On Wednesday night, News Five was the first to report on a formal protest issued by Guatemala in relation to the planned construction of a Forward Operating Base at the mouth of Sarstoon River on the mainland. That protest comes in the wake of an altercation between Guatemalan military and Coast Guard personnel – in […]
Just before leaving for Washington and Mexico today, Elrington told News Five that Guatemala’s position on the Forward Operating Base was conveyed in a very civilized manner, through a diplomatic note from that country. Because that territory is indeed in dispute, the Foreign Minister says that going to the O.A.S. is the right thing to […]
There have been two notable incidents in very recent months – first the capture of thirty-seven Belizeans in Belizean territorial waters by Guatemalan military, and then the altercation between Guatemalan soldiers and Belize’s Coast Guard. In the first, the Belizeans were taken against their will to Livingston, Guatemala, while in the second Coast Guard personnel […]
So the fate of the Forward Operating Base now lies in the hands of the O.A.S., and the territorial integrity of Belize will lie in the hands of the ICJ, if and when the dispute goes before that tribunal. For now, everything seems to be on hold, and Elrington says that is how it will […]
In June, a Guatemalan gunboat GC-651, the Tecum Uman, crashed into the reef near Middle and Long Cays, causing damage estimated at around forty-eight thousand dollars. With all dispatch, the vessel was pulled off its perch and allowed to return to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, with a bill to follow. Well, that bill has been sent, […]
In an extended interview with Minister Elrington, we also inquired about the installation of Nestor Mendez as Assistant Secretary General of the O.A.S. It’s an auspicious occasion since for the first time, a Belizean will be installed as Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization of American States. Elrington told us what that means for the country, […]
But there is another story of national importance. Emotions were running high in Belize following an armed standoff between the Guatemalan military and the Belize National Coast Guard, on the Sarstoon River back in May when the Guatemalans confronted the Coast Guard. Today there is information that Guatemala is attempting to block the construction of […]
As we told you earlier, the Guatemalan government is yet to respond on a bill from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for damages caused to the reef when its naval gunboat ran aground near Glovers Reef in June. C.E.O. in the Ministry of National Security says they are yet to receive a response from Guatemalan […]
On Wednesday, Ambassador Alexis Rosado presented his credentials as Belize’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Costa Rica. Accepting and accrediting those credentials was Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera, Costa Rica’s president. A release from the Government Press Office says, “there are several agreements in the areas of trade and cooperation that we now […]
On Monday, the new Guatemalan Ambassador to Belize, Manuel Estuardo Roldan, was sworn in to assume his diplomatic mission in Belize. He begins his appointment at a time when there is a strong public anti-Guatemalan sentiment because of recent incidents such as the Guatemalan gunboat that crashed into the reef and the detention of four […]
Ambassador Roldan says that his primary focus will be to build the relationship between Guatemala and Belize. And one of his priorities is to help alleviate the pressures on the border by establishing economic opportunities for Guatemalans. When he leaves office, he says that he hopes that he would be known for improving the relations […]
The detention of five Belizeans in Guatemala, and the alleged abuse of those detainees, has resulted in a formal protest being forwarded to Guatemala. It’s an incredible story which started making the rounds on Saturday – five Belizeans who were allegedly hanging out in the Guatemalan village of Santa Cruz, just across the border from […]
Despite the worst fears of the detained men, they were not shot and left in that grassy pasture as they expected. Instead they were taken eight more kilometres where they met up with a mobile unit and were subjected to a preliminary interrogation. Voice of: Ashton McKenzie, Detained in Guatemala “They rubbed us down. […]
McKenzie and his companions were taken back to the Police Station without being allowed to speak on their own behalf. They were first put into a cell with other Guatemalan prisoners, but say that when they witnessed the conditions of the cell they begged to be allowed to stay outside the cell in an open […]
As we told you earlier, a formal note has been sent to Guatemala through diplomatic channels, following the reports made by the men. According to Acting C.E.O. in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Audrey Wallace, they had no inkling of the abuses which are now being alleged. Voice of: Audrey Wallace, Acting C.E.O., Ministry […]
Danny Conorquie was murdered in the line of duty back on September twenty-fifth, 2014. No one has ever been charged and as far as we know the Conorquie family is yet to settle compensation with the government. But who did it? There is reason to believe that Guatemalan nationals who operate wantonly in the area […]
This morning, we asked the Foreign Minister of Belize about the location of the island from where the coastguard was extracted. According to Wilfred Elrington, he got a situation report from the Guatemalan Chief of Intelligence since he was in Guatemala City at the time the incident unfolded. Marleni Cuellar, Host “The island that […]
William Neal, this morning, pressed Foreign Minister Elrington if the Guatemalan navy acted in provocation since it was well within Belizean waters. William Neal, Host “So, when ordinary Belizean citizens do it, it is seen as an act of provocation that could lead to something else, but when the Guatemalan military come over and […]
This morning, when we spoke to the Foreign Minister, we also raised the issue of a statement he made some time ago that angered various sectors of the population. It has to do with the term “artificial borders,” which the minister had used to describe our borders, which are under dispute by Guatemala. Elrington explains […]
Were Petrocaribe monies used to fund salaries for government employees, and in secret? Well that’s the assertion which rang out on the airwaves this morning. According to documents leaked from the Central Bank – a statement for an account entitled GOB Proceeds Petrocaribe Financing – that’s exactly what happened. A line item on the statement […]
n another pressing issue; on Thursday there was a confrontation between Coast Guard personnel and a Guatemalan naval patrol on an island in the Sarstoon. The Coast Guard was there on a reconnaissance mission for a possible forward operating base, when they were approached by a Guatemalan vessel and ordered out of the waters. Our […]
Even though we were told by National Security that the Coastguard did not retreat and held its own, the Foreign Minister says that the situation was defused when Coast Guard personnel, in Belizean waters, were instructed to leave the area. And according to Foreign Minister Elrington, that resolution was orchestrated not by him, but by […]
So our Belizean military personnel were ordered out of Belizean waters, but what happens next? What does it mean for future Coast Guard operations in our waters? Will our Coast Guard personnel be able to patrol our waters down south? All that seems a little unclear at the moment, and according to Foreign Minister Elrington, […]
There is an interesting story coming out of Guatemala where President Otto Perez Molina is under pressure to resign following major scandals of corruption that are rocking his government. But could the scandals spill into Belize? El Periodico newspaper is reporting that among a slew of assets, Guatemalan officials have seized a helicopter linked to the […]
As you know by now, for the first time the Opposition party is not taking part in the process toward finding a definitive solution to the territorial dispute with Guatemala. At Monday’s signing of an amendment to the Special Agreement in Guatemala City, the P.U.P. representative was conspicuously absent on an issue that is of […]
