US embassy cable - 04GUATEMALA944

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUATEMALA 000944 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PBTS, PHUM, BH, GT 
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA COOLS RHETORIC ON BELIZE SHOOTING 
INCIDENT 
 
Classified By: PolOff Robert E. Copley for reason 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary: GOG officials are ratcheting down what had 
been a war of words over the April 7 shooting of a Guatemalan 
peasant by Belize Defense Forces.  On April 15, President 
Berger called the incident "isolated" and said he would not 
send troops to the border area.  Foreign Minister Briz 
confirmed publicly that May 4 bilateral meetings under OAS 
auspices would not be affected.  A bilateral border 
commission held its regularly scheduled meeting April 14. 
Privately, MFA officials tell us they need to stay ahead of 
public opinion and will continue to respond assertively to 
the shooting.  Briz repeated to the Ambassador on April 15 
that he is determined to use the unfortunate incident to move 
public opinion toward accepting a stronger OAS role in 
resolving the dispute.  End Summary. 
 
2. (C) Briz used photographs of the victim and his injuries 
to punctuate a press conference in which he strongly 
condemned the shooting and called for an OAS investigation. 
Briz blamed an "attitude of xenophobia" in Belize for 
"excessive and inexcusable use of force" resulting in injury 
or death for many Guatemalan peasants over the years at the 
hands of the Belizean military.  Briz announced he would 
refer the latest shooting to the InterAmerican Commission on 
Human Rights and that he would travel to the Peten to 
personally look into the matter.  Guatemalan media applauded 
his stance and the tensions appeared to escalate when 
Belizean Ambassador Martinez called Briz's accusations 
"unfortunate and ridiculous" in an April 14 press conference. 
 The following day, Berger and Briz responded with more 
measured comments that nevertheless do not retract 
Guatemala's claims of excessive use of force.  Briz continues 
to point to the lack of any mention of a fire-fight in the 
initial Belizean reports. 
 
3. (C) Briz told the Ambassador on April 12 that his comments 
at the press conference were intended to illustrate to the 
Guatemalan public the need for a more prominent role for the 
OAS in resolving the border dispute.  Briz repeated this goal 
to the Ambassador in an April 15 meeting adding that he is 
determined to use the incident to speed resolution of the 
border dispute.  Briz added that he would not allow the 
incident to affect informal bilateral communications and 
described the April 14 meeting of the bilateral border 
commission as "cordial and productive." 
 
4. (C) Comment: Unlike the last shooting incident over two 
years ago, Guatemala does not dispute that the incident took 
place well inside Belize, away from the Adjacency Zone, and 
that at least one of the Guatemalans was armed.  However, 
Guatemalan Ambassador to Belize, Antonio Castellanos, 
strongly rejects the Belizean Defense Force claim that its 
soldiers fired in self defense, based on his interviews with 
the wounded man and his partner who is detained in Belize. 
Guatemala will argue that the wounded man's injuries prove he 
was shot from behind as he fled, while the man known to have 
been armed was arrested without injury--the opposite of what 
might be expected if the patrol was firing in self defense. 
The OAS investigation, which both sides have called for, will 
probably not be able to resolve the issue 
conclusively--certainly not before the May 4 OAS meeting to 
extend the confidence building measures.  Briz's initial 
tough talk seems to have inoculated him against public 
opinion, however, hardliners on the MFA's Belize Commission 
believe the 2001 shooting forced Belize to soften its 
position and will recommend using the latest incident in the 
same way at the May 4 meeting.  Briz will have to seriously 
consider this recommendation. 
HAMILTON