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Fresh off the recent Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington and Peruvian Ambassador to Belize Jorge Roman Morey, based in El Salvador, signed a special friendship and cooperation agreement at the Belize City office of the ministry, the Edward Laing building. Ambassador Morey is in his final days in the […]
Belize was represented at the eighth Summit of the Americas by both Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington and Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte. This triennial meeting of members of the Organization of American States offers Belize the opportunity to network with fellow states on important issues, some of which Elrington outlined. Wilfred Elrington, Minister […]
In his weekly message, Opposition Leader John Briceño discussed the recent referendum result in Guatemala, in which nearly ninety-six percent of participating voters agreed to support the Guatemalan government’s filing a claim against Belizean territory at the International Court of Justice. Briceño directly responded to the charge laid by Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber that […]
Written on April 23, 2018 | Posted in
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As of news time, Belizean fisherman Iginio Canto Bacab of Caledonia, Corozal District, remains in custody in Livingston, Guatemala, charged with illegal capture of lobster. His hearing is set for Monday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Canto along with Alejandro Rodriguez Ortega, a Guatemalan who was born in Belize, and Julio Rodríguez Blanco, […]
The Organization of American States has had a central role in finding a solution to the territorial dispute. As we have been reporting, Guatemala held its referendum on Sunday and even though the voter turnout was at a low twenty-seven percent, the Guatemalans voted overwhelmingly saying YES to take the claim before the International Court […]
The news around the world on Thursday was the installation of the new Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel. He became Cuba’s first leader sans the Castro surname in over fifty years. Diaz-Canel served as Vice-President of the island nation since 2013 under Raul Castro. He was picked to ascend to the presidency as Castro steps down. […]
What does a new leader mean for the CARICOM region which depends heavily on Cuba for health, education and other forms of aid? According to Ambassador Lissette Perez, the regional assistance continues. Perez says that their cooperation with other countries is indicative of the Cuban values and culture and their support for Belize and other […]
Ambassador Lissette Perez also spoke about the Cuba-U.S. relations in light of a new leader. She said that while Cuba remains open to relations with the U.S., they will not allow a capitalist model change. Cuba and U.S.A. began mending fences under the Barrack Obama Administration, but President Trump has reversed policy changes and just […]
Miguel Diaz-Canel was officially named as the new President of Cuba today, one day after a secret vote in that country’s National Assembly. Diaz-Canel, who turns fifty-eight on Friday, has been in the government for thirty years and was selected by a vote of six hundred and three to one to replace Fidel Castro’s younger […]
Guatemala’s Minister of Foreign Affairs on Monday further discussed her country’s participation in Sunday’s referendum. As has been widely noted, about twenty-seven percent of the population voted in the referendum of which a super-majority said yes. But with Belize’s referendum act requiring a simple majority turnout – something Guatemala is said to have pushed for […]
Senior attorney Lisa Shoman, who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Said Musa’s administration and has been an ambassador to the United States and permanent representative to the Organization of American States, as well as put in valuable time on Belize’s diplomatic team attending to the Guatemalan claim, has a different view to […]
Exactly what does Guatemala claim of Belize? We’ve all heard the differing stories – the whole of Belize’s eight thousand plus square miles of territory; or only that portion south of the Sibun River which includes most of Cayo, Stann Creek and Toledo Districts, covering twelve thousand square kilometers. The figures alone sound scary, but […]
With Belize’s referendum date not set, and a potential trip to The Hague still a few years away, Belize and Guatemala must continue to co-exist as neighbors and tackle important issues together. We asked Foreign Minister Jovel to outline her priorities, and she said the most important is untangling the issue of the dispute from […]
Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber has chimed in on the outcome of Guatemala’s referendum, sharing with the media a personal view on the democratic process in the absence of a cabinet meeting. On Monday, the Government of Belize issued a statement applauding Guatemala for successfully carrying out its national exercise. Roughly twenty-five percent of the […]
The possibility of voters saying no to the ICJ is a very real likelihood. If that were indeed the case, Faber says that government would have no choice but to respect the will of the people. The drawback, however, is that Belize would once again find itself in the very same predicament with Guatemala that […]
On Monday, Opposition Leader John Briceño told News Five that government has fallen short of meaningfully consulting with the People’s United Party on what has long been a national issue. This evening, Deputy Prime Minister Faber responded by saying that the P.U.P. are in fact the ones that are using the referendum as a political […]
News Five, in an interview with Guatemala’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, touched on two topics of special interest to Belizeans in the wake of Sunday’s referendum. The first concerns relations between the countries. At the highest level, says Sandra Jovel Polanco, things could not be better. Polanco cites that she has met cordially with her […]
But could relations be soured or broken irretrievably if the International Court of Justice, assuming assent from both populations, rules in Belize’s favor? It’s a question that makes both sides uncomfortable considering Guatemala’s prior reputation and the scale of how much Belize has to lose. But Minister Jovel Polanco insists that Guatemala will respect the […]
While there were bouquets across the border between Belize and Guatemala following Sunday’s referendum result, color the Belize Progressive Party unsurprised and unimpressed. They said as much in a press statement issued Monday evening, reminding that the Guatemalan leadership was taking advantage of what it called local “facilitation” that puts Belize at severe risk to […]
Belize’s ambassador to Guatemala, Alexis Rosado, today provided a primer of the countries’ relations and plans surrounding resolving the Guatemalan claim. He notes that there is not much Belize can do short of a legal settlement that will resolve our ongoing border issues both in the west at the Chiquibul, nor in the south at […]
Detractors of an I.C.J. resolution have insisted that Belizeans will now face undue pressure for a ‘yes’ vote from the Government for the simple reason that we will not look good in the international community for saying no to what many feel is the last, best chance for a resolution of the claim. Ambassador to […]
Guatemala has spoken and its citizens have done so decisively, those who came out on Sunday to participate in the referendum. Following a somewhat abbreviated education campaign which commenced in that country in mid-January, voters took to polling stations across twenty-two departments, including neighboring Peten. When the results began coming in sometime after ten p.m., […]
In the absence of Prime Minister Barrow and Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, we sought a reaction to Sunday’s outcome from Opposition Leader John Briceño. The head of the People’s United Party, like the Government of Belize, congratulates Guatemala on the successful results of its referendum, despite a poor voter turnout. On the home front, Briceño […]
Guatemalan Vice President Jafeth Cabrera recently met with Belize’s Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington in Lima, Peru while attending the Eighth Summit of the Americas. Cabrera reportedly told the Guatemalan media, following the gathering of heads of state and government of the Western Hemisphere, that he had been informed by Foreign Minister Elrington of a similar […]
Vice President of Guatemala Jafeth Cabrera voted in Sunday’s referendum in Guatemala City. According to Prensa Libre, he told reporters that he understands Belize will go to vote in its referendum in May of 2018, though he possibly meant 2019. Either way, he maintained that Belize has already committed to the path and now it […]
