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FCD Says “Yes” Vote Emboldening Incursions By Guats
posted (May 9, 2018)
Last month, we took you to Guatemala City to show you how the majority of the 26% of the Guatemalan Electorate who did show up voted "yes" to the ICJ. Well, the Friends for Conservation and Development are reporting tonight that this "yes" vote is creating worrisome incursions in the Chiquibul.

The FCD says that a group of their rangers were on patrol yesterday in the Southern Chiquibul, when they discovered a "complex array of human activities". They found that this area, which is better known as South Cebada, had fresh survey lines, and plantations of beans, corn, and bananas. These clearings, which were done by Guatemalan farmers, went as far as 2.7 kilometers in the Chiquibul, which is Belizean territory. The have reason to suspect that these farmers are from San Marcos and Las Brisa de Chiquibul. Aerial recon missions indicate that the recent human activity is escalating.

The FCD says that they've been reliably informed that with the "Yes" vote in the National Referendum of April 15, several rogue leaders in Guatemala have been arriving at local communities near the western border. They've been misleading villagers into thinking Guatemala has now recovered Belize, and a list was being developed for who could occupy the lands. These rogue leaders have reportedly been asking for money from the poor Guatemalan farmers in order to facilitate their entry unto this "list". The FCD interpret these recent survey lines and agricultural clearings as validation of their reports.

The FCD is recommending a bolstering of patrols in the area, and the involvement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the OAS to assess the human activities. They are reporting it to the pertinent agencies in both Belize and Guatemala.

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