In a rare display of unified action during Belize’s annual September national celebrations, once-divided civilian and national security groups have set aside past differences to stand together in defense of the country’s territorial sovereignty along the contested Sarstoon River border.
The collaborative effort, which brought together the Belize Territorial Volunteers (BTV), a civilian activist group focused on territorial claims, and the Belize Coast Guard, with additional logistical and operational backing from the Belize Defense Force, culminated in a flag-planting expedition at the southern border, a long-running annual event to assert Belize’s territorial sovereignty.
Weeks of coordinated planning between leadership from all three groups laid the groundwork for the smooth, incident-free mission, according to Belize Coast Guard Commandant Rear Admiral Gregory Soberanis. In comments following the expedition, Soberanis emphasized that open, direct dialogue between the civilian and military stakeholders was the key to the operation’s success. “This was an initiative where members of the BTV sat with members of the Belize Defense Force and the Belize Coast Guard and planned how we were going to execute,” Soberanis explained. “And it was executed in the manner that we had planned and so we are proud that we were able to pull it off with no incidents.”
The joint mission comes amid rising tensions along the Sarstoon, where Guatemalan civilian and government vessels have increasingly increased their presence in the contested waterway. When asked by reporters whether this new model of civilian-military cooperation would become standard operating procedure for future expeditions, given the shifting and more confrontational posture from Guatemalan actors, Soberanis declined to commit to a long-term plan. Instead, he noted that authorities would take a flexible, year-by-year approach to future operations. “Every year we just will not forecast. We don’t want to presume anything,” Soberanis said. “We’ll take it year by year and then we’ll see how things unfold. And based on how things unfold as we reach a time like this year, we plan accordingly for how we are going to execute.”
Despite the heavy presence of Guatemalan vessels and civilians along the river during this year’s expedition, the unified Belizean team successfully reached the Forward Operating Base at the border and raised the Belizean national flag, completing their core objective of reinforcing the country’s long-held territorial claim. This successful cross-group collaboration marks a notable shift in how Belize is approaching its ongoing border dispute, demonstrating a unified front both domestically and to international observers.
This report is adapted from a transcript of an evening television newscast originally published online.