The Deteriorating Situation in the Sarstoon

The government of Guatemala has responded to the disturbing video in which the Guatemalan military tells the B.D.F. to “respect the protocol,” while the B.D.F. was attempting to traverse the Sarstoon last week. Today’s edition of the Prensa Libre newspaper states that Foreign Minister Carlos Raul Morales could not ascertain when the incident happened. But the spokesperson for the military, Karen Pérez, has been more forthcoming. She says that the encounter with the B.D.F. occurred on May fourth.  Perez says that troops of the Guatemalan navy were in the Sarstoon when they met the Belizean soldiers and requested that they respect the protocol. But here is where it gets even more bizarre. The newspaper account reports that, “The Sarstoon belongs to Guatemala and is not in dispute and this is why the Guatemalan troops demanded of the B.D.F. to respect the protocol.” According to Perez, the Guatemalan military also has a video recording of the incident.