Another area that the BDF has to always be monitoring are the terms of engagement on the Sarstoon River. The soldiers at the Guatemalan Navy base on their side of the river are always playing it close to the BDF and the Territorial Volunteers - often, too close. Today Saldivar said both sides must accept that a river boundary is not a thick red line:...
Hon. John Saldivar - Minister of National Security
"As long as the Guatemalans do not intervene and intercept and try to stop our access and passage through the river they are sharing that river with us as a boundary."
Reporter
"But how about the operating, the river is divided in half, how about they operating on our half of the river and following the Coast Guard on our half of the river?"
Hon. John Saldivar
"I don't want to use the same term as a colleague has spoken about in terms of that imaginary line but I'm sure you will appreciate that traversing a river does not always enable you to stay on your half of the river because of depth of water and other obstacles that you may encounter in the river. And that's why it is important for the protocol to be hammered out because it will address all those situations. I have been up that river several times and I know for a fact that in traversing that river many times we are on the other half, if you want to call it that, of that river that belongs to Guatemala simply because you cannot navigate all the way on your side."
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