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recognize the new nation. About 1,500 British troops remained stationed in
Belize to protect it from invasion by Guatemalan troops.
During the 1980s, while civil wars raged in Guatemala, El Salvador,
and Nicaragua, Belize remained stable due largely to financial assistance
from the United States. In 1992, a new Guatemalan government recognized
Belize’s territorial right to exist, and the two nations forged diplomatic ties.
The British soldiers were withdrawn in 1994. Today, Belize has a standing
army of only a few hundred soldiers.
The border dispute between Belize and Guatemala has never been fully
resolved. In 2008, the Belizean government announced that a referendum
would be held in five years to decide the issue in both Guatemala and
Belize. However, the referendum vote was never held in 2013 as planned,
and the matter remains unresolved.
Belize
22
Because of Belize’s loca-
tion on the Caribbean
Sea, it is subject to devas-
tating hurricanes and
tropical storms. These
homes in Placencia, a vil-
lage to the south of
Belize’s capital,
Belmopan, were
destroyed by Hurricane
Iris. The storm left 13,000
people homeless when it
hit in October 2001.