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Lawrence Bolon, President - DAVCO Toledo
"The village leaders and people of Jalacte are very much concern about their safety and security in their village. Frequent and systematic incursions into Jalacte lands have been the status quo along the border with Guatemala and continues to happen. Too often their encounters with illegal settlement of Palo Grande and most recently on September 23rd, 2018, the village leaders were threaten and are now fearing for their lives. Jalacte leaders have made the effort to submit their report voicing their concerns to the minister of national security during his visit in Dolores. Up to date there is no solution to deal with the issue at hand. They are now once again calling the government of Belize to put a mechanism in place that ensures the effective and efficient response to call for support by village leaders when dealing with border issues. They are also calling on the Ministry of National Security to establish a mechanism for continuous engagement with communities experiencing a high density of border disruptions to listen to the concerns of villagers and work to address incidences. The leaders also identifies the need to rectify the status of person living in Guatemala, claiming to hold Belizean documents, claiming to be residents of Belize and using that status to grab lands and exploit resources. There is no way us as Belizeans can be restricted to freedom of movement in our country by Guatemalans and in addition to that, disrespecting our village leaders. This is a huge concern and something needs to be done about it and for the record, before any loss of life."

In June, Naitonal Security Minister John Saldivar flew down to Dolores on BDF Helicopter to meet with several Maya and village leaders about their security concerns and where they need assistance.

Cabinet had expressed support for providing the border villages in Southern Belize with additional BDF protection.