| On last week Thursday's newscast, we took you to the Barrio El Juda area, which is located at the western edge of Benque Viejo Town. That's where Guatemalan Campesinos have started to encroach on Belizean territory in the adjacency zone.
Because of the Belize/Guatemala territorial dispute, this is a problem that the Governments of the two countries will have to resolve, but the Foreign Affairs Ministry is trying to use the diplomatic channels to get the Guatemalan Government to step in and remove their citizens.
While that process moves along slowly, approximately 30 families have already built homes and farms which are expanding further east. And the more they expand, the more they enter into the private property of Belizean, Jorge Emiliano Espat. He has been trying to get the Belize Government to speed up the process of reverse the encroachment, but he is now frustrated that months have passed, and no real action has been taken.
Espat has been trying to pressure the Government to act on his behalf, and this week, he decided to turn to the PUP for advice about his problem. Espat and activist Geovanni Brackett had a meeting with Opposition Leader John Briceño on Wednesday morning. Yesterday, the press asked him to discuss those talks about Espat's plight:
Hon. John Briceno - Leader of the Opposition
"Mr. Espat asked to meet with me to discuss the challenges that he is facing with his own private land at the border with Guatemala. He expressed no only dissatisfaction, but he felt almost as if the government was leaving him on his own. For some time, he has been talking to people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to say that these people are squatting on his land, and nothing has been happening."
"Once again, the Government is seen to be falling asleep at the wheel, or not being aggressive enough when it comes to defending the sovereignty of our country. In the agreement, when the agreement was made about the adjacency line, and the adjacency zone, it was agreed by both Governments, Belize and Guatemala, that in adjacency zone, both governments would not do anything within that area. But, here we see now, Guatemala, actively working within the adjacency zone. On the Guatemalan side, in El Juda, they have been putting electricity. They have been putting in water and now see that the Mayor of Melchor is actively encouraging people to come across the border, into our side."
"And what compounds the matter is that the area where it is not only Belizean territory, but it is Belizean territory that has an actual owner, which is Mr. Jorge Espat. So, we have to hold the Foreign Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Prime Minister, who is the ultimate leader in the country, responsible for what is happening, for not being able to take a more aggressive stand in defending our borders."
Reporter
"Sir, what do you make of the Foreign Minister's that this is a delicate situation that you have to handle very carefully because you want to cause any sort of aggravation between the two nations, or any hostile escalation."
Hon. John Briceno
"I certainly agree with him that it has to be handled very delicately, but this should have never happened, we should have never been where we are today. If the BDF was constantly monitoring that area in border, the hotspots, the very moment that you see any kind of activity the BDF could have gone and stop these persons and then the ministry of foreign affairs could have gone to the OAS and to Guatemala and say hold on you can't be coming into our country. Whilst he is right, but they are the ones who have allow this to happen."
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