Since late August, the US has been increasing its military presence in the Caribbean and has been striking what it declares - without proof - to be narco vessels.
Many Caribbean leaders have frowned on this - saying that it is an intrusion into what has been a "zone of peace".
Foreign Minister Francis Fonseca has said that they're in discussions with CARICOM and the goal is to ensure that the Caribbean remains a "zone of peace." Here's what he told us today.
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade & Immigration
"We are very, very concerned about these latest actions and the sort of military buildup in the Caribbean Sea."
"And these, you know, what are extrajudicial killings."
"So, you know, we have, of course, as a responsible government, we have engaged with our partners and friends in CARICOM. So we're having a discussion about that issue. As you all know, CARICOM issued a very firm statement on the issue, expressing our concern. Belize was a part of putting that statement together. So we stand in solidarity with CARICOM on this issue. We're very concerned. We want to ensure that the Caribbean remains a zone of peace that is absolutely critically important to us as a country and to our CARICOM brothers and sisters."
"And, you know, we want to maintain the fundamental principle of international law that, you know, if you suspect that people are trafficking drugs or that they're engaged in criminal activity, that there is a process to deal with those individuals so that there are no unilateral decisions to kill people. As I said, extrajudicial killings or militarization of the zone. Now, we understand very well, Belize understands, that there is a serious problem with narco trafficking and human trafficking."
"And we want to be a part of any discussion to resolve that issue, to confront that issue. Belize is very serious about confronting that issue. So we're fully prepared to work with the United States on work on addressing that issue. CARICOM is fully prepared to work with the United States on addressing that issue. But let's do it in a respectful way and in a way that ensures that we are meeting our commitments to international law and international conventions. So that is our position."
A statement by former CARICOM Prime Ministers including Dean Barrow and Said Musa is reported to be in the offing.
