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Tonight a Belize Defense Soldier lies seriously wounded in the KHMH after he was chopped by Guatemalan Xateros on Saturday afternoon. Private Marvin Teul was attacked 250 meters inside Belizean territory, south of Caracol, near the Rio Blanco BDF outpost. The BDF says that sometime after 4 pm, Private Teul along with Private Dennis Cal left the outpost, reportedly to go cut some bananas. Private Teul was unarmed and for a brief few moments when he was alone, two Xateros pounced on him. They attacked him from behind, chopping him with a machete on his neck and back. He was seriously - not critically wounded and was flown by BATSUB chopper to the KHMH. He is now in the hospital recovering. The BDF’s Commander Brigadier General Dario Tapia says it was a breach of Belize’s sovereignty by the xateros and a breach of BDF procedure by the soldiers.

Brig. Gen. Dario Tapia, BDF Commander
“They left for some reason to go off, from my understanding, to go and chop either plantain or banana, one of those two. And subsequently they were attacked, from what I understand, by two individuals who at the moment we don’t know who they were but certainly this incident about 250 meters from the border so we probably could safely assume it was Guatemalans.”

Keith Swift,
What is Private Teul’s condition right now?

Brig. Gen. Dario Tapia,
“Well Teul is stable. He is recovering well from what my medical people tell me. He should be released to our medical center for further treatment to make sure he has a full recovery tomorrow.”

Keith Swift,
Do you know what sparked the attack?

Brig. Gen. Dario Tapia,
“Well no because they were attacked from behind. Of course the threat out there is a real threat that they face, they know that these Guatemalan xateros, whenever we destroy their crops, they have anger so our patrols know that so they have to ensure that there is always operational security and it seems for some reason this time around the operational security out there failed.”

Keith Swift,
And whose fault is that?

Brig. Gen. Dario Tapia,
“Well we have to investigate it. We have not investigated the situation yet. We only have the basic information. Whenever we get the patrol, they will be interviewed or subjected to an investigation, the entire patrol, to find out exactly what transpired. My understanding is that the one who got attacked was unarmed. The other individual that was armed was nearby but not close by to him.”

Keith Swift,
So Private Teul was by himself?

Brig. Gen. Dario Tapia,
“Basically some feet away from the other soldier.”

Keith Swift,
And Teul was not armed?

Brig. Gen. Dario Tapia,
“My understanding is he was not armed.”

Keith Swift,
Was that a slip up?

Brig. Gen. Dario Tapia,
“That’s what I am saying, we have to find out, investigate what transpired there. Obviously it would appear there was an operational security breach out there.”

Keith Swift,
Is this embarrassing in any way to the army to have a xatero armed with a machete attack a uniformed soldier?

Brig. Gen. Dario Tapia,
“Well I wouldn’t say embarrassing. I would say that the individuals took a major risk and now they find themselves with the consequences. They know that the situation and the threat there is real and when you let down your guard, these are the consequences that you face.”

Again according to General Tapia, an investigation has been launched. Private Teul was assigned to the outpost for two weeks and was due to return today. The other soldiers in his platoon left the area today and are heading back. Once they get here, they will be interviewed as part of the army’s internal investigation. Externally, Tapia says the BDF has contacted its counterparts in Guatemala. He also expects the Organization of American States to conduct its own investigation.