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Well, yesterday Minister of Defense, Hon. John Saldivar, flew down to Dolores on BDF Helicopter to meet with several Maya and village leaders about their concerns and where they need assistance. Maya Leaders Alliance representative, Cristina Coc, presented a list of recommendations to Saldivar. Here's Coc speaking about some of those recommendations as well as Saldivar's thoughts on the meeting...

Hon. John Saldivar - Minister of Defense
"Well we had a very good discussion with the residents yesterday. It lasted almost 4 hours, I believe and they gave us their firsthand account of their experiences with the people from Guatemala, the civilians from Guatemala coming across. So, we certainly have a much better idea, much better grasp of what is happening on the ground there. The confrontation, the one and one interaction that has been happening. The kind of fear that they are living under, the kind of threats that are being levied at them by the Guatemalans, and so the BDF is there to preserve and protect, to preserve the safety of our citizens but also to protect the integrity of our borders. And so there are two prong approach that the BDF will take in terms of protecting the border, but also in terms of trying to protect the safety, provide for the safety of our residents in that area. So we've planned to go further next month, we're going to have more dialogue to see how together community and BDF, police can work to make the area more secure."

Christina Coc, spokesperson - Maya Leaders Alliance
"The Government of Belize should investigate in document current incursions from Dolores to San Vicente. The government should stop Guatemalan incursions in these villages. And the villagers are ready to open the border with the protection of the BDF to stop these incursions immediately."

"Under the theme of reporting, monitoring and policing the border we offer the following. That the government establishes a joint mechanism for information sharing. That there's increased and sustained patrols from Dolores to San Vicente and not only when there is a conflict throughout. That there is a collaboration with the effected villages to ensure optimal investigation. That the government institute measures to protect the identity of the information source, particularly the community leaders."

"The government of Belize must ensure the security of leaders in deterring incursions. We continue to emphasis this point because this is a point that kept coming up in the discussions. The communities are often targeted, the leaders in particular. The government of Belize should recognize and promote Maya customary practice on its long standing record of governing and managing the jurisdictions that they find themselves in. The BDF and Belize to engage with the village leaders."

Today, the Maya Leaders Alliance sent out a press release giving its account of the event.

The villages of San Vicente, Jalacte, San Benito Poite, Otoxha and Dolores - which are all located near the southern border with Guatemala - were represented by their Alcaldes and Village Councils. The government delegation was led by the Honourable John Saldivar, who was accompanied by CEO Felix Enriquez, Ambassador Alexis Rosado, the Deputy Commander of the Belize Defence Force, Colonel A. Loria, Major Justo Veliz and Colonel Lawrence Lorenzo.

At this meeting the Maya leaders described the hardship that the unfounded claim has caused to the daily lives of the villagers, their safety and security. In addition, the leaders described what they call "bold land grabbing; the exploitation of natural resources and a lack of respect for the Adjacency Zone.:

They have submitted a list of recommendations aimed at normalizing land use in their communities.