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Police in western Belize suspect that a group of Guatemalan bandits targeted a police patrol outside of Benque Viejo on Saturday. One police officer was shot while three others were confronted by four men dressed in full black and wearing masks near the western border.

Around seven ten on Saturday night, San Ignacio Police received a call that armed bandits were prowling near the Calla Creek Community – which is adjacent to the Belize Guatemala Border near Arenal Village. But San Ignacio Police had vehicle shortages, so they borrowed a private vehicle. When they got into the area, they observed two masked Hispanic men in full black. The police identified themselves but it didn’t make a difference; two more men then came from out of the bushes pointing pistols at the officers seated in the front of the vehicle The other two were also pointing at the pickup. Police Press Officer Clemente Palacio told us what happened next.

Clemente Palacio, Police Press Officer
“The police identified themselves and during that process of exchange between police and the men, two other men were seen at the rear of the pickup vehicle that they were in. At that point shots were fired and subsequently a police officer was hit. He was transported to the San Ignacio Hospital and was later transferred to the KHMH where he is in stable condition and receiving treatment.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
“Do the police know who they are looking for?”

Clemente Palacio,
“No they don’t. Of course the police are conducting an intensive investigation into this matter and there is a manhunt for those persons that are responsible.”

Police are with-holding the name of the officer who was hit in the shoulder and presently hospitalized at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. So far, no one has been detained, and as is customary, police are liaising with their Guatemalan counterparts.