A Guatemalan luxury yacht ran aground on a reef structure in Belizean waters on Saturday. The Coast Guard confirms that it responded to a vessel grounding on Saturday near Ray Caye. There were 5 persons on board, 4 Guatemalans and a Spaniard.
It is described as a recreational vessel which departed Guatemala and headed to Belize. The vessel was removed from the grounding - but it seems it did not pass through Immigration checks and the passengers were taken to Big Creek to face Immigration offences.
But, those were never assessed. And why is that? Well, best information to us is that there were some well connected Guatemalans on the vessel - and it might have caused what;s being called international incident.
They claimed that they arrived in Belizean waters on Friday night - and because of the hour did not find any immigration officer at the Punta Gorda entry point. They said they had planned to check in on Monday. We are told their passports carried many stamps from previous visits to Belizean waters - which is a well known getaway for Guatemala's super - rich. Bearing in mind all the factors - and that it could have caused some friction between Belize and Guatemala - we're told that's why the decision was made not to charge them for immigration offenses.
The captain is said to be cooperating with authorities for damages to the reef.
