The Coast Guard patrols the sea, but the BDF still has its maritime responsibilities
and the US government is rewarding that with the donation of patrol boats and
heavy trucks to Belize’s Army. Tomorrow, the US Government will donate
these patrol boats and trucks to the Belize Defence Force Special Boat Unit.
The boats are 43 foot NOR-TECH Interceptor Fast Patrol Boats, and the trucks
are two Ford F-450’s, along with what’s called a Maintenance Sustainment
Package with a combined value of 3.6 million Belize dollars. The initiative
comes form a programme called Enduring Friendship which seeks to empower law
enforcement agencies to better police their territorial waters – especially
when those waters form the routes for the trans-shipment of drugs to the United
States.
The United States Southern Command has given identical vessels to a number
of countries in the region, in the hope that it will create a regional security
network of maritime patrollers.
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