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Yesterday, we told you about the Guatemalan Armed Forces Soldier who was caught in Belizean territory in the Chiquibul National Park. Well, we've confirmed with Belizean authorities, that he has since been handed over to his commander by the BDF, with an understanding that he will face disciplinary charges for it.

As we told you, the soldier, 20 year-old Oscar Caal Coc was found armed on Belizean soil. On Monday, Coc was discovered in the Rio Blanco area along with 2 minors and an elderly man by a joint enforcement team of BDF Soldiers, police officers, and Rangers from the Friends for Conservation and Development which. The Belizean authorities found him with a .22 rifle which was loaded with 11 rounds of live .22 ammunition.

The decision was taken that he should be detained because though he may have the proper permits in his country, in Belize the weapon and ammunition as unlicensed. The other 3 Guatemalan nationals were released, and Belizean authorities believe that when they returned to their side of the border, they immediately complained that the Belizean armed forces took the soldier into custody unlawfully because he was in Guatemala.

That prompted communication from the Guatemalan military to the BDF, where there was an exchange of information about how the incident unfolded, and what would be the arrangements invoked under the protocol between the two militaries. The OAS was called in as an objective party which verified that the encounter was on Belizean soil, but not at the 250 meter mark from the border that the BDF soldiers believed it to be. Their inquiry confirms thought, that the Guatemalans had trespassed into Belize.

As General David Jones described yesterday, the soldier was escorted deeper into Belize, and after the matter was queried by all sides, he was escorted to the Benque Viejo/Melchor border point, where he was handed over to his military.

According to George Lovell, the CEO in the Ministry of National Security, the understanding from both sides is that the Guatemalan soldier, Oscar Caal Coc, will face disciplinary charges because of the encounter. When we asked what that could entail, Lovell explained that there are a range of disciplinary actions available including a demotion, as has occurred on the Belizean side whenever a BDF soldier trespassed into Guatemalan territory and had to be handed over to his commander.

Of course, this talk of trespass seems harmless enough, but really it is an indication of how far relations have progressed since the year two-thousand when four Belizean lawmen were detained and charged in Guatemala.  Later on in our newscast, we'll look back at that memorable episode.