Talk:News:1983-10-06/Eradication/mexican-helicopters-reported-spraying-paraquat-on-marijuana-in-corozal-district
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Discussion for: News:1983-10-06/Eradication/mexican-helicopters-reported-spraying-paraquat-on-marijuana-in-corozal-district • View • Links • Related changes
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Discussion
Dating
The report is datelined "BELIZE CITY, Fri. Oct. 7" and says that its source "declared yesterday morning" that the spraying "had begun". The stored date, 6 October 1983, is the day of that statement; the spraying had begun by then. The paper also wrote that a constituency convention was held "last Sunday before the spraying began".
Source discrepancies
The Belize papers of October 1983 give different numbers of helicopters.
| Paper | Helicopters |
|---|---|
| Amandala, 7 October 1983, quoting a source | "30 Mexican helicopters guarded by Mexican soldiers had begun spraying the dangerous herbicide paraquat on areas of Corozal" |
| The Reporter, 9 October 1983 | "Two Mexican sprayer helicopters bearing the identifying marks XC-BES and XC-BAT are being used under contract to do the spraying." |
| Amandala, 21 October 1983 (Orange Walk) | "four helicopters spraying daily with the serious herbicide paraquat" |
This news item gives the figure of the paper it follows and attributes it to that paper's source.
Sources not used
The text read is the English reprint in the United States government's Joint Publications Research Service, Latin America Report No. 2770 (JPRS 84872, 2 December 1983), p. 34. The original issue of Amandala was not consulted.
Related news items
The same spraying campaign of October 1983 is recorded district by district, each in its own news item: Corozal (this news item), Orange Walk and Cayo (The Reporter, 9 October 1983) and Toledo (Toledo Star, 16 October 1983).
Map pin
The report names the district, not a village. The pin is Corozal Town, the district's seat, and marks the district.
These notes were recorded when the news item was prepared. Éloise 19:30, 21 October 2026 (+07)