Guatemalan Power Struggles Fuel Sarstoon Provocations

So, what’s behind this latest show of aggression from the Guatemalan Armed Forces? Prime Minister Briceño believes it has more to do with politics than patriotism. He says President Bernardo Arévalo is dealing with internal challenges, even though he’s seen as a forward-thinking leader. On the flip side, Guatemala’s Defense Minister is reportedly working with Belize to ease tensions. But according to the PM, the real problem lies at the ‘low level’, with hardliners who still cling to the idea that parts of Belize belong to them.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Of course it is an act of aggression. They came into our territory without our permission, and it is something we hold very serious, and we will not tolerate it, but we have to be realistic. The size of their army compared to the size of our army, but we will stand our ground. This is our land, and we will not give a single inch to the Guatemalans.”

 

Reporter

“There has been a report that since September tenth the GAF steered their boat in front of PG. I don’t know if you received that report. Are we left to throw our hands in the air and conclude this is Guatemalan aggression?”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“How can you come to that conclusion? I have just said that we have stood our ground every step of the way. I am not sure about a gun boat being in front of PG. First time I am hearing about it. The incident that did occur is that there was a boat that went within our territory, within our waters in the Sarstoon and our boat went and they bumped into our boat. Obviously there are certain elements within the military that is having this aggressive behavior. President Arevalo has been having a lot of problems within his government, because nobody expected him to win and then he is a reform minded president. He is finding these challenges all over. But, the minister of defense, I met with him already when I went to Guatemala and had a meeting with President Arevalo. He went to great lengths to see how we can work in that area and diffuse the relationship, especially in the military, between the countries. The problem is not at the high level. It is more at the low level when you have these hardliners that say ok, we are not going to give up our land. We will stand firm that Belize is ours and we will do the best we can to defend what is ours.”