AO - Guats send Belize diplomatic note on Jalacte

From my archive of press clippings:

Amandala Online

Guats send Belize diplomatic note on Jalacte

Posted: 10/02/2009 - 01:08 PM


Author: Adele Ramos

How long will a bodega (warehouse), illegally erected on Belizean soil back in December 2008 by Guatemalan businessman Leonel Arellanos, continue to stand? Prime Minister Dean Barrow said several weeks ago that the structure simply has to go – but will it ever be removed?

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Amandala confirmed today that the bodega is still perched, intact, atop a hill at Jalacte, Toledo, guarded dutifully by armed Belizean Defence Force soldiers. Arellanos and his allies in his home village, Santa Cruz, Guatemala, have allegedly issued threats of violence against both Belize and Guatemala security forces, and so the matter remains highly sensitive, Belize Foreign Affairs officials say."

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"BDF Commander Dario Tapia told Amandala this morning that the bodega is still under BDF guard, and that Arellanos has not had access to the area.

Apart from the incursion at Jalacte, there continue to be repeated incursions by illegal farmers and xateros on Belizean soil – hard to contain, Tapia told us, because the army cannot patrol the border 24/7."

AO - Guats pouring into Belize - 33 caught, deported!

Amandala Online



Guats pouring into Belize – 33 caught, deported!


Posted: 13/01/2009 - 12:59 PM

Author: Adele Ramos


The dangerously porous nature of the Belize-Guatemala border along with the continued infiltration of Guatemalans into Belizean territory continues to be a matter of major national concern, particularly at Jalacte, Toledo, which has come to be known as an informal “port-of-entry” for Guatemalans coming into Belize—some of them for work, but others feared to be coming for not-so-legitimate purposes.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Official sources tell our newspaper that an “intelligence driven” operation in the South last week resulted in a major bust of 33 illegal aliens—mostly Guatemalans—as they were being bused into Belizean territory, without proper documentation. Multiple sources tell us that the Guatemalans were not charged, but deported back to their country."

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"Amandala was able to confirm with police sources that 33 illegal immigrants, who we are told came through Jalacte, Toledo, were processed in Independence last week. There were two Salvadorans who were charged for illegal entry, but the remaining people, all Guatemalans, were deported after being given an OTL – Order to Leave."