I find the article dated March 20, 2021 written by former mayor and area representative of Toledo, Alejandro Vernon, to be revealing and troubling. George Price’s dealings with Guatemala were made public by the Leader of the National Independence Party (NIP), the late Philip Goldson, on several occasions during the 1960’s when I was growing up. In fact, I heard Goldson making it clear on the rostrum in meetings that I attended at Court House Warf in Belize City, that if it was not for George Price’s dealings with Guatemala, he would have remained a member of the People’s United Party (PUP). The British considered George Price’s dealings with Guatemala as treason, because Guatemala was claiming Belize.

They were also afraid that whatever the Guatemalan President Fuentes was giving George Price and the People’s United Party (PUP), could be used by Guatemala as an acknowledgment by the Belizeans that Guatemala does in fact own our country of Belize. The people of Belize, despite this, loved George Price and the People’s United Party and kept voting for him and his party in all the elections that were held, up until 1984. They lost their first general election to the United Democratic Party (UDP) by a margin of 21 to 7. Many members of the People’s United Party went so far as to accuse Philip Goldson of lying and only using the Guatemalan issue to get elected as prime minister.

Philip Goldson was afraid that the Guatemalans were going to use the money they were giving George Price and the PUP to own our country. George Price and the PUP wanted independence from Great Britain, and they needed money for their movement, so they went to Guatemala to get it. Most people would agree that Guatemala was not the best country that Belize should have gone to for money, because they were claiming our country, and I agree with that reasoning.

In 1976, when I was stationed in Orange Walk District, Guatemalan president Kjell Eugenio Laugerud Garcia was planning to invade Belize. He assembled thousands of troops along the Guatemalan Belizean western border for his intended purpose. The British brought in thousands of troops to defend Belize against the Guatemalan planned aggression. I was listening to a broadcast on a Mexican television station on which the former president of Guatemala, Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes, was talking about some of his dealings with Belize Premier, George Price. I confirmed then that there is truth to what Philip Goldson, Alejandro Vernon and others have said about George Price’s dealings with Guatemala.

Some members of George Price’s Cabinet have died and said nothing. Some are still alive and are still not saying anything. All the members of the People’s United Party who have knowledge about these discussions and negotiations, need to come forward and let our citizens know about their negotiations with Guatemalan officials. The dispute between Great Britain and Guatemala over Belize, is scheduled to come before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) soon. Guatemala will use all the records and documents they possess, to convince the court that our country belongs to them. This will include documents that include testimonies made by Belizean citizens and diplomats on behalf of our country Belize.

I applaud Alejandro Vernon for coming forward with this important historical revelation. I am asking that more Belizean citizens come forward to tell us what they know. Despite our independence, the Guatemalan claim is still hanging over our heads with no end in sight anytime soon. National Hero status and a holiday has been granted to George Price by us. This revelation will now lead to an important question, which is: Should such status be granted to a citizen who had dealings with the country that is still claiming our country today?