Guatemala will not remove troops from borders

Posted: Monday, April 25, 2016. 11:26 a.m. CST

By Dalila Ical: Minister of Defence in Guatemala, Williams Masilla told the Guatemalan press that they will maintain their military presence at the adjacency zone with Belize and at the Sarstoon River, in a press conference on Saturday.

Mansilla is quoted as saying that they will keep their troops there “for as long as is necessary”.  He added that they are paying attention to whether Belize’s responses are different and ensuring that the area remains stabilized, secure and peaceful.

Guatemalan military officials also clarified that while they had indicated that some 3, 000 soldiers had been deployed, only one thousand soldiers are currently patrolling the adjacency zone. The rest are spread out in other sectors along Peten located north of the country and along the border with Mexico.

The announcement follows a meeting between President Jimmy Moralez and Prime Minister Dean Barrow in New York on Friday where they discussed the situation and, according to the PM agreed to de-escalate tensions, but there was no mention from either leader whether the Guatemalan military would retreat from the borders.

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