Grenade event in Salvapan area, Belize on Sat 23rd September 2023

Amandala has received confirmation from the Belize Defensce Force that a live hand grenade was reportedly found over the weekend in the Salvapan area of Belmopan, after information began circulating on social media on Saturday afternoon, September 23.

After information was released about the discovery of the grenade, bomb experts from the Belize Defence Force along with members of the Belmopan Quick Response Team (QRT) of the Belize Police Department were deployed to the old cemetery situated behind the Isidoro Beaton Football Stadium at the corner of Cemetery Road and Niagara Street.

Initial reports have indicated that sometime after 3:00 p.m., the grenade – identified as a K400 hand grenade which originated in South Korea and described as navy green with yellow inscriptions – was found at the cemetery in a yellow plastic bag with a foam plate covering the destructive weapon.

The grenade was secured and transported to Price Barracks in Ladyville, the base of the Belize Defence Force, for safekeeping. Information on how the weapon arrived at the location and its origin has yet to be disclosed to the media.

When Amandala asked Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo Leal, Chief of Staff of the Belize Defence Force, for an interview regarding the situation via WhatsApp, he replied, “As for protocol, please [refer] to the BPD as they have the necessary info.”

Additionally, when the media questioned ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander of the Belize Police Department’s Eastern Division in Monday’s weekly press briefing, he refused to comment on the matter.