Guatemalan Military Killed Guatemalan Fisherman But Falsely Blamed Belizean Authorities

A Guatemalan fisherman has been killed and another seriously injured after the Guatemalan military opened fire on their vessel near Punta de Manabique.

The victim has been identified as 32-year-old Jaime Geovanni Ich Ramos. He leaves behind two children, ages 11 and 9. The surviving fisherman, Julio Cesar Pineda, was shot in the shoulder and remains hospitalized.

In an exclusive interview with News 5, a relative from Livingston, Izabal, said that the two men had gone fishing on Thursday and admitted they had been in Belizean waters before heading back toward Livingston with a catch of snapper.

According to the relative, as they returned, they were attacked by Guatemalan military officers in the area of Punta de Manabique.

“They were shot at without warning,” the relative said in Spanish. “When the Guatemalan armed forces boarded the boat, they realized my relatives were only fishermen bringing in fish.”

The relative further alleged that despite discovering they were civilians, the soldiers transported the wounded men to the hospital and left them bleeding. Upon arrival, authorities reportedly claimed Belizean forces were responsible for the shooting.

“My nephew who was driving the boat was shot in the shoulder. When he fell, my cousin took over the steering wheel, and he was shot and killed,” the relative said. “Now they are blaming Belizean authorities because they don’t want to take responsibility.”

Pineda’s mother strongly believes that they were shot at by Guatemalan military officers. “It was not from Belize because it happened here at Punta de Manabique.” She added, “I want justice. Justice needs to be done because they don’t have rights to shoot at people.”

News Five reached out to Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, Gregory Soberanis. He told News 5 exclusively that Belize categorically denies any involvement. “We are not entertaining the propaganda nor narrative,” Soberanis said. “The incident occurred in the area of Punta Manabique which is way inside Guatemalan waters. We are nowhere close to that location and we don’t patrol outside our jurisdictional waters.”