PRESIDENT CARTER is mounting a war drive in the Caribbean to isolate the Cuban and revolutions.
Tul-ume maltary 'respond rapidly encroachment in the region. Its first exercise was a massive mock assault on the US base at Guantanamo in Cuba - an example of military encroschment if ever there was oner Among those who have moves are former British colonies in the Caribbean such as Grenada and Jamaica. This raises the danger that Carter will call on the Tory government to exert its considerable political and military presence in the area to stem further revolutionary developments in its ex-colonies. Though little known to the British public, the Thatcher government has formidable army naval and air forces in the British dependency of Belize on the Guatemalan border, only a short distance overland from Nicaragua.
Belize 1973 lies on the east coast of America and is the second smallest country on the American continent, with a population of 130,000. A stooge so-called People's United Party has controlled Belize domestic affairs for 15 years.
up to any attempted military opposed these • known as British Honduras until Central government under the the runway 1979| batteries of big Puma smaller, America been extended to recently reported:
hides with protection vital control MEXIC Tehuantepec Quetza lango• PACIFIC!
OCEAN its presence, with a Rapier unit on the side of which tracks every approaches.' [Air When added to Britain's naval presence in the caribbean spearheaded by a irigate. the obvious question arises: just what is it Thatcher is so anxious to 'defend" in Belize?
The official story is that Britain is defending Belize from Guatemala. The true story is that grabbed colonial Spain. When the Spanish colonies in fought for and achieved independence, Britain hung on to Belize as a little insurance that the free' Central American republics would fall within Britain's trading empire. Guatemala has demanded for well over that the British get out. Belize effectively blocks Guatemala from the sea.
In 1859 Britain forced Guatemala to sign a treaty in which the latter recognised' over return GUATEMALA Lake OCITY EL SALADOR Atitlan SALVADOR aircraft as it November never built The Belize their very potent threat.' *stable repressive following 1979 144] 1
BELIZE
UATEMALA EL SALVA construction of a cart road from the Atlantic coast to Guatemala City. The British of course the road, and 1945 Guatemalans rightly tore up the treaty.
current massive build-up in Belize stems from 1977 when the Guatemalans threatened to take back their territory by force, and the Labour government under James Callaghan decided to send in the modern equivalent of the gun-boat Harrier jump-jets. But as the Air International reporter noted: 'The Guatemalan Air Force's one squadron of Cessna A-37Bs does not pose a In fact Britain keeps a military presence 5,000 miles from home in Central America for quite different reasons. It is an insurance policy for heavy British investments in a part of the world where Britain has been unable to impose nep-colonial governments independence. For instance, insurrection A SMALL crowd of demonstrators outside the court in Prague on 21 December way.
has seen increasing signs Said and denounced September saw right-wing riots.
and order, courtesy of the CIA. campaign to get British troops Nutters of this capitalism in Britain itself.
the overthrew the pro-Western dictatorship of Sir Eric Gairy. Other tiny and impoverished island statelets are rumoured to be going the same Even Jamaica, relatively stable until now, Prime Minister Michael Manley has accepted Cuban the American troop build-up at Guantanamo. This has provoked an American inspired de-stabilisation plan, and AT ObVIOU ploy might well see British forces rushed to "friendly' countries facing a break-down of law Me while the British fores in Belize are training.
International correspondent reports going on a practice operation with Forward Air Controller 'Russ Nutter' and watching the Harriers drop bombs, fire their 30-mm cannon and let off air-to-ground rockets. It is not yet possible to get that sort of training in Belfast or Derry. But if British workers don't start an immediate out of th Caribbean, it is only a matter of time before the are used to defend
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Tika GUATEMALA