Disir
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PUNTA GORDA, Mon. June 15, 2015–Roughly five hours after a Guatemalan gunboat, which was illegally in Belize’s waters, along with one other gunboat and a Columbian-type boat, was allowed to leave Glover’s Reef Atoll, near Middle Caye, where it had run aground, on Sunday, without any penalties for damaging the reef, five Belizeans were allowed to leave a Guatemalan court where they had been charged for an incident fabricated by Guatemalan soldiers in the village of Santa Cruz, a Guatemalan community which borders Jalacte, an informal border point where a lot of commercial activity occurs between Belize and Guatemala.
...The incident occurred on Saturday at about 3:15 p.m. while the group of five Belizeans – Punta Gorda Town Councilor, Ashton McKenzie; Michel Santiago Romero, an IT officer at the Toledo Teachers Credit Union; Ray Anthony Martinez, a mathematics teacher from Punta Gorda Town; Rutelio Cal, who works as a teller at Heritage Bank in Mango Creek; and Rafael Cus, a farmer who cultivates corn and beans in the Jalacte area and who was not with the men, but happened to be in the area at the time – were in Santa Cruz, a Guatemalan community adjacent to Jalacte, a village in south-western Belize, very near to the border with Guatemala.
While in a restaurant in that area, however, the group of five was detained and forced to go to San Luis, Peten by Guatemalan military personnel.
Ashton McKenzie, one of the five Belizeans who were arrested by Guatemalan soldiers on apparently trumped-up allegations while visiting Guatemala this past Saturday, June 13, told Amandala what happened, saying that they had been “roughed up,” abused and threatened with death.
Initial reports received by local media suggested that the men had been arrested because they were intoxicated and had been behaving in a disorderly manner, but McKenzie said that the ordeal was apparently orchestrated by the Guatemalan military officials as a means of either extorting, or scaring off the Belizean visitors.
McKenzie explained that he and his colleagues went to Santa Cruz on a casual trip and were not drinking as was initially reported, but were instead having lunch at a restaurant in the village when they were accosted by Guatemalan military personnel who first questioned their nationality, and then ordered them to immediately leave the area.
The Belizeans reportedly complied, but got permission to buy some items at a nearby store when they were approached by a high-ranking off-duty Guatemalan military officer who was apparently under the influence of alcohol.
That officer told the men that they had to accompany him to San Luis, Peten, because they had violated that country’s immigration laws, and that was when everything went downhill for the Belizeans.
While being escorted by the soldiers, McKenzie said, the group was forced to run for approximately four miles with high-powered weapons pointed at their heads.
“We started walking but they told us that we will have to run. And they made us run with weapons pointed at our heads, and they made it clear to us that if we do not comply or run fast enough, they will shoot or kill us, so we basically ran 4 miles feeling very, very nervous,” he explained.
At that time, Martinez complained of heart problems, so they were put to sit in a pasture and offered water, but were later bullied by the soldiers who used their weapons to further intimidate them.
Guatemalan soldiers punk Belize again Amandala Newspaper
This is going to get ugly.
...The incident occurred on Saturday at about 3:15 p.m. while the group of five Belizeans – Punta Gorda Town Councilor, Ashton McKenzie; Michel Santiago Romero, an IT officer at the Toledo Teachers Credit Union; Ray Anthony Martinez, a mathematics teacher from Punta Gorda Town; Rutelio Cal, who works as a teller at Heritage Bank in Mango Creek; and Rafael Cus, a farmer who cultivates corn and beans in the Jalacte area and who was not with the men, but happened to be in the area at the time – were in Santa Cruz, a Guatemalan community adjacent to Jalacte, a village in south-western Belize, very near to the border with Guatemala.
While in a restaurant in that area, however, the group of five was detained and forced to go to San Luis, Peten by Guatemalan military personnel.
Ashton McKenzie, one of the five Belizeans who were arrested by Guatemalan soldiers on apparently trumped-up allegations while visiting Guatemala this past Saturday, June 13, told Amandala what happened, saying that they had been “roughed up,” abused and threatened with death.
Initial reports received by local media suggested that the men had been arrested because they were intoxicated and had been behaving in a disorderly manner, but McKenzie said that the ordeal was apparently orchestrated by the Guatemalan military officials as a means of either extorting, or scaring off the Belizean visitors.
McKenzie explained that he and his colleagues went to Santa Cruz on a casual trip and were not drinking as was initially reported, but were instead having lunch at a restaurant in the village when they were accosted by Guatemalan military personnel who first questioned their nationality, and then ordered them to immediately leave the area.
The Belizeans reportedly complied, but got permission to buy some items at a nearby store when they were approached by a high-ranking off-duty Guatemalan military officer who was apparently under the influence of alcohol.
That officer told the men that they had to accompany him to San Luis, Peten, because they had violated that country’s immigration laws, and that was when everything went downhill for the Belizeans.
While being escorted by the soldiers, McKenzie said, the group was forced to run for approximately four miles with high-powered weapons pointed at their heads.
“We started walking but they told us that we will have to run. And they made us run with weapons pointed at our heads, and they made it clear to us that if we do not comply or run fast enough, they will shoot or kill us, so we basically ran 4 miles feeling very, very nervous,” he explained.
At that time, Martinez complained of heart problems, so they were put to sit in a pasture and offered water, but were later bullied by the soldiers who used their weapons to further intimidate them.
Guatemalan soldiers punk Belize again Amandala Newspaper
This is going to get ugly.
