Belizean Prisoners Arana, Tzub, Sanchez and Herrera

On Thursday morning, three members of the Belize Defense Force and a Belizean police officer were detained by Guatemalan authorities. Although their patrol was located several hundred yards inside Belizean territory the twenty-five man Guatemalan Military Force insisted that the Belizeans were in fact in Guatemala and forced them to march across the border to the Guatemalan Army headquarters. At this time the four men, Second Lieutenant Romaldo Herrera, Lance Corporal Lucio Arana, Private Luciano Tzub and Police Constable Macedonio Sanchez, have been turned over to civilian authorities presumably to face charges of possession of prohibited firearms. While the Belize Government makes diplomatic efforts on both sides of the border to secure their release, News Five sent reporters Janelle Chanona, Stewart Krohn and cameraman Rick Romero, to the Peten to find out how the captives are faring. Authorities permitted us to speak with all four prisoners, however only Police Constable Sanchez spoke on camera, as the BDF soldiers felt bound by military protocol not to speak on camera without the permission of their commanding officer. The narrative provided by PC Sanchez however was endorsed by all three members of the BDF.

Police Constable Macedonio Sanchez

Police Constable Macedonio Sanchez
"Well on Thursday morning about...I would say we left the…O.P. at Treetops about 8:00, 8:30 and we were on routine patrol to…we visited Jalacte and we were going to San Vicente. While we were at Mr. Chinte's house, we had recently arrived at this man's house, just about two minutes and we were sitting, speaking to him, when the lieutenant, Second Lieutenant Herrera saw some Guatemalan soldiers coming up the hill, 'cause we were on a hill. And, well we didn't think about anything. I held my position, we all held our positions and they came and they spoke to us in a friendly manner, and they began measuring the exact location that we were, and they told us from there, that we were in Guatemala and on our map we were about let's say 150 meters or more in Belize, because that's the usual route that we patrol. I've been patrolling that area for some time now, because most of the time, police patrol along with BDF in that area. And we always visit that man, he is more or less like a person that we do check-ups with."

Janelle Chanona, Reporting
"Is he Belizean or Guatemalan?"

PC Sanchez
"His wife is Belizean, he's a Guatemalan. His wife is Belizean, they are living in Punta Gorda. And his kids are going to the high school in Punta Gorda."

Janelle Chanona
"So they came up to you, and what did they say?"

PC Sanchez
"Well after the dispute, they told us that they would have to detain us, and take us back to their base and well it was about twenty-five of them to four of us, so we could not really have a physical contact with them."

Janelle Chanona
"Did they point their guns at you and tell you?"

PC Sanchez
"They did not point the guns, but as far as I could have seen, they had their guns made ready already."

Janelle Chanona
"So you all never drew weapons, never?"

PC Sanchez
"We did not draw weapons."

Stewart Krohn, Reporting
"Did they confiscate your weapons?"

PC Sanchez
"Yeah, they confiscated our weapons, while we were on our way to their base. As far as I am concerned, we were still in Belize when they took away our weapons. They just told us, prior to the contact with their commander, they told us that we were going to…they were going to be bringing some surveyors and justice of the peace and we would go to the point of contact and check the location on the map and see whether we were in Belize, but that did not happen. They handed us over to the police and we were taken to San Luis."

Stewart Krohn
"So you were under the impression that you were going to visit some senior officers on the Guatemalan side…"

PC Sanchez
"Yeah."

Stewart Krohn
"...come back, do a survey of the border and done?"

PC Sanchez
"Yeah, because prior to this incident, we had an incident similarly, but they were on Belize soil and that was merely what happened."

Janelle Chanona
"In that same area?"

PC Sanchez
"In that same area, more towards San Vicente."

Janelle Chanona
"Soldiers as well?"

PC Sanchez
"Soldiers as well. "

Stewart Krohn
"But in that case, you just escorted them back to the border?"

PC Sanchez
"Yeah, We escorted them back to the border and they were back on their normal patrol."

News 5's Stewart Krohn

Stewart Krohn
"What happened next then?"

PC Sanchez
"In San Luis, they asked us if we wanted to make a declaration, after spending about...let's say two to three hours in their detention cell. Well, the next morning about seven o'clock, they gathered us and we went over to Poptun, where we were detained again and the evening about two, three o'clock, some were around that time, they asked us again. They took us in front of a judge, they gave us a lawyer, a public lawyer and they asked us if we wanted to make a declaration again, which we all refused."

Janelle Chanona
"Now did they finger print you, arrest you, anything like that?"

PC Sanchez
"They did not give us any form of documents saying that we were arrested or that we were charged for certain crimes that they alleged that we committed."

Janelle Chanona
"Nothing, no documents?"

PC Sanchez
"No Documents."

Janelle Chanona
"On Saturday evening around seven-thirty, the four Belizeans were brought here to "Centro Detencion" in Santa Elena, Peten, to await trial for possession of prohibited firearms. Once it was ascertained where the men were being held, Prime Minister Said Musa dispatched Ambassador Eamon Courtenay to look after to prisoners' welfare and to protest their kidnapping by the Guatemalan military."

Stewart Krohn
"Ambassador Courtenay met with the four men and was told they are being treated well. He also brought them a number of personal items and vowed to stay as long as he had to, to assist in their release and keep the Prime Minister informed."

Ambassador Eamon Courtenay
"Well, we're here primarily to find out what the condition of the prisoners are, they're being held illegally as far as the Government of Belize is concerned, and I had an opportunity this morning when we got here to speak with them at length about what has happened and what their current conditions are. I will report this back to the Prime Minister and let him know what the position is on the ground."

Janelle Chanona
"How's this being looked, the bigger picture, what is that looking like right now?"

Ambassador Courtenay
"Well, we continue our diplomatic efforts directly with the government of Guatemala to resolve this situation as quickly as we can. As well, as you know, the Prime Minister mentioned yesterday that we have been in contact with friendly countries asking them to bring to bear whatever influence they have with the Government of Guatemala to see if we can have this matter resolved as quickly as we can so that our Belizeans could be back on Belizean soil."

Janelle Chanona
"Now do you think that this is a little misunderstanding that got out of control or do you think this was something that was planned and executed?"

Ambassador Courtenay
"Well, based on the information we have and again speaking to our officers this morning it is very clear that the officers were in Belize territory when they came across twenty-five Guatemalan soldiers. Lieutenant Herrera says that since he was only a party of four faced with a party of twenty-five, he obviously had to manage the situation very delicately. They were obviously tricked into coming over into Guatemala under the supposed attempt to clarify where they were. Once they got over into Guatemala the thing took on a different complexion and they were brought here to Santa Elena. We believe that diplomatic efforts will resolve this matter very shortly. I think that I should say that the officers seem to be in fairly good condition having regard to all the circumstances. Their immediate needs are being met in terms of food and where they're staying. They're staying alone by themselves in terms of sleeping. So they personally, of course they wish to be home, but personally they're not being maltreated or anything like that and it is important for us at home to realize that they are getting civil treatment here in Santa Elena but we still need to get them home as quickly as we can."

News 5's Janelle Chanona

Janelle Chanona
"All right. With the backdrop of the whole Belize-Guatemala tension in mind what is the next step diplomatically being undertaken by the Government right now?"

Ambassador Courtenay
"Well what I would say is first of all I need to report to the Prime Minister based on what I was told by the officers this morning, I need to explain to him what their recent reports are and then once we have that information, I think the Prime Minister will contact those members of the Diplomatic Corps who are working with, as we say, friendly governments. I would expect that in the not too distant future direct representations will be have to made with the President of Guatemala seeking to have him intervene so that we could have this matter resolved diplomatically."

Janelle Chanona
"Okay. Given the Guatemalan Government or the military intention to charge these men, is it being considered at all an option to give these men legal representation while they're being held here?"

Ambassador Courtenay
"Absolutely not, we will take care of their interests, we will not participate in any show trial that may be conducted by the Guatemalan authorities. The Belizean officers were in Belize, they were tricked into coming over here and we are going to try our very best to get them out of here using diplomatic means."

Janelle Chanona
"Now these men were kidnapped by the Guatemalan military in the earlier part of Thursday, Belize was informed of their position by 12:00 midday. Why is it only now that they're being contacted by the Belizean Government?"

Ambassador Courtenay
"Very good question, and the reason primarily is that we…they were…there was quite a bit of movement and you spoke to them this morning and they were moving them from place to place. We needed to find out first of all where exactly they would be taken, where they would be kept. In fact as you know they're here in Santa Elena but the jurisdiction in which this thing occurred was in Poptun, so if anything further is to happen, we understand that they'll be moved to Poptun and probably back here to Santa Elena. So we had to establish first of all exactly where they were going to be for a point of reference for me to come. Immediately as we knew that they were going to be kept here in Santa Elena for some period of time, Prime Minister got in contact with me and asked me to come over. So the only reason that there appears to some delay in my coming here was to find out where exactly they were going to be kept."

Janelle Chanona
"Okay. Now this is part of the job given everything else being a BDF, being a police officer does mean this would, might be, a possibility. What are you telling the families of these men right now?"

Ambassador Courtenay
"I think first of all that they should understand that their loved ones are in good condition, they appear to be very professional, they have not been maltreated, they are being fed, they said the type of food they're being given is not bad, their basic hygiene is being taken care of. Of course the only thing is that they are just sitting waiting. They do have…they say they were playing volleyball yesterday, so we are going to try and even make it even better for them as best as we could here in Santa Elena, but basically we are working very hard to try and get them out and back into Belize as quickly as we can."

PC Sanchez
"I'm feeling okay, everything is okay, and I guess it is just a matter of time before everything clears up and then we go back home."

Janelle Chanona
"Are you confident that things will clear up?"

PC Sanchez
"Well, on my behalf I'm sure if we just go back to the exact location where they first met, made contact with us I'm sure that everything will be resolved."

Janelle Chanona
"Now I know that you guys had a GPS with you all."

PC Sanchez
"We had two GPS."

Janelle Chanona
"Two, okay, did you all at any point give the military those coordinates?"

PC Sanchez
"Yes, we gave them the coordinates and we showed them the point where we were on our map, but according to their map, which has a kilometer more into Belize than our map, they said that we were a kilometer and a half, that was when we made contact. And on the news and the newspaper that we bought and read they have four kilometers, that we were four kilometers into Guatemalan territory."

Ambassador Eamon Courtenay

Stewart Krohn
"Speaking of newspapers, the Guatemalan press in reporting on this incident has continually said that the BDF and police patrols similar to yours constantly go across the border and harass Guatemalan campesinos. In your experience does anything like that go on?"

PC Sanchez
"I've never experience anything like that."

Stewart Krohn
"How would you characterized then the kind of general life between Belize military and police and Guatemalans civilians along that border area?"

PC Sanchez
"We always try to get along with civilians as much as possible."

Janelle Chanona
"As much as possible meaning that they always come over to the Belize side?"

PC Sanchez
"They always come over, as a matter a fact during the dry season the people from Santa Cruz go as far as about two to three kilometers into Belize where there is a river to wash their clothes."

Stewart Krohn
"In his final words of the interview PC Sanchez spoke for all of his comrades. "

PC Sanchez
"I would just like to let them know that I'm okay, everything is okay and like I said it is just a matter of time before I go back home."

Stewart Krohn
And those words were echoed by Prime Minster Said Musa in his press conference on Saturday.

Prime Minister Said Musa

Prime Minister Said Musa
"Our borders are identifiable, recognized and internationally respected. The security and future prosperity of Belize demands that we should be free from any external threat to our sovereignty, independence, territory and national well being.

I rely on the discretion and goodwill of the Guatemalan government and the support of the international community to resolve this matter peacefully through diplomatic means, so that Lieutenant Herrera, Lance Corporal Arana, Private Tzub and Constable Sanchez can return home as soon as possible."

At this moment even though all diplomatic efforts are being made to free the four men it is still not clear exactly what their legal status is. They're are being asked by Guatemalan authorities to sign a release acknowledging the authority of civil law. However as military and police personnel who did nothing wrong they're not, unless ordered by their superiors, about to submit to Guatemalan civilian authority.

News Five's team remains in Guatemala and we invite viewers to follow our follow nightly newscasts for updates as this international drama unfolds. Until then our thoughts and prayers are with Lance Corporal Arana, Private Tzub, Second Lieutenant Herrera and PC Sanchez.

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