BTV on Guatemalan Incursions: “Belizeans Need to See Those Diplomatic Notes”

It’s not the first time, and it may not be the last time unless Belize “man up and say, ‘Hey, enough is enough,'” said Wil Maheia, Leader of the Belize Territorial Volunteers (BTV).

Reports of a Guatemalan Navy vessel entering Belizean waters near the Hunting Caye Forward Operating Base raised the alarm for a group of BTV members out at sea.

Maheia told News 5, “Yesterday morning, the Guatemalan forces, as they usually try to flex their muscles and show themselves, came close to the tower operating base at Hunting Caye. And as Belizeans, I feel like we need to do more than the Guatemalan forces and respect our borders and respect Belizean waters.”

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Francis Fonseca, the Coast Guard followed protocol, identified the vessel as a Guatemalan Armed Forces (GAF) vessel, and informed the Guatemalan forces that they were illegally in Belize’s maritime space and were escorted out of it.

Meanwhile, Maheia said the vessel was one of Guatemala’s largest gunboats used to patrol along the Caribbean side of the country, including areas near the Sarstoon, Corona Reef, and Sapodilla Cayes.

“I believe too that every time incidents like these happen, we say, ‘Oh, we’ll send a diplomatic note.’ I think the Belizeans need to see those diplomatic notes,” Maheia said. “I don’t know when Belize will man up and say, ‘Hey, enough is enough.’ The Guatemalans continue to disrespect Belizean sovereignty. I mean, we can’t do that in their country; we can’t do that in any country,” he added.