And while they crossed illegally - today Guatemalan trucks drivers crossed legally when the western border opened under a new protocol. The bridge on the Melchor side of the border had been blocked for the better part of three days when Belizean authorities stopped the free movement of the grain truck across Belizean borders.
Today, the Prime Minister explained why they had to intervene:
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow- Prime Minister
"The Ministry Administer of immigration received reports as to, in one case or on one day last week something like 46 Guatemalans coming in with trucks and of course the drivers of those trucks and other personnel into our country and going as far south as Stann Creek. In one case, to deliver packing crates, I believe, for the banana industry. Now, we all know that from time to time there will be slippages but that was altogether too much. So, the Immigration Department decided that this had to stop and began insisting that the protocols that had been agreed, though clearly not observed, should now rule. That is, if you are bringing cargo from Guatemala there is a sort of exchange point. If you are talking about cargo in trailers, the trailers can be unhitched from the Guatemalan vehicles and re-hitched to Belizean vehicles, with Belizean drivers and they are the ones who should bring in the cargo."
As we told you last night, after days of back and forth and fine tuning a protocol, the relevant ministries signed off on one yesterday afternoon. And it went into full effect this morning. It sees Belize making a major concession to allow Guatemalan drivers into the country to go and examine yellow corn before they buy it.
The deal is that they will be shadowed by a customs guard - who is in another vehicle. But, guards are limited and our lookouts on the highway today only saw one of the corn truck with a shadow vehicle trailing them. The Prime Minister said it's an imperfect solution but the importance of this trade route demands it:
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow- Prime Minister
"It took us a while, a day or so, to reconcile ourselves to that position because it meant that technically you were breaching the SI. Guatemalan trucks and Guatemalan drivers accompanied by the purchaser or purchasers would be coming into our country and going to Spanish Lookout. But there are no perfect solutions. So, we felt, listen, their trucks would be sprayed at the border, their personnel would be screened, would be checked, I don't know if there is such a thing as spraying personnel; I don't want to get like president Trump. But whatever, as much as could be done by the health authorities would be done and then the trucks would be escorted by customs to make sure that no hanky-panky would take place at the point of loading. But subject to those cautions or precautionary measures it was thought that so as not to have the Mennonites lose the corn market, we would run the risk. I talked to Jules earlier about the need to do the balancing act. So we decided to run the risk and allow those people to go to Spanish Lookout under escort and complete there transactions there."
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