A Guatemalan vessel reportedly broke down in Belizean waters on Sunday and had to be escorted back into their territory by Belizean coast guard. Though in the past these encounters out on the sea haven't exactly been amicable between the Coast Guard and the Guatemalan soldiers, admiral Elton Bennett says that this time they did not resist going back into their marked Guatemalan territory.
Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant Coast Guard
"So on Sunday morning, sometime around 7 in the morning, our patrol that station out at the Ford Operating Base at Hunting Caye spotted a vessel that appeared to be a Guatemalan vessel. They deployed out, intercepted that vessel, which is only about half a mile or so from the Forward Operating Base."
"We started to communicate with that vessel, informing them that they were inside the Belizean waters. The Guatemalan vessel indicated that they had suffered an engine problem and that they were disoriented."
"That's their reasoning for entering Belizean sea space. Our patrol was firm. They communicated to the Guatemalan vessel that they were indeed inside the Belizean waters and that they would be escorted out."
"The Guatemalan vessel cooperated, and our Coast Guard patrol at that location escorted the Guatemalan vessel south towards Guatemalan sea spaces and watched them as they departed. This is not the larger patrol boats that we would normally see near our sea space or along the maritime border."
"This is a much smaller vessel. It's an interceptor by design and not a patrol boat. It is made from a metal shark brand. It carried six personnel on board, a much smaller vessel than what we normally would see out there."
"This one wasn't tense at all. They had acknowledged that they were disoriented, which we find to be very strange. And they had suffered an engine problem, which there were indicators of them not able to steam the way a vessel of that capacity would be able to steam."
"So they were somewhat suffering from engine problem and they did not hesitate. They did not show any signs of aggression. They cooperated and under escort, under the Coast Guard escort, they departed."
