Guatemalan Naval Vessels Found in Belizean Waters for Second Time in a Week

For the second time within a week, elements of the Guatemalan Armed Forces were found in Belize’s territory.  On Saturday, around 11:30 a.m., Belize Defence Force soldiers on patrol in the Sarstoon River encountered several Guatemalan naval ships in Belizean waters. The soldiers engaged the GAF, informing them that they were outside their jurisdiction, but the Guatemalans refused to leave the area. Despite the BDF providing GPS coordinates, the GAF elements continued to claim they were in Guatemalan waters. It was not until the Belize Coast Guard (BCG) responded to the BDF’s call for assistance that the Guatemalans complied.  Commandant of the BCG, Rear Admiral Elton Bennett weighed in on the encounter and explained that it took hours to remove the GAF from our waters.  

Major Roberta Usher, Chief of Staff, BDF: “Our soldiers were on their routine patrols and noticed the vessels were somewhere near our FOB and they went out to conduct the necessary recon. There were three to five small vessels that traversed between the waters of Belize and Guatemala over this weekend. Our units down south approached the vessels and they got information from them and then the Coast Guard also went in and they did some mapping to see the territorial waters that we’re in and now we’re just waiting awaiting confirmation if it was an illegal trespassing or what exactly were they doing but communication had happened we have already communicated with the Guatemalan army and the Admiral on the situation and information is forthcoming on it. We do in compare situations like this we try to get the information, we communicate on the scene and then we do our own mapping to see if there was a breach of sovereignty or breach of territorial waters and then we report it to the higher. We try to keep everything at peace and find the exact information as to what occurs before acting. We are there to control and monitor situations.”

The United Democratic Party has since issued a statement condemning the acts of intimidation from the Guatemalans and demanding that the Briceno administration push for a formal protocol for operations on the Sarstoon River.