Elderly Man Hospital After Brutal Machete Attack in Xaibe

A midafternoon brawl between two intoxicated men in Xaibe Village nearly turned deadly and tonight, we’re hearing both sides of the story. Seventy-year-old Porfilio Copo is at the center of the incident, and while his family says he was attacked without cause, the accused man’s relatives are claiming it was all in self-defense. But what happened next took us by surprise. While speaking with the accused’s family, one of his relatives suddenly lashed out, assaulting News Five’s Paul Lopez with a machete. Thankfully, Paul escaped unharmed and brings us this firsthand report from the Corozal District.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

A violent midday altercation in Xaibe Village has left a seventy-year-old man hospitalized and another resident in police custody. The incident unfolded just outside Rufo’s store, where what began as a confrontation quickly escalated into a chopping. Amateur video captured the dramatic aftermath, showing the alleged perpetrator calmly handing himself over to police. Off camera, we spoke with Jahier Alcoser, the brother of the accused, who claims his sibling acted in self-defense.

 

Voice of: Jahier Alcoser, Brother of Alleged Perpetrator

“As I come this morning in the shop, this old guy was making trouble with a man here and he gone home and grab his machete and came back and then the owner of the shop chased him from the shop cause he don’t want trouble here. Then he came with this person and they had an altercation and chopped this guy and this guy had a pint and broke it and try to defend himself. So, then he handed over himself. He didn’t run. He just handed over himself to the CIB. He said, he didn’t think he was doing wrong or hiding by police because he get injured first.”

According to accounts from the scene, despite suffering deep cut wounds to his arm and shoulder, Copo managed to get back on his bicycle, only to collapse a hundred feet away in front of a nearby yard. He was rushed to the hospital for urgent medical care. Both Copo and the alleged attacker were reportedly intoxicated at the time. And while the video shows the accused calmly surrendering to police, it also reveals no visible injuries on his body—raising questions about the self-defense claim. We spoke with Copo’s niece, Diana Itzab, who shared their side of the story.

 

Voice of: Diana Itzab, Relative of Chopping Victim

“I hear people are saying he gone after this person because he returned after the incident, but that was hours after. And that was not true because he was right here at my house saying that he had an incident with somebody earlier, that somebody knocked him with a bottle and he didn’t do anything. I won’t say that my uncle is a saint, because he is not a saint. When he drink he like to rail up and thing, but that is it. And, somebody had to do him something for him to go after that person with a machete, because that is what they are saying. But right there if you ask anybody anything they will say the same thing because they are family and friend. Nobody will tell you what happened. Everybody will stay with the same story and say it against him. But they are saying it is with a bottle. I don’t understand how somebody would want to cut someone with a machete and say my uncle chop this person, that he wanted to chop the person on the head but that didn’t happen. Then they said the person got cut on the hand, but where is the cut that the person is saying. There is no cut, because people see it. He had no blood plus the family was laughing like he did something good.”

 

Paul Lopez

“They are claiming self defense.”

 

Diana Itzab

“Still if it is self defense, you should be concerned for you family doing something like that, he almost killed somebody.”

 

But the story doesn’t stop there. Public drinking and aggressive behavior under the influence appear to be ongoing issues in Xaibe Village. When we arrived at the scene, the owner of Rufo’s Store was also visibly intoxicated. He interrupted our interview and, surprisingly, asked for beers in exchange for giving a comment. Here’s a clip from that encounter.

 

Voice of: Owner of Rufo’s Store

“He does not know because he was not here.”

 

Paul Lopez

“You don’t want to talk because you want beer. I don’t have beer, so I have to talk to him.”

 

Voice of: Owner of Rufo’s Store

“Alright.”

 

After our interview, we were speaking with more relatives of the accused who were sharing videos and images with us. That’s when things took a dangerous turn. The shop owner, upset that we refused to buy beers from his store, pulled out a machete and swung it at me, striking my lower back. Thankfully, I wasn’t seriously hurt, though I felt a sharp sting afterward. Assaulted on the job by a drunken store owner—just for saying no to beer. Even his own nephew admits that alcoholism and machete violence are serious problems in the community.

 

Voice of Jahier Alcoser

“This happens from years ago, this community is really well known as a, how you say it, mal infame. Notorious is the word, notorious village.

Porfilio Copo is listed in a stable condition. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.