Hot wax and a sharp blade - sounds like the ingredients for an extreme makeover but those were the tools used to intimidate and harass Benque Viejo Mayor Said 'badi' Guerra on Monday night.
Today in Benque, Guerra told Alfonso Noble about the bizarre assault and what may have motivated it.
Said 'Badi' Guerra, Benque Viejo Mayor/Assault Victim
"I was walking out of my house and was passing in front of where the Cubans used to live which is a dark area, a dark spot with some trees and other things planted there. So I was walking down to go my niece's house and all of a sudden this fellow runs out from the bushes and came out with a knife and immediately grabbed me by the neck and he put the knife by me and say do not make any noise. So he just pulled me to where the area was and the only words he said were in Spanish meaning 'leave things as how they are and stop messing things up and this is just a warning.' And upon saying that he had me by the neck and made me kneel down and then he had a candle which he dripped the wax on my face, my neck, and on my arms."
That was Said 'Badi' Guerra's experience on Monday night as he left his home and he believes it's all because of this park that is being built in the town.
Said 'Badi' Guerra,
"I strongly believe that it has to do with the land dispute that we are having here in Benque. A park reserve that we had, we heard rumors that it was ratified but it was just rumors. I called Lands Department and I was told that everything was in place and nothing was wrong with it. So we moved on with the help of the people. I called a meeting with the neighbors and they were assisting - up to this point they are still assisting. All of a sudden then this guy shows up in the morning with his documents of ownership and so we were questioning him as to how he got it and he said he got in a period of approximately two weeks. He showed it to us and said it belonged to him and he was going to fight for it."
And now the people of the area are upset since work to put in benches, swings, slides as well as a basketball court are already underway only to be held up now by the claim. Guerra says that his priority now is to keep the people calm.
Said 'Badi' Guerra,
"All this time what I was trying to do was to keep the people calm because they were very upset. They even said that if the police were to come, they were not afraid to standup. But it reached the point that I could not do anything else because the people wanted their park and since I got no response from Mr. Briceno, I called the prime minister's office. He was in a meeting but then on the following Monday the prime minister called me and told that I could continue with it and just to tell the people that if they had any questions or any problems to go to Minister Briceno because they were going to handle the situation there."
And now Guerra says he will continue with the park construction because he maintains that the land is community property.
Said 'Badi' Guerra,
"It's our property because that is what our files say. Everything says Benque Viejo Town Council and now he has a title for it. We were never informed that piece of land was being given away. I do need from the Prime Minister or Minister Briceno a letter, I want it in black and white because word of mouth just won't work out."
And even so the construction on the park will continue because Guerra says he is undaunted by the intimidation.
Said 'Badi' Guerra,
"We want to continue, the people want to continue and I am supporting them. I am backing them up and they are backing me up. It is not for me you know, it is for them."
After the report was made on Sunday night, police detained one person but released him since then no arrests have been made. Unofficially, we are told that the Benque formation is treating the complaint with some skepticism because police say the story doesn't quite add up. We note that this is the second time Guerra has been assaulted.