Government Moves to Lock Down BDF Training Lands

The Defense Ministry insists there was no confusion about the BDF’s live destruction exercises at Baldy Beacon, pointing to warnings and soldiers on the ground. But that claim comes under scrutiny after former minister Elvin Penner walked into the zone and removed explosive material, an act officials say endangered lives. Our footage, however, showed just how easily the public could access the area. Now, the government says it’s taking no chances, moving to secure permanent control of military training lands to avoid future incidents.

 

Florencio Marin Jr., Minister of National Defence

“The military were simply conducting what I don’t think anyone would complain about destroying these explosive. You saw how we lost a life sadly because of it. This is part of the overall effort to destroy them. I’m not sure how anyone ordinary might actually go around there and try to interfere with that work.”

 

Brigadier General Anthony Velasquez, Commandant, Belize Defense Force

“It’s a huge area. It’s several kilometers, miles wide, so there’s no fence around the area at all. There’s access by some minor roads and by other crossing hills and valleys. So it’s not an area that is – that is fenced off anything like that, right? So people can access the area. However, during exercises we put up warning flags and we deliver a NOTAMs so that people know that we’re conducting exercise in the area. And also during the exercise we have sentries out, so there’s no reason why Mr. Penner didn’t know that we were there conducting these exercises.”

 

Florencio Marin Jr.

“The BDF now is in the process of acquiring land so that they can, in the future, don’t have to deal with this issue of whichever government come in or whichever ministers come in they cannot arbitrarily get access to their lands, right? The military needs its training grounds. We have to continue operating. So we are working on that, securing it securing some operating area that they can conduct their drills and training and where necessary, live firing appropriately.”

 

The Ministry of Defence says the explosive ordnances have been turned over to police as evidence in a case they claim Penner trespassed on a military training area and removed items unlawfully.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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