This afternoon at around three a team of police investigators, OAS representatives and a Guatemalan diplomat returned, by Helicopter from the remote Ceibo Chico area of the Chiquibul Forest.
They went there yesterday evening to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of a Guatemalan campesino. He was killed yesterday afternoon at 12:41 by a BDF soldier. It happened 7 miles within Belizean territory.
His name has not been released - but his body was also brought to Cayo this afternoon for a post mortem.
Not much is known about the incident - as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is taking the lead on all public statements. In the initial report, the BDF soldier says that he fired multiple warning shots but the Guatemalan kept running at him with his head down. The soldier reports that he stepped back, and fell backwards on the rugged terrain. He says when he looked up the man was still coming at him - so he fired the fatal shot which hit the Guatemalan in the chest and neck area.
According to preliminary reports, the Guatemalan may have been in the area panning for gold. As we have reported there's a sort of gold rush happening in that area where a Belizean Company is mining for gold. But now it has attracted Guatemalan gold panners who are spread out in numbers all along the Ceibo Chico creek.
