BELMOPAN, Belize - Prime Minister John Briceño has chaired an extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the incursion of a Guatemalan military reconnaissance aircraft into Belize’s airspace on September 24, 2026.
A statement issued following the meeting that the Council had considered primary and secondary radar data that confirmed the unauthorised entry of the Guatemalan Armed Forces aircraft with the registration number FAG706 during a regional counternarcotics operation that did not include Belize.
The statement said that according to verifiable radar data, at 7:29 pm (Local time) time on September 24, the aircraft entered Belizean airspace from the east at an altitude of 4,000 feet. At 8:07 PM, the aircraft turned off its transponder to evade detection by secondary radar but was picked up at 8:10 pm by Belize’s primary radar.
The statement said FAG706 then proceeded southwest, flew within close proximity of Punta Ycacos, Toledo, and departed Belizean airspace at approximately 8:40 pm, adding that the “aircraft was in Belizean airspace for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes”.
The statement said that the Council has directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade to officially request the Organization of American States (OAS) to investigate the incident, in addition to the Ministry’s earlier request to the OAS to seek clarification of the incident from Guatemala.
“Belize stands ready to fully cooperate with the OAS and to provide all available data for the organisation’s investigation of the incident,” the statement said.
Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Briceño had hinted at the possibility of recalling Belize’s ambassador to Guatemala for consultation as well as summoning Guatemala’s ambassador insisting that Belize cannot ignore the incident.
But he also acknowledged that Belmopan must respond carefully, keep diplomatic channels open and protect the ongoing process before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“That’s what all countries do when something happens in another country. You bring in your ambassador to be able to get a good understanding, to have a discussion and to understand what’s going on from the other side. Every country does that,” he said.
Belize and Guatemala have a long-standing territorial dispute with Guatemala claiming more than 11,000 square kilometers of Belizean land, islands and maritime areas. In March 2000, Belize and Guatemala resumed discussions on their territorial dispute with the assistance of the OAS and on November 8, 2000, they signed the first Agreement on Confidence Building Measures, establishing an “Adjacency Line” and a one-kilometer “Adjacency Zone” on either side.
A second Agreement was signed on February 7, 2003, and subsequently amended in September 2005 by the “Agreement on a Framework for Negotiation and Confidence Building Measures between Belize and Guatemala.
According to the statement issued here Tuesday, the National Security Council also considered the wider context of regional counternarcotics efforts and reaffirmed Belize’s unwavering commitment to national and regional efforts with partner nations.
“However, following multiple incursions by the Guatemalan Armed Forces in Belize’s southern maritime space and threats of the use of force on the Sarstoon in recent months, the Government of Belize rejects this most recent violation of Belize’s territorial sovereignty by the Guatemalan Armed Forces and calls on Guatemala to instead abide by the spirit of long-established bilateral confidence-building measures and in that way contribute to regional peace and stability required to confront multiple and evolving security threats, including drug trafficking,” the statement added.
