And we also asked the Minister how the upgrading of the Caracol Road has changed life for the soldiers. He said it's definitely a lot easier to traverse into the deep bush than when he was a soldier. But does it mean that it will also be easier for criminals to get around? Here's what he told us.
Oscar Mira, Minister of National Security and Border Defense
"It takes a shorter time to reach. For example, If we go from Belizario Camp all the way to Rio Blanco. It was a very long truck drive from Belizario to Guacomayo Bridge from Guacomayo bridge, most of the time we had to walk all the way to an area that is known as, gold mine. And then another three years to walk to Rio Blanco. So it was indeed, you know, a long trek to reach that area. It has shortened by a significant amount of time. And we are in the process of, the same review that we are doing now, we are also in the process of reviewing how we can fix the networks of roads that are there so that we can have the soldiers do less walking and more patrolling. That's the idea, that to make sure that there is more time to patrol than actually walking to the conservation posts."
Reporter:
"Do you envision, though, that for the BDF there would be more work because the road has been fixed?"
Oscar Mira, Minister of National Security and Border Defense
"The issues along the border, with Guatemala, which are cattle ranching and all of those incursion are still happening. It doesn't stop it. It takes a big concentrated effort to minimize those incursions. It is on our side. There's no roads on the Guatemalan side, there's a lot of road networks that they can use. So we are working on that. The patrols are out there every single day doing their best to ensuring that as soon as we find an incursion that the OAS is advised that the OAS verifies and we go and we destroy whatever is there. It is an ongoing task that we continue to have for the Chiquibul. It's co-managed with FCD, and they do the conservation part of it, and we do the security and the enforcement part. The road, of course. You know, with development comes problems. And, for us, it's a matter of changing our strategy of how we do work. And that is exactly what I am waiting from the general how is it that we are going to adjust or patrolling, schedule, how is it that we're going to adjust our patrols in that area so that, you know, that the development that happens, that we use it to our advantage."
