Sarstoon River
| Sarstoon River | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Native name | Río Sarstún (Spanish) |
| Location | |
| Countries | Belize and Guatemala |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Guatemala |
| Mouth | |
• location | Caribbean Sea |
• coordinates | 15°53′51″N 88°54′49″W / 15.8976°N 88.9137°W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 111 km |
The Sarstoon River (Spanish: Río Sarstún) is a Central American river that flows eastward from Guatemala to the Gulf of Honduras, forming the southern border between Guatemala and Belize.[1]
The source of the 111-kilometre (69 mi)-long river lies in Guatemala's Sierra de Santa Cruz mountain range in Alta Verapaz Department.[1] Near its mouth lies Sarstoon Island.[2]
Territorial dispute between Belize and Guatemala
[edit]The Wyke–Aycinena Treaty between Britain (in possession of what was then British Honduras) and Guatemala, signed on 22 April 1859, set the boundary between the two regions.[3][4] However it was conditional on Britain building a road connecting Guatemala with the Atlantic Ocean, which it failed not do.[4] In 1940, Guatemala declared the treaty void based on this.[4] It initially claimed all of Belize as its own territory and repeatedly threatened to invade its neighbor.[4] From 1999, it reduced that claim to the area of southern Belize between the Sibun and Sarstoon rivers.[5]
The Belize Defence Force established a forward operating base (FOB) on the north bank of the Sarstoon River in 2016; however, the garrison had to be moved to another base after severe erosion made it structurally unsound.[6]
On 15 April 2019, the river was the site of a border incident when three Guatemalan gunboats crewed by armed soldiers prevented the Belize Coast Guard from patrolling the waters.[7]
Belize renovated its FOB and reopened it on 25 April 2024; it directly faces an Armed Forces of Guatemala base across the river. There was a confrontation that same day when Guatemalan soldiers objected to a Belizean boat with soldiers and media personnel aboard circling Sarstoon Island in what they claimed were Guatemalan waters, but the situation did not escalate.[6]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Buck, David Gray (2012). Linking Land Use – Land Cover Change and Ecosystem Finction in Tropical Lowland Watersheds of Belize, Central America (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Florida. p. 17. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ↑ "A Visit to Sarstoon Island". Channel 5 (Belize). 2 June 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- ↑ "Convention between Her Majesty and the Republic of Guatemala, relative to the boundary of British Honduras" (PDF). Organization of American States. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Perez, Arlenie; Chin-Ta, Chuang; Afero, Farok (March 2009). "Belize-Guatemala territorial dispute and its implications for conservation". Tropical Conservation Science. 2 (1). Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ↑ Lauterpacht, Elihu; Stephen Schwebel; Shabtai Rosenne; Francisco Orrego Vicuña (November 2001). "Legal Opinion on Guatemala's Territorial Claim to Belize" (PDF). p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- 1 2 Ku, Kristen (26 April 2024). "Sarstoon FOB inauguration ends with GAF encounter". Amandala. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- ↑ "Guatemalan navy gunboats block Belize Coast Guard from accessing the Sarstoon river". 15 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.