Why Were Yhony Rosado’s Tour Guides Suspended from Caves Branch?

Owner and operator of Butts Up Cave Tubing Adventures, Yhony Rosado, is up in arms again at the Belize Tourism Board and National Institute of Culture and History. Without warning, he says, two of his tour guides were suspended in the last two weeks – in fact, one was sent home this morning – for infractions of the rules at Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve in the Cayo District. But Rosado is protesting because he feels the decision was arbitrary and done without proper investigation, especially of the park rangers who he says should have been, and normally are, more vigilant. We spoke to him outside Terminal One at the Fort Street Tourism Village, with a busy line of tourists and fellow operators in the background.

Yhony Rosado

Yhony Rosado, Butts Up Cave Tubing

“One was accused of doing cave tubing, when the caves were closed; I want to explain a little bit about that scenario. When you go cave tubing, there is a park, with park rangers. They have approximately eight park rangers at the site. I have one guy get suspended with four guests. How do you think my guy, Jimmy, was Superman, to trample, overcome eight park rangers, and did cave tubing on a high closed cave, and come out? How do you explain that?”

Reporter

“And then in the other instance?”

Yhony Rosado

“In the other instance they say that my tour guide was having more guests than we’re supposed to; we’re supposed to take eight to one, they counted ten or eleven. Again, where were the park rangers when my guy passed the checkpoint? Are they hiding in a tree or were they checking?”

Reporter

“So the incidents for which it happened took place inside the park?”

Yhony Rosado

“Inside the park. You see, we have a country, and in the country we have laws. And everything we do – from primary school they teach us, when you do something wrong, the principal call you in, explain your wrongdoing and deal with you, and they call in your parents. Right? How does the park rangers and NICH get so much authority, power – where they get so much power to do what they want? Did they copy it from Dean Barrow? Did they copy it from the Parliament? Where did they get so much power, to just suspend a guy without a hearing.”

According to Rosado, he and his guides have consistently tried to follow the law; but the rangers are, he says, trying to crack down on his company for refusing to help them “hustle.”