I received this...and wanted to pass it on...
Since you have clients traveling to western Belize with us in the
near future, we want to make you aware of a recent threat to the
safety of tourists visiting archaeological sites in that area. We
had clients staying at Blancaneaux Lodge who went on a guided tour
to Caracol this past Monday, May 15. Upon returning, their party of
five guests and three others was attacked and robbed by armed
bandits. Thankfully our clients were unharmed, but all of their
valuables, cameras and money were stolen. To the best of our
knowledge, this was the first time such an incident ever occurred
with any of the hotels we represent, although upon researching the
situation further we have learned of other robberies in the area.
Security in this area is being increased dramatically, and
Blancaneaux Lodge, Chaa Creek and DuPlooys have each assured us that
the safety of guests is their top priority. After the incident,
Blancaneaux issued the following statement: "Rest assured, we and
everyone else involved, are not letting this rest – we are
contacting everyone we possibly can to assist the private sector in
this escalating violence which will ultimately hurt all of us if
allowed to continue unchecked."
For more information, please visit the U.S. State Department website
at
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1055.html.