A number of VIPs within the Government and sister military agencies showed up to celebrate this milestone with the Belize Coast Guard. Here's what the Attorney General had to say about the organization's growth and development, since its inception back in 2005.
Hon. Magali Marin-Young - Attorney General
"The Government of Belize invested in a maritime security initiative, the aim of which was to address the gaps in our national security at the time, as we continued to assert ourselves as an independent nation, and to find ways to become more financially independent as a country, through the exploration and expansion of our investments in the marine sector. The Government of Belize realized - and to quote Peter the Great, that a ruler that has but an army has one hand. But he who has a navy has both. It was important, therefore, for us to invest in maritime security since, at around that time, the cruise tourism industry was just taking off. Our port industry was expanding with the Port of Big Creek. Our fishing industry was becoming increasingly vulnerable to illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, and drug trafficking at sea was increasingly becoming a threat. And though independent, we continue to have the Guatemalan claim hovering over us. Fast-forward to 2021, and we can see the results of that visionary investment made some 16 years ago, to invest in the Belize Coast Guard, which has provided Belize with maritime security. The private sector, namely our fishers and maritime sectors, can now have the confidence to invest and rapidly expand. We can now boast as a country that our Belize Coast Guard has tirelessly worked to ensure safe and secure waters for Belize and indeed for the region."
Rear Admiral Elton Bennett - Commandant, Belize Coast Guard
"Over the past 12 months, we've been severely impacted by COVID, and that means financial impact as well. So, over the past year and a half, a lot of our funds have been reduced. So, we cannot continue at the same pace that we were. But, we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel already. We're moving forward with some of our major projects. I know one of the big projects our current administration, in National Defense and Border Security, is to get the Coast Guard Base at the Port of Big Creek going. So, in the next couple of months, that will be under construction, and hopefully, by mid-year next year, that will be completed. So, whilst we took a tactical pause over the past 12 months, we're back on track, not 100%, but we're moving in the right direction again."
Before the Coast Guard was established back in November 2005, they used to be known as the Belize Defense Force's Maritime Wing.
