BELIZE-Opposition Leader chides Prime Minister over remarks made regarding invading Guatemala.

BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow has reiterated his criticism of a statement by Prime Minister John Briceño that Belize cannot invade Guatemala as he urged citizens not to frequent the controversial Sarstoon River border, fearing further escalation of tensions between the two countries.

Guatemala and Belize have a long-standing border dispute dating back to the beginning of the 1990s. Guatemala claims about 11,000 square km (4,250 square miles) of Belize, half of its territory.

Prime Minister Briceño expressed concern over the small size of Belize’s Defence Force (BDF) and its apparent inability to match that of their Guatemalan counterparts, stating that in as much as the country would have liked to invade Guatemala, they are no match for them.

“They take children out there sometimes, and God forbids something to happen. What are we going to do? We can’t invade Guatemala as much as we would like to. But, we can’t,” the Prime Minister said.

National Defence Minister Florencio Marin questioned whether the prime minister’s statement was taken out of context.

“You sure the Prime Minister didn’t misspeak? I would think he would have run that by us in Cabinet. So, we have gotten no such directive.”

But speaking at a news conference on Monday, Barrow told reporters, “We all know that the prime minister has significant shortcomings.

“We know that he can’t think properly, he can’t speak properly, and this is just another example, a very embarrassing example of his inabilities and his unsuitability to lead this country,” Barrow said, adding, “What is more agitating and what escalates things more than you telling a country that you want to invade the country? ”

Barrow questioned the rationale behind the statement by the head of government, saying, “We have become used to him being an airhead, and, unfortunately, it comes at the cost of our national security.

“But what we should be talking about is when the prime minister and (Eamon) Courtenay (Foreign Affairs Minister said that we only have 1,000 troops and Guatemala has twenty thousand troops. We need to increase our military.

“That is something that, as prime minister in a United Democratic Party government, my Cabinet and I will consider increasing our military. We cannot wait for anybody to save us. As we see with the Sarstoon, no one is interfering,” Barrow told reporters.