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Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
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Sometime last night a group of 8 tourists comprising family and friends were ambushed in the waters of Southern Belize by 4 armed pirates.

Police have refused to give us any details about the incident, however they have confirmed that it did occur. According to the few facts that we've been able to put together, the group of tourists chartered a boat from the Mooring charter company and anchored in the Tobacco Caye Area - presumably in a vessel similar to this one - which we got from The Moorings website. The tourists had been anchored at sea since Saturday march 17th.

But last night, the four men came up from nowhere, robbed them, and reportedly stabbed two of the men on board. Unconfirmed reports suggest that they assaulted one of the women on board.

Police have not detained anyone in connection with this incident.

According to sources, none of the tourists were seriously injured and they remain tonight at a resort in Southern Belize.

Channel 7


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Marty Offline OP
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Tourists Attacked on board Catamaran

The past weekend was particularly violent. Three persons were murdered from north to west but another brutal incident at high seas has the attention of the police department. A massive criminal investigation is underway over the rape of a sixty-one year old tourist and the stabbing of two others. There has been no official confirmation, but the incident apparently happened onboard a Catamaran SK Abenga that was passing near Pelican Caye. At around nine o'clock on Sunday night, four dark complexioned men who boarded the SK Abenga by skiff allegedly attacked the group. The two couples, over fifty years of age, were vacationing in the area when they were brutally attacked. From what we know, one of the women was stabbed to the abdomen and had to undergo surgery while a man was stabbed to the arm and was injured on the forehead. Following the incident, the S.K. Abenga, was steered to Yolanda's Dock Yard in Placencia. Two passengers remained in Placencia and two injured Americans were were transported to the Western Regional Hospital for medical treatment. As we said, the police are in the high seas investigating.

Channel 5


Tourists robbed and stabbed at sea

According to the information we gathered, eight tourists, visiting the Placencia area, were robbed and stabbed while they anchored out at sea in the Pelican Beach area on the night of Sunday, March 18, 2012.

The group of tourists chartered a boat from a company in Placencia on Saturday, March 17, 2012; they are reported to have been planning a week long adventure out at sea for recreational activities such as snorkeling.

The sea adventure quickly turned into a nightmare for these tourists as four armed pirates boarded their boat and robbed the crew, stabbing two of the tourists and reportedly assaulting one of the females.

Police have since confirmed the robbing and stabbing but have declined answering to the assault of the female victim. Police have also refused to divulge any other information regarding the incident; they say once their investigation is complete they will release all known details.

We requested interviews from the victims but they have declined also; the resort where they are staying, until the investigation is complete, told us that the tourists are only accepting calls from friends and family.

Sources told us that one of the stabbing victims remains at a hospital recovering while all others remain at their resort.

The Guardian


Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
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More Information About robbery On Southern Seas

The Police Department along with the Belize Coast Guard are still investigating the pirate attack on Sunday, March 18, 2012,on the seas in Southern Belize.
Eight tourists were on the vessel that was boarded by four men. Two of them were badly injured. Our investigation revealed that two of the tourists, a husband and wife were stabbed, the husband in his neck and the wife in her abdomen.

A report to us is that one of the women was also raped. And while marauding gangs on the sea are a legitimate public safety concern, police have not released a single shred of information - officially or otherwise - though we have requested this over a dozen times.

We first reported on Monday that pirates attacked tourists on board a boat that the tourist had been anchoring out in the Pelican Cayes area since Saturday, March 17, 2012.

The tourists charted the boat from the Mooring Charter Company in Placencia for a week-long stay on the seas. In an email sent to us by someone claiming to be a family member, during the attack the other tourists managed to hide in their cabins; they were not assaulted. The email reports that a third man quickly called in "mayday". Our further investigations today revealed that the victims were rushed to the Dangriga Southern Regional Hospital. The husband was released on Tuesday, while his wife was just discharged today.

All of the tourists have since checked out of their resort in Placencia.

Channel 7

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Marty Offline OP
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Rio Dulce Mariners concerned about attacks on foreigners

John Van Zwieten

The news of attacks on visitors in tourist destinations and on the high seas has traveled down the southern coast all the way to Rio Dulce, Guatemala. The cruising community is moored by hundreds of mariners who can easily navigate to Honduras, Panama and Belize. The violence against foreign nationals is picking up waves. News Five spoke to John Van Zwieten who says that he is not afraid, but many others fear venturing into Belizean waters from the coastal town.

 

Via Phone: John Van Zwieten, Rio Dulce, Guatemala

"The boating community here varies; it is about six hundred to eight hundred boats that comes in here for hurricane season, but then go out to cruise in Belize and in Honduras and sometimes Panama."

 

Jose Sanchez

"I know you monitored the news in Belize. The incident of the American almost being beaten to death in San Pedro and the rape of the American female last week along with the robbery on that yacht. What was the effect in Rio Dulce?"

 

Via Phone: John Van Zwieten

"Well everybody heard about it; it was on our online newspaper, the Rio Dulce Chisme indicator and so everybody was talking about it in the evening over cocktails. Everybody; the guy who lives across the dock from me heard about it and he called up a boat broker and sold his boat because he said heck I wanted to cruise in safety here and this makes it seems like I can't do that. And so he is leaving. I heard numerous other people say they won't go to

Belize anymore because it just seems as too dangerous."

 

Jose Sanchez

"What about you? Does this also affect you?"

 

Via Phone: John Van Zwieten

"It does not. I'm not your typical cruiser. I come into Belize in my launcher to fish. And I know most of the people on the cayes I stay with are friends and I know that they certainly wish me no hard and in fact are quite protective. And so I don't worry. And I think if the truth be known, if tourists would get over their emotion, most times they are anchored out where it is safe; in places like Placencia even Tobacco Caye that's not so far away. But if you are isolated and there is no help for you and I think people are reacting very emotionally and if they stop to think, the chances of it happen are not that great. But when you're talking about people's lives, you know. Two years ago we had that guy killed on the river and last year there was another one of our community killed in Honduras on the way to La Ceiba. And you know these things add up on people's minds."

Channel 5


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Marty Offline OP
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Police investigate Rape and Stabbing of Yacht Tourists

On Monday we reported on the vicious attack on a group of American tourists who were spending the night off the coast of the Pelican Cayes near southern Belize. During the incident a sixty-one year old woman was sexually assaulted by one of four men. Two of her colleagues were also stabbed and relieved of an undisclosed amount of cash and other valuables. The vessel the tourists had rented, a catamaran named SK Abenga, was moored near one of the small islands where they planned on spending the night. But before they were able to settle in, the couples came under armed assault by a team of bandits who boarded their cat by skiff. Most of what has been said in the media, in the wake of the incident, has been sketchy at best. That's because there has been no official police press release on the matter. It was initially reported that two couples were attacked, but it has now been confirmed that in fact four couples on the catamaran were assaulted. On Thursday, during an emergency meeting held in Placencia, News Five spoke with Inspector Leslie Wade, the investigating officer on the case. According to Wade, no arrests have been made despite statements given to police by the victims.

 

Inspector Leslie Wade, Investigating Officer

"Sometime after 8:30 on Sunday which was the eighteenth of March, four couples had rented a forty-six foot catamaran bearing the name Scabenga and they set sail out to sea where around that time, around 8:30 they anchored the vessel off the shores of the Pelican Cayes and they decided to spend the night there where sometime after 8:30 four armed, masked men boarded the said vessel. They [the tourists] were robbed of valuable items and monies and during the robbery one of the females was also sexually assaulted and two others were being stabbed. Thus far the police, of which I came down to do the initial investigation with, thus far we have not taken anybody into custody. So far the police are still conducting investigations in respect to this matter."

 

Leslie Wade

Isani Cayetano

"With regards to the current condition of the victims, you were mentioning earlier that they may be flown out to the United States for further medical attention."

 

Insp. Leslie Wade

"There is one victim, one that received a stab wound has since, according to medical authorities from the Southern Regional [Hospital] that person would be flown out of Belize to seek further medical attention abroad. But the person has been stabilized, it's not life threatening. We have spoken to that person and we have gotten a statement from that person as far as she can recall as it relates to the incident. So we gave recorded statements but like what I said they were tourists and the information is just a little bit sketchy at this time but we are doing our best trying to bring these persons to justice."

Channel 5


Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
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Posted on Belize Forums by captain of charter sailboat attacked by pirates

I was the captain of the catamaran sail boat rented from the Moorings that was robbed at gun point.
Here are a few particulars:

Boat.... Lagoon 4600
On Board... 8 persons (4 male, 4 female)
Place of robbery... west side of Pelican Caye (approx due east of Hopkins).
Time of robbery... approx 10 pm, Sunday, March 18, 2012

Some details.....

They had one gun.... a 9mm Glock style pistol.
One used a dagger type knife.

3 robbers on boat beating, and raping. One was waitng on the white Panga while the others were on the boat. They spoke english(sort of).
They were about 30 yrs old, one was maybe 18 years old.

They wouold not take our Belize dollars... only US currency
Items taken that we know of right now

Cobra Marine Handheld Radio model number MR HH425LI VP
ATT Samsung Galaxy II Rocketship cell phone (service discontinued) black color

Dinghy was approx 11 ft long, gray in color, fiberglass hard bottom. had a new Mercury 9.5 hp motor. The shift control on this motor was built into the throttle.

They beat us, and stabbed us...even though we were turning over our money. They had no mercy. One (with the gun) had a red colored mask that he would pull up over his face.

I hope that these thugs will be apprehended. I am open to any persons that can help us. We are in the US getting medical attention now. My wife was stabbed in the abdomen. I was stabbed in the collar bone area. If you can help us please contact me in this forum

Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,461
K
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Fellow Posters-Their horrible experience should not be exploited as an opportunity to bash Belize or as a debate to promote personal platforms. Something terrible happened to these people. They were guests in our country and deserve respect and dignity and they require some privacy. Pls keep that in mind when posting replies and it would be great if those could be limited to helpful responses. Thanks, KT


Belize based travel specialist
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I agree, however, I feel the US Embassy should be more forthcoming regarding the risks on the islands as well as the Mainland.


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