Caernarfon couple robbed by machete gang at knifepoint in Guatemala

A couple who have spent their lives travelling the world collecting exotic plants have revealed they were robbed by machete-weilding gangsters in Central America. Intrepid adventurers Sue and Bleddyn Wynn Jones, from Caernarfon, Gwynedd, collect species and seeds from their trips to bring back to Crȗg Farm Plants Nursery at Griffith's Crossing. Their travels have taken them to countries including Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Mexico and Guatemala. In Mexico, soldiers at roadside checkpoints quietly pilfered valuables from their vehicles - when they reported the theft police threatened them with arrest. And Bleddyn recalled being threatened with knives on a 2001 trip to Guatemala. The 77-year-old said: "My experienced guide warned me not to spook them as they literally were tapping us with the blades, while there were more hiding in the bushes who could have had a gun. "They took my expensive altitude measuring watch and my camera, and moved onto my guide, taking his mobile - and their eyes lit up on seeing his Rolex." The robbers even handed back his digital watch telling Bleddyn: "Gracias, señor. "The amusing part of it was the Rolex was a fake which he had bought in the lo

May 25, 2026 → May 25, 2026