Defence Minister Marin Expresses Confidence in Coast Guard Amid Guatemalan Incursions

Minister of National Defence and Border Security Florencio Marin Jr. says he has unwavering faith in the men and women of the Belize Coast Guard to handle the ongoing issue of the Guatemalan military coming into Belize. On Monday a Guatemalan naval vessel came into Belizean territory near Hunting Caye in the Sapodilla Cayes, Toledo district. Marin says that the vessel was not a “gunboat” and the situation was not as tense as some had reported. Still, he says that the BCG personnel act firmly and professionally whenever dealing with Guatemalan forces in Belize, to diffuse the situation and asset Belizean sovereignty.

Florencio Marin Jr., Minister of National Defence: “I think gunboat is an outdated term, that it’s something from World War II. So, I don’t know if it got the Guatemalans have a gunboat, no, but it wasn’t a gunboat out there. It was a hydrography boat and my thoughts on it, as I had mentioned in the speech, that our sailors or seamen, whenever they see these threats or their incursions into our territorial waters, they go out and they meet it and they diffuse it. So those are my thoughts. And I promise you that as long as these, whenever these things would occur, our seamen and the Coast Guard will be there to defuse the situation at any time. I mean I have all the faith in our seamen now, I mean under the able leadership of Admiral Bennett I mean they are professionally trained, you know, so they don’t go there like any in any sort of aggressive manner. They go there firm, they can advise them professionally. You’re in the Belizean waters and kindly leave. And eventually the situation resolves. Every time we’ve managed to resolve it.”

Prime Minister Jonh Briceno addressed the issue earlier this week, saying that the government takes each incursion seriously and will be handling this latest incident through diplomacy.