Tonight, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is fuming after another Guatemalan Navy vessel entered Belizean waters today.
The Guatemalan Navy Landing Craft Utility named Quetzal was spotted this morning inside the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve, less than two miles from the Belize Coast Guard base at Hunting Caye - according to PGTV.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francis Fonseca told us this evening via text quote, "Just concluded a scheduled National Security Council MEETING in which we were briefed on the incident. The GAF vessel QUETZAL was observed to be in our waters this morning. The Coast Guard responded immediately. Informed those on board that they were in Belizean waters and the vessel immediately left.
I have discussed these incidents with the Guatemalan FM and we have arranged for a meeting next week between our Defense Ministers and security teams as a follow up.
We treat each of these incidents with the utmost importance and priority and follow established protocol to ensure they are resolved peacefully." End quote.
The quetzal is a multipurpose landing craft designed for transporting troops, vehicles, and equipment.
