PM Briceño Reiterates Belize’s Position on Sarstoon  

Last Thursday, Brigadier General Azariel Loria, Commandant of the Belize Defense Force, led a group of reporters to Sarstoon where the B.D.F. inaugurated a newly reconstructed forward operating base at the mouth of the river.  During their time at the FOB, Brigadier General Loria also took the media on a tour around Sarstoon Island, a contested land mass in the middle of the river that is also being claimed by Guatemala.  The Guatemalan Armed Forces, once again engaged in an exchange of words with the B.D.F. contingent.  Over the weekend, video of a press conference held by the Guatemalan military was in circulation online.  Earlier today, Prime Minister John Briceño was asked for a comment on the recent face-off between the B.D.F. and the Guatemalan army.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Well I think I want to leave that for the minister, we agreed that he is going to answer that but as always, we always stand up to defend what legally and historically belongs to Belize, and the Sarstoon is the boundary between both countries and that has not changed, and then we are going to follow the due process with the OAS, the friends of Belize and everyone to ensure that we can keep Guatemala in check.  But the foreign minister can give you more details.”