Now, while all this was happening - it was within visual distance of a Coast Guard operating base - except they didn't have anything to operate with! They only boat they have had been sent on another mission into town - so they couldn't be of help to the fisheries officers who were being threatened by outlaws. Why? We asked them today:
Senior Chief Mark Sambula, Operations Chief, Belize Coast Guard
"These fisheries officers were in the water conducting their dive and they were robbed by these two male individuals in a small vessel."
Reporter
"Coast guard personnel at a nearby station saw what happened. Is that the case?"
Senior Chief Mark Sambula
"What happened is that the Coast Guard has a vessel at that location. But, at that time, the vessel was not at the station. Yes they could see what happened at sea, but they cannot respond because the incident in the waters."
"It's very unfortunate, the criminals monitor the coast guard."
Reporter
'How often do you have to deter these men?"
Senior Chief Mark Sambula
"We have several encounters with these individual, but the moment they see us, because the close proximity from Belize to Mexico the go across. That is not our jurisdiction, we cannot go across."
"We have to be more careful in our approach in way of doing things. So the coast guard and the fisheries officers are having a meet to see how best to go forward in conducting our operations."
The Coast guard claims they responded within minutes, other reports say it took them hours and fisheries eventually had to send their own vessels before the Coast Guard appeared.
The bandits stole everything from the fisheries boat including, guns, cameras, computer devices, GPS devices, uniforms, cell phones and a whole lot more.
