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Last night, we told you about the confrontation between BDF and Customs officers and the passengers of an Orange Walk bus that ended in the Dwayne Almendarez getting shot.   According to reports, Customs and the BDF jointly stopped a bus on the Santa Cruz Road and began searching for uncustomed goods. Santa Cruz is the village right across the border from Botes, Mexico which is a contraband hotspot. 

Sometime after getting unto the bus, some passengers on the bus began to attack the officers, who responded by firing several shots. Four of those shots hit Almendarez, and he was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery and is listed in critical but stable condition. Today we spoke to his sister about the incident...

Voice of Sister
"So far we haven't' heard anything official from anybody. I called the Orange Walk police station this morning to find out what is happening and the only thing I spoke with corporal and he said to me that the investigation is still in its early stages and the only thing he can tell me is that, nothing else. Nobody is in custody it's just that they are getting statements. We just know that he was in Botes and it wasn't even police we heard, on the news we heard that it was the customs and the BDF that went on the bus to search the bus; I don't know for what reason but they were on the bus and that's it, not the police in Yo Creek. We haven't heard anything in regard to police just the customs officer and the BDF was on the bus."

Alex Courtenay
"Because Botes is a highly trafficked area in terms of contraband, I guess the presence of the customs department with the extension of the BDF it would be expected to be there but was there a possibility that he would have been bringing in contraband back with him?"

Voice of Sister
"Well, I'm not sure I don't even know what was the purpose of the visit to Yo Creek or anything. I know he lives in that area also, so I don't know if there is any reason why it is or what it is he was bringing if it was he was bringing in anything. All that we know that he was on the bus."

Alex Courtenay
"Now in terms of the injuries your brother sustained, what can you tell us about that?"

Voice of Sister
"Well, he had 4 gunshot wounds, one to the chest, one to his leg and two in his stomach."

Alex Courtenay
"Can you talk to in terms of his condition currently?"

Voice of Sister
"Well, right now he is still in critical condition, he had a 7 hour surgery last night in Orange Walk and was transported to Belize City hospital overnight, so right now he is in an induced coma, so we're waiting on that surgery to fix whatever went wrong from the gunshot wounds so it's just a wait and see, hope and pray.â€￾

Almendarez is currently in a induced coma, and remains in critical condition.

Now, as we have been reporting, tensions have been steadily escalating in the north between contraband smugglers and law enforcement.  This was visible on July 20, 2017, when customs, BAHA police and BDF had a very volatile confrontation with some smugglers who were on the Yo Creek Road, which leads to La Union.  That erupts into a defiant mob encircling the law enforcement officer son the road.  In broad daylight, one of the men pushed himself up against A BDF soldier with an AR-15.  The soldier - who had his weapon on the ready - was trying to back off, and he fired a warning shot - after which the man still did not back down.  

Lawmen tell us that this kind of lawless defiance is growing increasingly common in that area where contraband smuggling is a way of life and survival.