O.A.S. to observe the latest ‘clearing the border’ project

When we spoke with Wil Maheia of the Belize Territorial Volunteers on Wednesday, he told us that he had received no response from the Organization of American States or from the B.D.F. to a formal request made for observers this weekend as they work to clear the border. Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington has told News Five that the government nor the B.D.F. will even countenance the request by Maheia, so we weren’t surprised by the B.D.F. being MIA. But today, in an email sent late this afternoon, the O.A.S. has accepted the invitation to act in observer status. Raul Lago, the O.A.S. Secretary General Special Representative for Belize-Guatemala Affairs acknowledges the invitation, and stated in the email that, “We have requested Mr. Sergio Benitez, Director of the Office of the Secretary General of the OAS in the Adjacency Zone to be present at the locations where these exercises will be performed in a peaceful manner; the O.A.S. will be observing from a prudent distance from the Adjacency Line.” Maheia told us today that the response from the O.A.S., while received just two days before the expedition plans to leave on Saturday, is welcome, even though they will be observing, as the email makes very clear, from a prudent distance.