Should Guatemala give up its ambitions on Belize?

Text by: Yann Le Ny

6 min

After more than 160 years of dispute between Guatemala and Belize, a judgment at the International Court of Justice could solve the problem. The two countries have agreed that this jurisdiction will arbitrate the dispute over the 11,000 km² of southern Belize.

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Guatemala and Belize will face the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to end a territorial conflict that has lasted since colonial times. The two countries of the Yucatan Peninsula have been in a strategic area for centuries, especially for trade. Between North and South America and between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, it is a crossroads where the powers have sought to anchor themselves in order to trade.

The road to discord

Dominated by the Spanish, the Yucatan was often attacked by English pirates, who ended up settling on the coast of Belize during the 17th century. But it was not the only region where the Anglo-Saxons had settled during the colonial period. "  There were territories on the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua managed by the British," explains Rodrigo Véliz Estrada, a Guatemalan historian. Between 1858 and 1860, the United Kingdom signed a series of treaties to leave its territories to the various Central American countries, except with Belize. For the British, the port of Belize is an entry point that allows the export of their goods throughout Central America and even to southern Mexico.

The United Kingdom does not intend to let go of these lands so easily and signs the Wyke-Aycinena Treaty with Guatemala in 1859. An agreement disadvantageous for Guatemala, which recognizes the rights of the British Empire over Belize. The territory officially became a colony named British Honduras in 1862.

In return for this recognition, the United Kingdom undertakes to build a road connecting Guatemala with the coastal and strategic town of Punta Gordo. But this will never be achieved by the colonial power. From 1889, Guatemala took the opportunity to request the integration of Belize into its territory, then returned to the charge in the 1930s.

Unite the nation around Belize

Guatemala's ambitions became clear at the end of World War II: the country even threatened to invade its neighbor in 1948. “  The United Kingdom had brought troops to Belize and Guatemala had sent its army to the border with Belize. . We were at the end of World War II. And in the British camp, they were ready to do battle, says Rodrigo Véliz Estrada. It was one of the times when there was the greatest tension between Guatemala and Belize. "

If tensions ease, they will be continually rekindled by the Guatemalan military juntas. From the 1960s, the country, in the grip of guerrillas, will use the dispute with the United Kingdom for its own ends. "  When there are internal problems, the governments of Guatemala called for national unity against the United Kingdom, which was this great imperialist monster  ", describes the historian. Negotiations often take place in this period between the great power and Guatemala, but they always end in failure.

At the same time, Belize remains a colony but has had an autonomous government since 1964. However, this local power aspires to independence. From 1975, the Belizean separatists, blocked by the reluctance of the United Kingdom and the demands of Guatemala, decided to attract international attention. They plead their demand for self-determination at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, but also at the United Nations.

They then obtained the support of many countries such as Mexico, Panama or Nicaragua, but also of the continent's superpower: the United States. “  At that time, Guatemala was under a new dictatorship,” says Rodrigo Véliz Estrada. This regime had so many problems related in particular to the non-respect of human rights that the American government pressured the OAS [Organization of American States] and the UN so that Belize could take its independence.  "

From independence to agreement

In 1981, independence was acquired for Belize, but it was not recognized until 10 years later by Guatemala following negotiations. From that moment on, diplomatic relations resumed and the situation slowly warmed up between the two countries.

Guatemala then continues to claim its share, but no longer wants all of Belize. Referring to agreements dating back to the Spanish Empire, he now considers having rights to the 11,000 km² forming the southern half of the country.

Even if the demands remain there, the tone has calmed down between the two countries and the mediation initiated by the OAS has made it possible to find several agreements. A one-kilometer buffer zone is created at the border and an OAS office is responsible for resolving local conflicts.

Since October 8, 2008, Belize and Guatemala have agreed to have the matter arbitrated by the ICJ. After defining a protocol seven years later, Guatemala and Belize held referendums on April 15, 2018 and May 15, 2019 respectively on whether they should continue the process before the ICJ in The Hague. The "yes" comes out the winner of both votes. To crown this new agreement, bilateral agreements were even signed in 2014 on areas ranging from energy to culture.

Several more years of process

The ICJ is awaiting the memorial from Guatemala, which will have to file it before December 8, 2020 so that Belize can then respond with a counter-memorial. The process is expected to last several more years before a definitive response from The Hague. But the situation is already more serene between the two states, despite some recurring tensions.

For the two countries, arbitration will above all make it possible to move forward in their bilateral relations. If the Guatemalans have little hope of taking the south of Belize which they have never administered, it is for them an opportunity to reestablish links with their Belizean neighbors. In this dynamic, the Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei explains, January 16, 2020, that "  there are many things that unite us more than the struggle  ".

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• Guatemala
• Belize
• Disputed territories