Threats on the ground for the B.D.F. are real

Dean Barrow

The Foreign Minister’s artificial border comment made to an OAS reporter in December will not be forgotten soon in particular since the borders remain porous. Still, a handful of B.D.F. soldiers are no match for the Guatemalan armed forces while they patrol the southern border. During his press conference on Wednesday, the Prime Minister reflected on tensions between the B.D.F. and their Guatemalan counterparts as well as what he referred to as a notable increase in verbal belligerency by some members of the Guatemalan Foreign policy establishment. He said there was no unity in that establishment.  However, the threats on the ground for the B.D.F. are very real.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“You might talk to the Foreign Minister of Guatemala and get one position and then our ambassador is called in by the Commission de Belice and he has another position. But overall we believe that there is, whether wittingly or unwittingly, things happening that unless we are extremely sensitive or careful, could provoke a shooting incident. The National Security Council is very much aware of the situation. The Belize Defense Force have orders to be extremely prudent, extremely careful while not backing off when it comes to the maintenance of Belizean sovereignty. I don’t know if I can put it any higher than that or get into any further details because it’s so much a judgment call on the ground when these things happen. So we can give from the NSA and from the point of view of the Minister of National Security and the B.D.F. high command a sort of general direction but the risk that some incident could take place on the ground remains very real.”