Police have reported that at about 4:00 p.m. on Monday, June 3, a Guatemalan intruder was shot by BDF soldiers on patrol in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve after he began firing at them.
Edgar Alexander Sacasa, 27, of Picalito Village, Guatemala, is recovering from gunshot wounds to his abdomen at the Belmopan Hospital, under police custody, after he was shot during a crossfire between himself and a BDF patrol at a plantation in the Caballo Camp in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve.
The soldiers told police that they ordered Sacasa, who was approaching them, to stop, but instead, he began firing at them. The soldiers took cover and returned fire, shooting Sacasa. They then took him to the San Ignacio Hospital, but due to the rains and the difficult terrain, they arrived at the San Ignacio Hospital at about 11:00 a.m. yesterday, Tuesday. Sacasa has since been receiving medical treatment under police guard.
The patrol told police that while carrying out operations in Chiquibul, they discovered a plantation and a thatched house in the Caballo camp area.
While they were securing the area, they saw a Hispanic man approaching them with a firearm, on a brown horse. They ordered him to stop, but the man ran into the nearby bushes instead. The patrol said that they fired a number of warning shots, and that was when the man fired several shots at them.
According to the patrol, they then returned fire, hitting Sacasa in the stomach. Police have said that Sacasa may face a number of charges, including attempted murder.
The apprehension of Sacasa in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve has occurred less than a month after one of two men was captured in the reserve with a firearm. Salome Ramirez, 45, a Guatemalan farmer of Dolores, Petén, has been given two 5-year jail sentences, which he is now serving at the Belize Central Prison.
According to what was reported to police by the BDF patrol which captured him, on Sunday, May 19, they spotted two Hispanic men while they were patrolling in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve. They said they ordered the men to stop, but instead, the men ran into the bushes.
The patrol searched the area and found Ramirez, who was carrying a shotgun on his shoulders. When the patrol searched him, they found ammunition for the shotgun in his pocket. His companion had escaped.
Ramirez was immediately arrested and taken to the San Ignacio Police Station, where he was charged with illegal entry into Belize, and keeping unlicensed firearm and ammunitions.
On Tuesday, May 21, he was taken to the San Ignacio Magistrate’s Court, where he pleaded guilty to both charges and was given a 5-year jail sentence for each charge, giving him a total of 10 years at the Belize Central Prison.