By Belize Live News Staff: Belize’s Ambassador to Guatemala, José Alpuche, is back in the country, but Prime Minister John Briceño says that does not mean he has been recalled.
Briceño addressed the matter at the Philip Goldson International Airport after returning from the United Nations General Assembly.
He explained that bringing an ambassador home for talks is standard practice when tensions arise with another country. The goal, he said, is to understand what is happening on the other side before any decision is made.
“It is something to be decided,” Briceño said, noting that Alpuche could return to Guatemala the next day, within a month, or not at all.
The move comes as Belize responds to the reported entry of a Guatemalan aircraft into Belizean airspace near Lighthouse Reef and Caye Caulker. That incident followed the Guatemalan Navy’s incursion into the Sarstoon on September 10.
Briceño said he will meet with the Foreign Minister and the National Security Council this week. He also plans to recommend that Guatemala’s ambassador in Belize be summoned for an explanation.
At the same time, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of keeping relations with Guatemala intact while the territorial dispute is before the International Court of Justice.
“We are neighbors. That’s not going to change,” he said.
Briceño added that Belize will brief its international partners, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the OAS, on what he called unacceptable behaviour by Guatemala.
