The Belize government says it will continue to conduct regular patrols from Barranco Village to Sarstoon Island after a joint patrol including members of the Belize Defence Force (BDF) and Coast Guard (BCG) encountered marine vessels belonging to the Guatemalan Armed Forces over the weekend.
Belize and Guatemala have had a long-running border dispute with Guatemala claiming the whole or part of Belize since 1940.
In 1859 Britain and Guatemala signed a treaty that defined the borders from the Rio Hondo to Sarstoon. The treaty included an article that said both parties would make their best efforts to build a cart road from Guatemala City to the Atlantic Coast. After a few years, the road hadn’t been built and Guatemala blamed Britain for it. They said the treaty was a treaty of cession and because Britain violated it, they were supposed to get back their land.
In 1946 Guatemala officially tried to declare the treaty null and void. The matter is before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In a statement, the Ministry of National Defence and Border Security said last Sunday, a joint BDF and BCG patrol deployed to the Sarstoon River, encountered five maritime vessels belonging to the Guatemalan Armed Forces on the northern side of the Sarstoon Island.
It said that the patrol also observed five civilian vessels operated by members of the Belize Territorial Volunteers (BTV) and that the leader, Wil Maheia, indicated that they had placed two Belizean national flags on the Sarstoon Island, which members of the Guatemalan Armed Forces later removed.
“The Guatemalans informed the joint patrol that the entire area belongs to Guatemala; however, the joint patrol commander informed the Guatemalan Armed Forces that they were in Belizean territory and that they should leave.
“Shortly thereafter, both the Belize Territorial Volunteers and the Guatemalan Armed Forces vessels departed. The joint patrol then left the area to the Sarstoon Forward Operating Base to maintain military presence,” the statement said.
The ministry said that it wanted to reassure Belizeans that “through the joint deployment” it will continue “to conduct regular patrols from Barranco Village to the Sarstoon Island, and remains vigilant to ensure the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Belize”.
CMC/
