And to get an idea of how it has escalated so quickly, we have to go back to last night, in the Chiquibul Forest for the incident that triggered the Guatemalan military deployment.
The Government of Belize has issued a statement saying that the shooting happened within Belize, in the Caracol Archaeological Reserve, in an area known as Cebada, close to the Western Border.
The release says that the BDF were on patrol to investigate illegal clearings in the Chiquibul National Park. As viewers are aware, Caracol Makes up a part of the vast Chiquibul Forest.
The release adds that the security forces personnel encountered 33 year-old Guatemalan Jose Maria Antonio Reyes conducting illegal activities in the Chiquibul. That was at around 5 p.m. yesterday, and he was detained without incident.
About 2 hours later, the patrol came under fire at a location approximately 380 meters east of the Border, in Belizean Territory. The soldiers fired back in self-defense, and they made a decision to leave. They did not realize that someone had been fatally injured.
The Prensa Libre, the Guatemalan Newspaper, reported today that the victims have been identified as 48 year-old Carlos Alvarado, and his sons 11 year-old Carlos, and his 13 year-old son, Julio.
Now, the Prensa Libre, which is known for its Pro-Guatemalan slant, claims that the shooting happened in an area of Melchor De Menchos, which would make it Guatemalan territory. Belize disputes that and say that they were in Belizean territory. The Prensa Libre claims that the 3 Guatemalans that after the shooting 48 year-old Carlos Alvarado and his 11 year-old son, Carlos Jr. were injured in the shooting, and they had to flee for treatment at a Guatemalan hospital.
For whatever reason, 13 year-old Guatemalan Julio Alvarado was left behind, and when the BDF performed their standard clearing procedure, they found him fatally injured. The security forces personnel left the location and hiked from the scene of the shooting in the Cebada area, and they arrived in San Ignacio. The body of 13 year-old then transported to the KHMH, where a post-mortem has been conducted.
Apart from confirming the shooting, and the details we've described to you from the BDF's perspective the government statement says, quote,
"The Government of Belize has requested the support of the Organization of American States (OAS) in conducting a verification exercise to ascertain the facts surrounding the shooting..."
The statement, continues, "...The Government of Belize very much regrets any loss of life and will be conducting its own investigation. The Government remains concerned about illegal activities along our borders and will continue to engage the OAS and the Government of Guatemala with a view to stemming the illicit activities of Guatemalan civilians who are becoming increasingly more violent toward our security and law enforcement authorities." End quote.
The Prensa Libre, in its report on the shooting, publicly speculates on the whereabout of Guatemalan Jose Maria Antonio Reyes, who the BDF arrested because he was conducting illegal activities in Belizean territory.
The Belize Government's statement says that the security forces of the patrol transferred him to the custody of the San Ignacio Police. He's awaiting an arraignment hearing before a Magistrate.
So as you heard in the press release, the OAS will assist in the investigation. But up until this morning, the OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro who was visiting Belize told us that he hadn't gotten any official statement on this incident. At a press conference held in the VIP room at the Phillip Goldson International Airport, Almagro only made a very general statement to say that when incidents like these occur, both countries need to verify the facts and send a formal request to the OAS.
H.E. Luis Almagro, Secretary General - OAS
"We have a problem there, that we need the countries to ask us to make a verification of this problem. We cannot go voluntary and spontaneously and assume the problem. Both countries have said that they will ask for verification. But we have not received any formal request about that yet. In any case, we have said yesterday in our improvised press conference that we have concern about incidents or accidents like this. I don't think they help in any way."
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