Mexico will look at border after any Bz-Guat treaty
What is interesting is that one thing you don’t see in the Guatemalan press is any reference to the three point three square miles that country stands to gain from a more accurate alignment of the border line. This morning prior to our interview with the Prime Minister, we asked Mexican Ambassador Arturo Trejo if and how the Belize-Mexico frontier might be affected.
Arturo Trejo, Mexican Ambassador to Belize
“Well the official position of Mexico is that Belize and Guatemala shall settle this dispute first and when they know exactly where their border is, then our experts shall meet and discuss where the Mexico-Belizean border is.”
Stewart Krohn
“That demarcation of the Belize-Mexico border, what does that makes reference to in the border treaties?”
Arturo Trejo
“Well as far as I remember, the treaty between Mexico and Belize after 1893, the definition of the Belize-Mexico border is related to the 1859 treaty between Guatemala and Great Britain. So if there is an error in the demarcation of the border, that might have some implications, but it is not an actual issue between Mexico and Belize at the moment. It shall be when Guatemala and Belize settle this border, then the experts of the three countries shall meet and look if there has been an error of appreciation where the actual border is said to be or not.”
Stewart Krohn
“What is generally your government’s attitude toward the proposals as they were presented on Tuesday?”
Arturo Trejo
“We consider that it is a good idea for Belize and we hope that it will satisfy the interest of both countries. Guatemala and Belize are our neighbours and we have very good relations, friendly relations with both of our neighbours and we hope that finally a settlement satisfying both will be found.”
The United States government has also weighed in heavily on the side of a yes vote on the proposals. A release from the U.S. State Department indicates that “ratification of a settlement by the peoples of Guatemala and Belize will put their countries in the forefront of regional and international efforts to embrace courageously new opportunities for co-operation and mutual growth.”
