This morning, the Belize Defense Force received a fancy new ride to add to their fleet of vehicles. It is a donation from the Ministry of Tourism & Diaspora relations, and the new double cab pick-up truck is supposed to go to the soldiers stationed at the BDF's Camp De Silva in the Cayo District. The vehicle is a 2023 Nissan Frontier Pick-Up Truck.
These are the officers who patrol the area around the Mountain Pine Ridge, all the way to the Caracol Archaeological Site. In September 2014, this part of the Cayo district became volatile after Belizean lawman Danny Conorquie was shot and killed while he and other colleagues provided security for the tourism site.
Many years later, it is still unclear who exactly targeted Conorquie, but it was always suspected Guatemalan cross-border bandits carried out the attack. Since that tragedy, a lot of focus has been placed by the different government agencies such as the military, the police, the Forestry Department, and the National Institute of Culture and History to provide safety for visitors of this important archaeological site.
The continued security of that area was the context of today's donation from the Tourism Ministry to the military, and 7News attended the small handing over at the BDF's Price Barracks headquarters. Here's what the donors and the recipients had to say about how this new vehicle will be put to use:
Oscar Mira - Minister of State, National Defense & Border Security
"I always tell General Loria that whenever something happens, or whenever they need someone to help or to assist, the first organization that many would call upon is the Belize Defense Force. So, we are here to ensure that we provide. We're here to ensure that we partner with those stakeholders, not only in the Tourism Industry but in all other industries here in Belize. It's not an easy task, and I know because I was part of those patrols, and I was the operations officer at that time when we had those incidents happening in the Caracol area and in the El Pilar area. It is part of our task, and we will ensure that we provide the manpower; with the assistance of organizations like BTB and the Ministry of Tourism, I am sure that we're going to get the job done."
Anthony Mahler - Minister of Tourism & Diaspora Relations
"Security is a crucial part of creating an environment whereby people feel safe, whether it's Belizeans traveling across the country to experience our natural beauty or the visitors coming in on a daily basis by the thousands."
"You have created a level of safety in the Caracol area, working with the police department and the members of the Forestry Department to ensure that the rich area that we have in the Mountain Pine Ridge area, leading all the way to Caracol on the borders with Guatemala, that those areas are safe. With the new highway being built in that area, I believe that it is going to attract a lot more people. And so, we have to ensure that the area is safe, just like all the other main tourist areas."
"As you all know, there have been so many supply chain issues that vehicles are very difficult to get. And like the ComPol said the other day, every month, they say, 'it's coming next week, next month, next month…' So, just bear with us. We have more equipment to share with the BDF and the police department. We're just waiting on those things to come in."
Oscar Mira - Minister of State, National Defense & Border Security
"I'd like to thank the minister and BTB for this donation. It is truly going to enhance our capabilities of patrolling that area. And I'll tell you from now, they have other areas that need that assistance as well."
Minister Mahler tells us that the vehicle is valued at a little over 60 thousand dollars.
