As viewers are aware, Petillo has been encouraging Belizeans to clear over one thousand acres at mile 44 to begin the process of squatting for Title by Prescription. It's the BGYEA model from Mile 41's Harmonyville. That's where Petillo and others brought public pressure by squatting on that once-vacant piece of land, demonstrating the very real need from poor, first-time landowners.

Well, Glen Ysaguirre and his son are determined to ensure that the over 1,000-acre parcel at mile 44, which is owned by their company, the Belmopan Land Development Corporation Limited, doesn't get taken away in the same manner.

Yesterday, the company sent out a press release referring to quote, "misconceptions that arose due to false narratives and illegal actions regarding its privately-held property…near Mile 44 on the George Price Highway." End quote.

The company then asserts that it is Belizean-owned and managed and that it is a private legal entity, duly formed and incorporated in Belize on January 11th, 1995. 7News has obtained the documents of incorporation and they show 16 initial owners, 13 of them resident in Taiwan, and three of them in Belize, led by the well known Taiwanese businessman Fred Shyu.

They owned the company until October of 2019, when these shareholders surrendered their shares back to the company. They were taken up by Glen and Jaraad Ysaguirre, and a company registered at what seems to be Ysaguirre's Coney Drive address, Garde Financial Management Limited.

They bought the company - and acquired the property it owns - at just the right time, because in December of 2018, it received a massive compensation award in the Supreme Court. Justice Michelle Arana ruled that Belmopan Land Development Corporation Limited was entitled to a 20 million dollar award for one thousand acres which the government had acquired in 2003. Government has appealed that award - and the court's decision is pending.

But even if the award is reduced substantially, it's still huge - and attests to the value of the property. And that's why the company is doubling down on its titled ownership which goes back to 1995.

Their press release scolds Petillo directly saying, quote, "Any attempts to take BLDCL's property exposes those who so do to both civil and criminal liability. Trespassing and/or squatting on private property are not legitimate grassroots activism; they are tantamount to stealing. No Belizean owner of any type of property, whether it is land, a house, or anything of value should be subjected to this type of strong-arm tactic to dispossess them of their lawful belongings. This type of behavior is a clear violation of a Belizean's constitutional right to safely own property."

In a counter-attack, Nigel Petillo has publicly criticized Glen Ysaguirre and his son, as quote, "so-called all of a sudden owners of that land."