Belize Deploys Additional Military Vessels Following Sarstoon Confrontation

Belize has sent more Defence Force and Coast Guard vessels to the Sarstoon after two Guatemalan military boats approached a BDF patrol with 6 personnel on board, near the Sarstoon Island on Saturday. Belize says both boats crossed into its waters. Guatemala disputes that account. National Security CEO Retired Major Francis Usher says his ministry knew about the encounter as it happened. Paul Diaz has the story.

Paul Diaz Reporter: Look just past the soldiers in the Belizean boats there’s a Guatemalan military vessel close along side. It’s crew visible under the canopy. The camera turns towards the bow and there’s a second Guatemalan boat up ahead. That’s what the BDF patrol was looking at Sunday morning on the Sarstoon. The soldiers were on a routine patrol near Sarstoon Island. Belize’s Foreign Ministry says the two vessels crossed into Belizean waters and approached the patrol in an apparent attempt to intimidate the crew. Guatemala’s military says it was the Belizean boat that crossed into its waters. There were no shots fired, no injuries. The soldiers finished the patrol and made it back to base. By then, the Ministry of National Security already knew what had happened. Retired Major Francis Usher, the ministry’s CEO, says the technology now in use at the ministry alerted officials as the incident unfolded.

Retired Major Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of National Security: “We’ve made certain technological advancements that allow us to get a live feed of what’s happening. So the moment things started to escalate, we were aware and we were tracking it. We have certain immediate measures that we take in order to ensure that our guys are safe and secure. So what happened on Saturday, we did what we always do which was assert ourselves in our territorial waters, patrolling the entire Sarstoon River, the northern and southern channels of the river around the Sarstoon Island. When we were coming back from our patrol and we were coming through the southern channel of the Sarstoon River, on the southern portion of the island, that’s when two Guatemalan Armed Forces vessels approached us in what I would describe as an aggressive manner. There are several videos outlining how the Guatemalan vessels were clearly within our waters, close to our FOB. But despite all of that, our guys maintained calmer heads. In my opinion, they were trying to get a rise out of our guys, which we did not allow to happen.”

Paul Diaz Reporter: The encounter has added to concerns about what Belizeans describe as increasingly aggressive moves by the Guatemalan Armed Forces in recent weeks. After Saturday’s patrol, Belize sent more BDF and Coast Guard vessels to the Forward Operating Base. Usher spoke about the reinforcement and what was sent to the Sarstoon.

Retired Major Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of National Security: “While all of this was ongoing, we had already triggered our first tier of response, which was immediate reinforcements which arrived from both the BDF and the Coast Guard. And so up to now, we still have several vessels, several teams at the Sarstoon FOB, and we constantly have reinforcements nearby. We brought the reinforcements to the FOB. We’ve done certain tactical shifts that will allow us to be able to withstand any threat.”

Paul Diaz Reporter There’s a diplomatic response as well. The Foreign Ministry says Belize will lodge a formal protest with Guatemala and report the incident to the Organization of American States. Belize maintains that the 1859 Treaty puts the boundary at the mid-channel of the river and that Sarstoon Island is in Belizean territory. The wider dispute remains before the International Court of Justice. Usher says his ministry has been working with Foreign Affairs on the response.

Retired Major Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of National Security: “You know, military personnel are interesting in terms of we all, and I say we recently retired, but I’ll say we, we sign up to serve something greater than ourselves. We sign up to serve our country, sign up to serve our people. We are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. But the responsible thing to do is for diplomacy to take its course. And so whenever these confrontations occur, we ensure that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is immediately informed by the Ministry of National Security. So whenever it occurred, Minister Chebat was immediately in communication with Minister Fonseca. They jumped on the horn through the diplomatic channels while we ensured that we took every necessary step to protect our personnel and to ensure that Belize’s sovereignty didn’t continue to be violated. We ensured that reinforcements arrived. We ensured that every measure was taken to ensure that we were ready, but that things could de-escalate.”

Paul Diaz Reporter Back at the base, the military commanders met with the soldiers and Coast Guard crews who were stationed there over the weekend. They thanked them in person, and when you look back at the video, you can see how close those boats were. The BDF crew kept its composure and finished the patrol. That took discipline. Usher had a word of thanks for the men and women who stand guard in the south and for those on duty across Belize.

Retired Major Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of National Security: “All that happened was that they were exposed for what they are trying to be: bullies. But they won’t bully our guys. Our guys are prepared, they’re professional, and they handled themselves well throughout that entire process. Throughout all of the toss and pull, our guys ensured that professionalism was of utmost importance and that they got back to the base. We are grateful. We know that in these high-stress situations, it’s easy to do something rash, but our guys maintained their composure. They were completely professional. We’re proud of them, and we will continue to do our part to ensure that all the support that is available can get to them.”