Christopher Holzinger had planned a four-day trip to Guatemala with his girlfriend, Taryn Larremore of Columbia, to give her a romantic surprise. He proposed to Larremore during the Spring Break vacation because he is the art teacher for Lumberton Schools.

However, the pandemic of COVID-19 – the coronavirus – had other plans. Holzinger and his new fiancé are now among 11 Americans trapped in South America hoping for a way out.

With the quick spread of the coronavirus, Holzinger and Larremore are now staying in the only hotel available to them because of its American connections (the owner was originally an American). They had planned to be home five days ago, but they have been told by the American Embassy that it is unable to help them at this time. Now they have reached out to U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo’s office for assistance.

For Holzinger and Larremore, the dream vacation they had planned quickly became a nightmare.

“They shut down the restaurants,” Holzinger said in a telephone interview from Guatemala. “You couldn't go anywhere because they shut down public transportation. When we were going to leave for Mexico, they closed the border.”

Holzinger said he and Larremore were fortunate to find the hotel to stay at on the shores of Lake Atitian west of Guatemala City.

“There are 11 Americans, and there are no other guests,” he said. “And the reason we were able to stay here was the owner of this hotel was originally an American. Because of that, he's allowed us to stay here. At other places, we're not even allowed to stay; we were turned away. We're not supposed to leave even to go to the adjoining towns on the way in.”

Holzinger said he and Larremore were stopped in one of the small towns on the other side of the lake before they could get to the hotel.

“My fiancé and I were actually detained in a little village,” he said. “We had to go talk to the mayor of the little village to get permission to ride a boat over to this hotel. Then we had to go into a medical facility, and they had to clear us. They still were going to turn us away until actually I took the guy around the corner and showed him the (engagement) ring. That was the only reason he let us go on to the hotel.”

Colleen Kennedy, press assistant and legislative aide for Palazzo’s office, said she is not able to talk about specific cases involving Mississippi residents who might be overseas. However, she said Palazzo has contacted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s about foreign incidents.

“He has been on the phone with the secretary of state,” she said. “Our staff members have also been working closely with their office trying to trying to get these folks home. As far as what the State Department is doing to specifically remove people and get people back from countries, I know that we had received some guidance yesterday.”

Kennedy said some Americans in Peru were able to obtain flights home. The problem caused by the coronavirus is having a global impact.

“The congressman understands that this is global and that the State Department is working on the strategy to get these people back home,” Kennedy said. “Part of the battle that I am in is there is so much information, and it changes very quickly."

Kennedy said anyone who is aware of relatives or friends who are overseas should contact Palazzo’s office to make sure all Americans are able to receive help. His offices are located in Washington, D.C. (202.225.5772), Hattiesburg (601.582.3246), Gulfport (228.864.7670) and Pascagoula (228.202.8104).

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