Belizeans are only just releasing that breath of relief after the OAS Independent Investigation exonerated the BDF in the fatal shooting of Guatemalan minor Julio Ruano. But, things at the Belize/Guatemala border are tense again tonight after the BDF came under fire inside the Chiquibul yesterday.
It happened yesterday 259 meters east of the border in Belizean territory. The patrol was out there to follow up on an official order from the Government of Belize to eject illegal Guatemalans squatters who had settled inside the Chiquibul National Park.
A late evening Government release says, quote, "... Unidentified persons within the Chiquibul initiated gunfire as the BDF patrol approached the location where the illegal settlement was discovered. The BDF patrol returned fire in self-defense and withdrew to safety. No military personnel have been reported to have sustained any injury and no indication of any casualties have been discovered." End quote.
The OAS Adjacency Zone Office has been asked to coordinate logistical arrangements between the Belizean and Guatemalan law enforcement agencies, and to also witness compliance with the official order to leave.
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