And the Minister of Defense and Border Security told us that he has been in communication with his counterpart in Guatemala, and that they have another meeting scheduled. The Ministry says is also amping up the patrols and equipment in the Sarstoon.
Oscar Mira, Minister of Defense & Border Security
"I want to really emphasize the bravery of our soldiers. It is not easy. It is not easy. I have been there. I know what we feel. But we have to be smart on the way that we do our patrols. The last thing we want to do is that there was an incident on the Sarstoon and it becomes bigger than what it was supposed to be, We are small. Yes. We agree. But the bravery of those soldiers there, if you notice, the boat was right there, along with the GAF. And, I want to commend that officer who was there, who was in charge of the patrol for what he did that day. I went to PG the following day, and I made sure the soldiers know that what they did for us and what they are doing there is something that we appreciate and we will continue to. That is our job. We take it very seriously. I have another meeting, with the minister to emphasize that those provocations are unwarranted. Those provocations should not happen. We both agree that the case is now the ICJ, and there will be a ruling, or we must abide by that ruling. We have pledged to abide by the ruling. We will continue to patrol. We will continue to enhance the FOB. I will continue to bring new, equipment to the FOB. We have now deployed a second boat and the Coast Guard will be patrolling daily. And, we will have more support for the FOB."
Again, all those statements were made this morning before the militant statement by Guatemala - which was posted at 5:00 pm.
