7 News Belize

Manzanero: Chiquibul Engagement Will Have To Change
posted (March 31, 2016)
The Holy Saturday shooting of Staff Sergeant Richard Lambey in the Caracol Archeological Park caused national alarm. And right that it should have...after all, BDF soldiers ambushed inside Belizean territory by what appears to be Guatemalan bandits? 18 Months after Danny Conorquie?

For sure, the ambush highlights the major border security issues and loopholes that exist along the border with Guatemala. And that's why the Executive Director of Friends For Conservation and Development Rafael Manzanero told us today that the rules of engagement have to change. Manzanero has his FCD rangers stationed out in the Chiquibul and other specific areas along the border and these armed encounters has put everyone in that are on red alert. Manzanero told us that overall, Belize's armed forces need to develop a strategy to better protect our borders.

Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director - FCD
"I think certainly it is one that we had already understood that with more presence on the ground and with more governance in terms of enforcement, then there can be more of those probability to occur. Because there will be more chances of meeting with Guatemalans. There are particular areas along the western border that are pretty much really hotspot areas and so I think that it is one that we always have to be prepared for. I think it's one that we basically need really to see that it is really a serious matter that has to be more, I would say documented, but also understood in terms of what we need to do. I think Guatemalans over the last many years - we have realize that they are well-determined individuals, even if they move with illegal logging up to 17 kilometers within Belize, then they have the boldness and the determination to so any kind of illicit activities and so it's something that we just have to be prepared for. I think it is important because Belize has very limited resources, we certainly have to adjoined and be more coordinated in terms of dealing with those issues."

Lambey has been released from the hospital. The BDF still has not commented on the shooting of their soldier.

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