not apologize to me verbally or written, but you know what, they are waiting for me to make a mistake."

He couldn't continue at that point, and it was then that his President expressed what can only be described as indignation. He actually resorted to profanity.

Rosado Walked out to collect himself, but he returned about 15 minutes later.

Yhonny Rosado
"I knew then that these people are ready to close me down because you cannot keep shut up. All you have to do Yhonny Rosado (cavetubing.com) is to shut up or else you see what we can do, you are lucky you have found your receipt. That's what hurts me. I haven't done anything illegal and they come for me. Imagine if I make a mistake. They will close me down."

"In a Christmas month we shouldn't be crying that we don't have jobs nor money in a high cruise tourism season."

And then, he ended on this note.

Yhonny Rosado
"I think we all have seen Nelson Mandela. I bet you Nelson Mandela never dreamed so many people would go to his funeral. But Nelson Mandela deserved it because people like us will fight for our country, for our people. We are a little bit like Nelson Mandela; we will fight for our industry, for our kids and this country."