And turning now directly to Belize/Guatemala relations on the ground, Wil Maheia and the territorial volunteers took a trip to the Sarstoon river this morning. They took the blogger , Rhenae Nunez with them, and she saw first hand what we've been showing you since 2015. Guatemalan gunboats menacingly followed them from the time they entered the Mouth of the river, until they left. Here's what Nunez had to say after experiencing that threatening presence from Guatemalan military closely watching their movements while she was there:
Rhenae Nunez - Sarstoon Trip Participant
"I said when we started out that today is gonna be rather historic for me, and for me to witness this first hand. I've only seen footage. I've only seen videos when you've been out here, when other concerned Belizeans have been out here. I'm witnessing this for myself because I can see across the entrance to the river, the Guatemalans - and to see these 2 boats audaciously - what we say in Belize Kriol, we say "facey" - came all the way across, and are now lingering in clearly what is Belizean territory. Folks, what we're looking at right now is the Sarstoon Island. And as I was trying to explain when we were approaching, it has a - the river forks, but this is clearly Belizean territory. And as we can see, this is what I consider to be menacing. This is provocation. This is how Guatemala wants to pursue their claim, by bullying us. This is bullying."
The Belizean civilians were being escorted by the Belizean security forces stationed at Sarstoon. They turned back to avoid any direct confrontation.
The Ministry of National Security has issued a statement on the incident. It says, quote, "Following that incident, the security forces at the Sarstoon FOB conducted a routine patrol around Sarstoon Island and had no resistance from the GAF. The Ministry notes that the Guatemalans seemed to have been aware that Mr. Mejia was visiting the area and had boosted their resources in order to deliberately block his entrance.
This incident has been reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a strong protest is being lodged to condemn the actions of the GAF. The Government of Belize notes that this incident marks a higher level of interference by the Guatemalans and is discussing an adequate diplomatic response." End quote.
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