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Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber, along with Ministers Manuel Heredia Junior, and Minister Angel Campos concluded an official visit to the Republic of Cuba on Monday. The delegation met with Cuba’s Vice President Salvador Valdes Mesa, as well as with several government Ministers and technical experts. They engaged in discussions on issues of collaboration for multi-destination […]
In addition to illegal operation in Belizean waters, Guatemalan fishermen have been guilty of several offences, including use of gill nets and other illegal methods to capture fish. Recently they have been using another method: constructing traps in the sea made from mangroves. Mangroves serve a particular purpose in the ecosystem as the spawning ground […]
Three weeks ago it was reported that the village of Otoxha has been dealing with a takeover of acres of territory by Guatemalan farmers seeking greater pastures. The farmers left a mile-plus-long trail from Guatemala into Belize for easier access to their ‘conquered’ territory. The matter has officially been reported to the Belize Defence Force’s […]
Two years ago, Guatemalan Armed Forces bullied their Belizean counterparts from the Coast Guard off Sarstoon Island, where the Coast Guard men had been seeking a platform on which to build a Joint Forward Operating Base with the Belize Defence Force. It was never confirmed who in Belize gave the order to back down, but […]
Does Belize really need a Sarstoon protocol? After all, Belize considers half the river and Sarstoon Island ours. That is, until Guatemala effectively took possession of the entire river over two years ago. Now, the protocol would give formal rules for the traversing of the southern boundary by Belizean and Guatemalan civilians. But Guatemala has […]
There has been a reshuffle of top posts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Three top diplomats are playing “musical chairs” in the wake of the retirement of chief executive officer Lawrence Sylvestre. Sylvestre is on pre-retirement leave, but he will be named Ambassador to CARICOM, replacing Daniel Gutierrez. Gutierrez takes up the post of […]
For the past three days, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been meeting with the country’s top pastors and priests. It has to do with the public education campaign on the Belize-Guatemala claim and the effort to reach as much of the population, before a referendum is held. Elrington told News Five exclusively this afternoon […]
In other Guatemala news, the slog continues toward a Sarstoon protocol covering the traversing of the southern boundary by Belizean and Guatemalan civilians. It has been over a year since Guatemala effectively took possession of the entire river and began enforcing that possession with Belizean soldiers, civilians and news media. Meanwhile, word has not reached […]
A delegation of government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber, Minister of Tourism Manuel Heredia Junior and Minister of State in the Ministry of Health Doctor Angel Campos, returned to Belize today after wrapping up an official visit to Cuba. While in Havana, extensive discussions were held in areas of trade and investment, multi-destination […]
A temporary closure has been ordered of the old border crossing at Subteniente Lopez entering Chetumal. The Mexican government asked Belize to cooperate in order to stop vendors who were sneaking over goods from the Commercial Free Zone. From the perspective of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to Minister Wilfred Elrington, it seemed a […]
The leadership of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro continues to be tested, the latest challenge being a new round of sanctions being imposed by the United States government. Those restrictions are aimed at eight members of Venezuela’s Supreme Court who are accused of usurping the authority of Venezuela’s democratically-elected legislature. That body of lawmakers is ruled […]
Maduro’s government has been faced with almost daily protests since his Supreme Court signed an order that deprived the Venezuelan congress of its powers in March of this year. The U.S., through its ambassador to the United Nations, has forced members of the UN Security Council to hold a closed-door meeting on Venezuela. According to […]
When we left you on Tuesday evening, the breaking news was the discovery of a body, believed to be that of a Guatemalan national, inside the Chiquibul National Park. The body was located in the extreme reaches of the Ceibo Chico area, approximately eight kilometers east of the Adjacency Line. Earlier today, a joint operation […]
We can confirm that a Guatemalan national has been found dead in the Chiquibul National Park. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs late this evening confirmed the death of the national, but says that the identity and cause of death have not been ascertained; and the deceased is still at the location. According to the release, […]
Fuel from Venezuela, refined in Curacao, is Belize’s main source under the Petrocaribe program. But because of continued unrest in the South American state and ongoing issues related to world fuel oil prices, questions have been raised about whether Belize is ultimately being compromised by its close relation to this troubled state. Three weeks ago, […]
Last August, an independent investigative report commissioned by the Organization of American States cleared members of the Belize Defence Force who were part of a patrol in the Cebada area of the Chiquibul that encountered several Guatemalan nationals engaged in illegal activity. The resulting fire fight led to the death of Guatemalan minor Julio Rene […]
The Governments of Mexico and Belize have mutually agreed to a temporary ban on vehicles and motorcycles crossing the old border bridge of Subteniente Lopez, restricting traffic to pedestrians only. According to reports confirmed by Belizean sources, merchants of the Commercial Free Zone have complained about smugglers flouting the customary limit on transferring goods over […]
Today, the Embassy of Mexico and the Mexican trade and investment agency, ProMexico, organized a Commercial Mission to Belize where seven companies from Cancun and Merida brought products and services to meet with local entrepreneurs. Officials from the Mexican trade team were joined by representatives from BELTRAIDE as well as the Belize Chamber of Commerce. […]
The Government, a year ago this week, passed legislation to stop Wil Maheia’s Belize Territorial Volunteers and others from peacefully traversing Belize’s southern boundary, the Sarstoon River. Later the B.D.F., Coastguard and Police physically blocked the dock to prevent the expedition. But the Government’s promise that it could get a deal with Guatemala on managing […]
Weeks ago, we reported that a leaked progress report by a consultant in Guatemala was pushing the idea to officially include Belize as part of Guatemala in that country’s map. The report was done by a consultant who was on contract to perform certain activities for a year. In his report for January, he makes […]
The latest pronouncement by Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington on the definition of Belize’s territory and borders is predictably causing uproar. A few weeks ago he surprised reporters during a press conference with Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, by pointing out that Belize’s borders are not internationally recognized, and […]
Joel Nagel continues tonight as Ambassador of Belize to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The U.S. attorney was accredited to Austria and several other European countries, but was cancelled by the Government of Austria, a move that earned Belize a black eye in diplomatic circles. The dismissal has […]
The Minister of Foreign Affairs contended that business continues as usual for Nagel, and he has already brought results, including a closer relationship with the I.A.E.A., who has sent teams to Belize to observe the situation with cancer caused by various agents, among other things. While it’s hard to believe that what is essentially ‘gossip’ […]
Guatemala and the resolution of the unfounded claim to Belizean territory, as well as ascendant issues, have been at the top of the agenda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While Guatemala has agreed to having a referendum on taking the claim to the International Court of Justice, Prime Minister Dean Barrow has indicated that […]
Is the Guatemalan Government stepping up its aggressive campaign against Belize, even before a referendum to take the unfounded territorial claim to the I.C.J. is held? Reports surfaced today that the Guatemalan government proposes to annex the Sarstoon Island as part of Guatemalan territory. The report states that the Government of Guatemala is preparing to […]
