Two more Guatemalans were cuaght panning for gold in Belize. It happened last Friday, in Ceibo Grande Creek, located in southern Chiquibul National Park, five miles from the border. A joint unit patrol of Police, BDF and FCD park rangers detained Anibal Quiix Cucul of Monte Los Olivos, Peten and Jose Amilcar Garcia Morales of Huite, Zacapa, Guatemala.Â
The Guatemalans were found deep in the jungle, and the patrol team took hours of hiking, riding by tractor and pikcup to get them to the San Ignacio Police Station. They were both charged for illegally operating inside a protected area without any permit and for illegal entry into Belize. It is unclear at this point if the Mining Unit will charge them for extracting minerals without a permit.                     Â
Quiix carried a vial with what appeared to be gold nuggets and he told the patrol that he had come into the Chiquibul 7 times to pan for gold. Most recently he had collected 2.5 grams of the precious metal which he sold for 500 quetzales, or about 135 Belize dollars.Â
And while it may seem like just a few grams, this sort of illegal extraction has been going on for years, and dozens of Guatemalns are at it. And it is having an effect on the environment – specifically the headwaters of the Chiquibul River. Since 2012, gold panning has caused heavy sedimentation to go into the streams on the upper limits of the Maya Mountain Main Divide. Over 100,000 Guatemalans depend on these waters which now risk contamiantion.Â
It is estimated that as many as 100 villagers from Monte Los Olivos and other villages such as Los Limones and Brisas de Chiquibul are actively extracting gold from Belize.
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