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Guatemalan minor buried amid calls for de-escalation of tensions

By on April 23, 2016
Funeral for Guatemalan minor

Funeral for Guatemalan minor

San Ignacio, CAYO. Saturday, April 23, 2016. Guatemalan, 12 year old Julio Alvarado, was laid to rest today in San Jose Las Flores, Peten.

Alvarado was shot and killed in an incident in the Chiquibul on Wednesday evening when Guatemalan nationals who were illegally in Belize’s territory, fired upon the a patrol which included Belize Defence Force Soldiers and civilians.

The burial of the minor comes hours after the leaders of Belize and Guatemala agreed to lower tensions which reached fever pitch following the incident and fueled by an incendiary address made by President Jimmy Morales on Thursday.

Jimmy Morales (President of Guatemala)

Jimmy Morales
(President of Guatemala)

Guatemala was the one who ratcheted up the tension by amassing troops at border points between Belize and Guatemala in the west and south.

At a meeting between Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Morales in the sidelines of the signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the two leaders agreed the de-escalate the situation, but it was not immediately clear whether that meant that Guatemala would remove its troops from the border areas.

Prime Minister Barrow has told his Guatemalan counterpart that troops on the border is not conducive to peace.

The government of Belize has taken steps to appraise American, British and other partners of the latest incident and a call has been made for them to impress upon Guatemala the need to de-escalate the tension.

Dean Barrow (Prime Minister of Belize)

Dean Barrow
(Prime Minister of Belize)

Prime Minister Barrow made a point of telling President Morales that while they maintain that the BDF murdered the minor, there should not be a rush to judgment, especially since the BDF was exercising their right to self defence.

Remember it was the Guatemalan who were illegally inside of Belize who fired first on the BDF patrol.

And while the Guatemalan president is calling for justice for the minor who was killed, Prime Minister Barrow did point out to the Guatemalan president that no such justice has been forthcoming for the murder of Special Constable Danny Conorquie or the shooting of Sergeant Richard Lambey, both incidents having been perpetrated by Guatemalans.

As a show of willingness to get to the bottom of Wednesday’s fatal shooting in the Chiquibul, Belize has asked the United States for assistance of forensics experts to help in the reconstruction of the incident.

In the meantime, Prime Minster Barrow says he is confident that there will be a lessening of tensions, even as Guatemala continues its propaganda campaign on social media.

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