978-1-4222-3285-9

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Belize

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.

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 The British soldiers were withdrawn in 1994.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.