There are major national security concerns coming out of Toledo again, after a Maya leader and a villager on an expedition were seriously wounded by persons they believe are Guatemalan xatéros.
Emelino Cho, the alcalde of San Jose Village, Toledo, and villager Alfredo Sho, reportedly came under attack by armed xatéros on Tuesday, after their outing to Doyle’s Delight, Cayo. Cho and Sho were transferred from the Punta Gorda Hospital to the Dangriga Polyclinic, where they are reportedly in a serious but stable condition.
Amandala understands from an official source that Cho, 59, and Sho, 54, left their village on Sunday, October 10, 2010. Below is a statement narrating what reportedly transpired on Tuesday, October 12:
At around 8:00 a.m., they left the Doyle’s Delight area to return to their village. They rested at Union Camp, near the Colombia River Forest Reserve, for about 30 minutes. At about 3:30 p.m. that day, while at the same location, three Hispanic men believed to be Guatemalan xatéros, one of them armed with a machete, asked the San Jose villagers for food.
They gave them the food and afterwards the man armed with the machete pulled a gun out from his waist and fired shots at the two men.
Cho was shot in his lower abdomen, while Sho was shot in his left shoulder.
Cho and the gunman had an altercation and the gunman also chopped him in his head with a machete.
The Hispanic men then escaped via the Nazaro Perez Road, not far from the border.
Despite their injuries, both men made it alive to San Jose in the dark of night, at around 9 last night, and they were transported via ambulance at 9:00 Thursday morning to Punta Gorda, and later today to Dangriga.
Amandala understands that police and Belize Defence Force (BDF) soldiers were dispatched to the area but have so far turned up nothing.
In June, we had reported on a call from Cho and villagers of San Jose and Na Lum Cah, Toledo, asking the Government of Belize to increase BDF presence in the area, after reports that Guatemalan xatéros had been operating very close to their village, and had been stealing their horses.
One community activist of Toledo with whom we spoke tonight highlights that this problem continues to be a serious national security concern.