Editor’s note: WorldNetDaily international correspondent Anthony C. LoBaido recently traveled to Central America on assignment. He filed this story about one of the cross-border spats he investigated.
LADYVILLE, Belize – Although this unique nation of Mayan ruins and giant sea turtles has no military, it is caught in a cat-and-mouse game with Guatemala, which, despite spin to the contrary, has an ongoing beef with her smaller neighbor.
The population of Belize is less than the city of Waco, Texas, with only about 200,000 residents living in an area equivalent to the size of Massachusetts. It features lowlands, valleys, mountains, waterfalls, river gorges and dry coastal plains.
Its citizens are Mayan and Mexican, European and Afro-Caribbean. A world of languages are spoken on its streets – Creole, Spanish, English, Chinese, Hindi, French, German and even Lebanese. Sugar, fish, aquaculture, citrus, bananas and rice are the main crops of Belize. Marijuana is also quite prevalent.
Mennonite farmers came to Belize from Mexico in search of rich, new soil and have “contributed a lot to Belize’s economy” said Perry Brock, an American missionary who works at a mission station in the southern city of Punta Gorda.
Path of a nation
In 1798, Belize was liberated from Spain by the British Empire in a fierce naval battle near Fort George in Belize City. During the U.S. Civil War, the Monroe Doctrine was essentially ignored, and the British seized the opportunity to rename the land “British Honduras,” carving the land away from Guatemala.
One of Belize’s primary patrons was the wealthy Brit Byron Bliss, who never even set foot on the soil. He fell in love with the coast of the nation after observing it from his luxury yacht and left his wealth to the people of Belize. A lighthouse near Fort George stands as a testament to Bliss.
The British developed the infrastructure of the nation, though the colony was relatively poor. They annoyed the locals by regulating and repressing the mahogany industry. Then in 1950, the British colonial governor, using the reserve power in the colonial constitution, devalued the currency against the will of the elected members of the local Legislative Council.
British Honduras survived as a British colony until independence in 1981. At first, Guatemala was worried that an independent Belize meant that the possibility of reunification of the land from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific was gone forever. But as the activity of communist guerillas in Central America increased, Guatemala became caught up in a civil war that would eventually kill 200,000 people and leave 1 million homeless.
Great Britain served a protectorate role during those years. The UK stationed “5,400 troops in Belize through 1994, until Guatemala stated she would pursue only diplomatic means towards reclaiming Belize,” says British Maj. John Knopp, the second in command at the UK’s base at Ladyville in Belize City.
 A British Army helicopter performs excercises at the BATSUB base in Ladyville. |
In 1992, the new Guatemalan government recognized Belize as an independent nation. Belize is a parliamentary democracy with a cabinet headed by the prime minister and both a House of Representatives and a Senate. The People’s United Party, Belize’s first nationalist party, enjoys preeminent recognition.
“Today, we have a crew of 80 soldiers at our BATSUB base here at Ladyville,” said Knopp in an exclusive interview with WorldNetDaily. “It is a nice posting. We have some families here, and, of course, it is a big change from living in Great Britain.”
Knopp said that the British military conducts its jungle training in Belize.
“The jungle training used to be done in Borneo. But when the UK handed back Hong Kong to China, we turned to Belize,” he said.
“Belize is twice as close to the UK, and we already have regular military flights which go through Washington, D.C.”
Knopp said that about 160 British soldiers, or a company, are rotated through the jungle training, which lasts about six weeks.
 The U.S. and UK flags fly along with the Belize national flag. |
“Our troops will learn to live in the jungle. We also do some combat tactics. For young men who grew up in an urban environment, it can be quite a shock to live in the jungle. Let’s just say it’s an eye-opener.” he said.
“We also maintain a small helicopter base here. We use the helicopters for a variety of things. … We offer our helicopters for use by the people of Belize. If a woman is having a difficult birth, we can airlift that person to a hospital. Last week, we had to air-evac a diver who had come up too fast from the sea and needed to go into a decompression chamber.”
The Blackhawk helicopters seen periodically at Ladyville belong to the American military, explained Knopp.
Whenever Guatemala deploys troops near the western border of Belize, the British Army drops some elite SAS, or Special Air Service, units into the jungle to deter the Guatemalans.
So far, that uneasy game of cat and mouse has preserved the peace for almost 20 years since independence.
“If you ask me if the SAS is here, I cannot give you an official answer,” Knopp told WorldNetDaily.
“At BATSUB we are very low key.”
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