Last night we told you about the drug running helicopter that was forced down on Monday at noon in extreme southwestern Belize by the Guatemalan air force.
Tonight, it remains under BDF guard, the subject of a police investigation. But now, the Guatemalans are saying they want it back. That's right, the Guatemala's ambassador Antonio Castellanos today confirmed that his mission has sent a diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying that authorities need the helicopter to meet the requirements of the judicial system in their country.
Belize's CEO in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Sylvestre today told us that they are considering the request but cannot make a decision until a police investigation is complete. Sylvester confirmed that Belize has jurisdiction over the helicopter. He noted that, presumably under hot pursuit from the Guatemalan air force, the chopper entered Belizean airspace illegally, and landed in Belize without authority. He says that his Ministry has indicated the government's intention to fully cooperate with the Guatemalan criminal investigation. Of course that is after Belize's investigation is finished and no clear date can yet be given for that.
So while that's wait and see, we note that Guatemalan press accounts say that the Guatemalan drug squad took the 500 kilos of cocaine from the chopper. That would be a clear incursion into Belize's territory and that's why, officially, the Guatemalans are saying that, under hot pursuit, the drug runners threw the cocaine out within Guatemala. Castellanos noted that the helicopter is registered in that country and to remove it, his government would request the assistance of a U.S. Chinook helicopter.