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Last night we showed you border activist Will Maheia - talking about the Guatemalan gunboats blocking the channel where the Territorial Volunteers usually enter the Sarstoon river.   He says that with no Belizean BDF or Coast Guard in sight, his Volunteers retreated to PG town.  He concluded by saying that the Guatemalan military had effectively blocked the Sarstoon.

Wil Maheia - Belize Territorial Volunteers
"So I could tell you right now that the mouth of the Sarstoon River is completely blocked for Belizeans. So Belizeans just can't enter into the mouth of the Sarstoon right now."

Well, the Ministry of National Security has weighed in today with a slightly different account.   The release says that the Belize Defence Force and the Belize Coast Guard Forward Operating Base was âہ"completely aware of the events that occurred.â€?

At 10:30, Coast Guard personnel saw a a civilian vessel heading to the mouth of the Sarstoon, stop about 1.5 kilometers from the Forward Operating Base. 

The Coast Guard confirms that the Guatemalan Armed Forces deployed two Metal Shark vessels and a Columbian-type boat towards Maheiaâ€â„¢s vessel. 

But - and this is where the two accounts differ - while Maheia says  Belizeâ€â„¢s forces did nothing - the Ministry says, quote, âہ"the BDF and BCG also deployed one of their Metal Shark boats towards the civilian vessel but noted that it had turned around and was heading back towards Punta Gorda.â€?  Maheia disputes that.  He issued a statement this evening saying, quote, âہ"we BTV have witnessed that BDF metal shark never left the dock at FOB and the coast guard boat was in PG during the time BTV was at the mouth of the river.  The only boats around were GAF boats.â€? End quote.