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ADJACENT ZONE-BELIZE-GUATEMALA

  February 19, 2009

Last Wednesday February 18th, the Mission from the Office of the OAS General Secretariat in the Belize-Guatemala Adjacent Zone (OAS/AZ Mission) conducted the verification process of the removal of the facility located in the adjacent zone between the Village of Santa Cruz, San Luis Municipality, in the department of El Peten, Guatemala; and Jalacte, in the District of Punta Gorda, Belize.

In compliance with the Agreement on Confidence Building Measures between Belize and Guatemala adopted in September, 2005, the OAS Mission -in coordination with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of both countries, and with the presence of the Belize Defense Force (BDF), the Guatemalan Armed Forces, the Ombudsman of Belize and a representative from the Ombusdman Office in Potun, Guatemala- verified the removal of the container and its concrete base, belonging to a Guatemalan citizen and located in the adjacent zone administered by Belize.

The removal of the structure, and its surrounding fence, was carried out by the authorities of Belize. The operation took place without incidents, and within the framework of the Confidence Building Measures between both countries and the Organization of American States (OAS).

The OAS Mission for the Adjacent Zone has done four verifications on site since November 2008, establishing the exact location of the structure, in relation to the respective adjacent zones administered by each country. Additionally, the owner of the structure was previously notified about the situation and the Mission processed the required procedures with both, the Guatemalan Republic authorities and Belizean authorities.

Reference: ADJ-BEL-GU