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Today’s police report carried what on the surface seemed to be an unremarkable story: Benigino GARCIA 28yrs, Guatemalan of El Paraizo Peten found in the Cohune Ridge area of Mountain Pine Ridge with an unlicensed .22 rifle with 6 live rounds; charged for kept unlicensed firearm and ammunition. Like we said, un-remarkable – as are most such stories - that is until you know the background – and that Beningno Garcia represents just a very small sample of a much larger problem that’s bedevilling park rangers, police and park rangers who protect Belize’s vast western border with Guatemala.

Benigno Garcia was found at the western edge of Belize within the Caracol Archaeological reserve; he had been hunting, and he carried weapons. He was intercepted by BDF Patrol and a Ranger team Friends of Conservation and Development. They were in the far reaches of Belizean territory, 600 meters from the Guatemalan border in what is called the adjacency zone and 7news was embedded with them.

Our team of Jules Vasquez and Paul Munnings survived the three and a half hour jungle hike to the remote area in the Chquibul forest to see an illegal milpa cultivation and we were there when Garcia was caught. It is the first time any cameras, any media has been in this area – a hotbed of illegal border activity. Here’s what happened.

Jules Vasquez Reporting,
“He has a machete; he has a weapon” those were the words of the BDF as they chased down Benigno Garcia and captured him here – 600 metres from the Guatemalan border in the Caracol Archaeological Park. The BDF caught him but the police on the patrol had the power of arrest.

Garcia was searched – while the park ranger for Friends of Conservation and Development unloaded his 22 rifle which carried 6 live rounds. Garcia’s dogs looked around confused – while the BDF brought his makeshift knapsack into the open area where they questioned Garcia.

Q: “What is he doing in Belize?”
A: “I am just taking a walk around.”
Q: “And then they ask him – does he know if he is in Belize”
A “The truth is I don’t know – I just came and I do not know these areas”

But what he knows to do is hunt gibnut as was amply demonstrated when he opened his sack. A pair of gibnuts but he didn’t use the gun on them, he smoked them out of a tree bark and used the machete and bundled them for good measure with a few xate leaves.

Still it’s crime, hunting in an archaeological park, and hunting in another country, and possessing an unlicensed firearm and ammunition which meant the patrol had to hike him back to D’ Silva Camp 8 kilometres away and they had to move double time because they heard him talking to someone before he was captured which means that the person who was with him could have dashed the half a kilometre across to safety the nearby Guatemalan community and alerted the villagers – who are hostile to Belize authorities who could have mounted an assault on the patrol.

A very real possibility; it’s happened before, but fortunately, today they did not, or could not because we moved so fast and three hours later – after a 6 kilometre hike Garcia was on the Carcaol Road - ready for the three hour ride to San Ignacio Police.

Lt. Justo Velez, Officer Commanding
“This is normal, the Guatemalans always coming into Belize to do either xate cutting, hunting, farming, and all these illegal things that they always do. For us whenever we go to the border, whenever we encounter somebody well, we just detain them as per procedures."

Of course, this is just one of the many violations by Guatemala within the Caracol Reserve and the vast Chiquibul Forest – tomorrow – we’ll report from places cameras have never been deep inside Chiquibul.

Tune in tomorrow for more from within the Chiquibul Forest and the decimated Caracol Archaeological Park. As for Benigno Garcia he appeared today in the San Ignacio Magistrate’s court – where he was read one count each of possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition. He was remanded until March 16th of 2010.