Belize and Guatemala issue join statement on Chiquibul incident

Published by [email protected] at March 31, 2014

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Posted: Monday, March 31, 2014. 11:39 am CST.

Belize & Guatemala leaders
(Joint Statement issued)

PATRICK E. JONES Reporting: The governments of Belize and Guatemala have issued a joint statement on the death Guatemalan national Tomas Ramirez, 26, inside the Chiquibul Reserve in western Belize.

The incident involved Belize Defence Force soldiers and happened on Saturday afternoon. In the joint statement, the governments of Belize and Guatemala expressed condolences to Ramirez’ family.

Furthermore, the joint statement says that both Prime Minister Dean Barrow and President Otto Fernando Perez Molina “have been in telephone contact on the regrettable incident.”

According to the statement, Prime Minister Barrow “assured the President that his government will investigate the facts relating to the incident, and should it be found that there is culpability by persons involved they will be brought to justice in accordance with the law.”

A commitment was made by Belize to “full transparency in this process and offered to share the reports with the Government of Guatemala.”

Both governments have requested the support of the OAS to assist in the process of investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident that resulted in the death of the Guatemalan farmer.

It is expected that Guatemalan authorities will join their Belizean counterparts in observing the autopsy on the body of Tomas Ramirez.

Here is a reproduction of the Joint Statement by Belize and Guatemala

Joint Statement
(Belize & Guatemala)

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