Poaching and Illegal Farming by Guatemalans in Toledo District

Oscar Requeña

In the face of incursions into the Columbia Forest Reserve and the village of San Benito Poite by poachers from neighboring Guatemala, concerns have been raised about the ongoing encroachment on Belize’s territory.  Toledo West Area Representative Oscar Requeña speaks on recent activities in those locations, despite his staunch position of not going to the I.C.J. to resolve the matter of the territorial claim.

Oscar Requeña, Area Representative, Toledo West

“As you are aware, we’ve had a lot of problems in the Columbia Forest Reserve.  A couple years ago we had the Alcalde from San Jose who was actually shot, you know, reportedly by xateros.  We’ve also had incidents where we have Guatemalans allegedly coming into the San Benito Poite area and farming that area.  So obviously, I mean, our Belizean people want to know that Belize is for Belizeans and that we are going to ensure and we are going to assert our sovereignty over Belize.”

Reporter

“Isn’t the I.C.J. a way to do that?”

Oscar Requena

“The proponents of going to the I.C.J. will say that that is but certainly from my perspective, I see that there are great risks and I think it is very important that we look at some of the issues happening on the world stage.”