And right now, no Belizean civilian is allowed to travel into the Sarstoon River without the express approval of the Government of Belize. If they do, they risk being fined up to $2,000, or up to a year in jail, and that is in addition to the dangers of being arrested or more serious consequences, should they come into contact with the Guatemalan military.
And that kind of encounter is almost a certainty, since as we've been reporting, even the BDF soldiers are not immune to this consistent harassment from the Guatemalan Navy. The first public indication that the Guat. military had changed to a more aggressive profile at the southern border came almost exactly a year ago, in May. That's when they confronted officers of the Belize Coast Guard and demanded that they leave Sarstoon Island. As you would remember, the Coast Guard were scouting for an ideal location to put the Sarstoon Forward Operating Base. Since then, the Guatemalan military has steadily stepped up its enforcement on the Sarstoon River and Sarstoon Island.
So, what does it actually look like on the island? Well, yesterday, we came into possession of another leaked video which shows exactly that. Today, our Daniel Ortiz took a closer look at it in the context of the failed attempts to go there by the Belize Territorial Volunteers. Here's his story:
Daniel Ortiz reporting
Since August of 2015, we've been seeing the Sarstoon Island, not quite getting up close, forced to view it only from a great distance.
After the first bumper boat showdown between the territorial Volunteers and the Guat. military, we got to see the southern side of the island.
Then, about a week later, the territorial volunteers stole an opportunity and mounted a Belize flag on the island. That was the first and only opportunity to really get near it. With the tensions between Belize and Guatemala rising, it was starting to look like it might not happen again any time soon.
Well, some time last week, the BDF went patrolling the island. Keep in mind that the civilian ban on the Sarstoon is still in effect, and the Guatemalans are ever watchful, and ready to move into position to block anyone from going there.
Somehow though, this BDF patrol managed to get up-close to the island without being stopped.
The person holding the cellphone camera, most likely a Security Forces officer, proceeds to jump out of the BDF's Metal Shark vessel. It is unclear which side of the island they have chosen to survey, but it is evident that the Guatemalan military is not yet aware that the Belize soldiers are there.
He then moves past the mangrove, water, and mud, and to make a trek into the heart of the island. With his journey, he's capturing what he's seeing, which now takes us - and you the viewers - on a tour of what it's actually like on Sarstoon Island.
Deciding that he's gone far enough, he takes a look around and notices stock piles of what looks like freshly cut palm fronds. They appear neatly stacked, but there is no indication if they've been cut down from the jungle on Sarstoon Island, or simply stored there.
Having seen enough, the camera operator then backtracks and jumps back into the BDF vessel. The boat then moves off.
The BDF patrol then slowly throttles around the island, and sure enough, only a few short minutes later, they run into one of the 2 Guatemalan Metal Sharks we've seen regularly.
Once again, that Guatemalan vessel positions itself to blockade the BDF boat, and the Soldiers onboard, heavily armed, proceed to question the Belizeans.
Guatemalan Soldier
"What is your intention? You cannot pass from the southern way."
Belizean Soldier 1
"What did he say?"
Belizean Soldier 2
"You can't pass on this side?"
Belizean Soldier 1
"Why not?"
Guatemalan Soldier
"Those are my orders."
Belizean Soldier 1
"Can't we circle this side?"
Guatemalan Soldier
"No sir."
Belizean Soldier 2
"He says we can't go this way because the other side of the island is theirs."
Belizean Soldier 1
"That is what he says?"
Belizean Soldier 2
"He says it's his orders that."
As the Camera pans out to the background, you can see that the Guatemalans are again attempting stop the Belizean soldiers from traveling the full length of the Southern Side of the Island.
We are not exactly sure when this patrol took place, but our sources suggest that it happened very recently.
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