Government Takes Action Against Illegal Roads from Guatemala

Minister of Sustainable Development Orlando Habet says that the government is working to devise solutions for Guatemalans pushing illegal roads into Belize. Habet says he saw the roads during a recent flyover of several protected areas along with Friends of Conservation and Development and Minister of National Defence and Border Security Florencio Marin Jr. The minister says the roads pose an environmental and national security threat and need to be destroyed. 

Habet says that the government will meet with the co-managers of the protected areas and the Organization of American States (OAS) to discuss the way forward. Habet added that the matter is being handled urgently but did not specify a timeline for any meetings to be held.

During flyovers of protected areas over the past few weeks, roads were discovered leading from Guatemala into the Chiquibul National Park and the Columbia River Forest Reserve (CRFR).