BELMOPAN, Tues. Mar. 15, 2022– When the news broke that a group of investors had purchased Coffee Caye, located 15 minutes off the coast of Belize City, and were proclaiming it their own sovereign state called “The Principality of Islandia”, it quickly garnered much attention—and criticism—from Belizeans near and far, with the Prime Minister sharing some of his own thoughts on the issue this past Tuesday. After being asked by local reporters, following the budget presentation, how he felt about the Principality of Islandia, Prime Minister John Briceño said that, quite frankly, it is “schupid” and, at first, refused to comment further.

According to CNN, a group of travelers purchased the 1.2-acre mangrove-lined island known as Coffee Caye through crowdfunding back in December 2019 at a price of US $180,000 plus tax after Belizean real estate agent Oscar D. Romero found the property for them. Today the caye, which has since been dubbed “The Principality of Islandia” by its owners, has its own national flag, an anthem, a passport, and a “government,” and it has garnered a total of 89 investors. And just recently, in February, 13 of those new investors took a trip to the island for the first time, camping there overnight.

Their website, “Let’s Buy an Island”, states that the Principality of Islandia is a “micronation experiment” and that its owners plan to use the island to forward their own ideals of democracy, inclusion, and sustainability while “keeping with, and enhancing” the laws of their host nation.

Given a second chance at commenting on the issue, Prime Minister Briceño reiterated his sentiments, lambasting the new Coffee Caye owners for “false marketing”.

“Would I allow anybody to have their own country within this country? Man, that is a schupid thing,” stated the Prime Minister.

“It has absolutely no support from the government. And certainly, I don’t think, and if it is, we’ll change it, that the Ministry, or BTB, or anybody in tourism could say ‘ok as a marketing strategy you say buy an island and have your own country,’ it’s not going to happen,” he added.

Let’s Buy an Island co-founder Marshall Mayer has stated that their claims of the Principality of Islandia being its own country and an “experiment with democracy” is nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek marketing ploy.

“We are a tongue-in-cheek micronation falling squarely within the laws of Belize,” Mayer told Travel + Leisure magazine.

For Stephen Rice, another one of the investors, the concept of Islandia is merely about fulfilling the dream of owning an island. But while those like Rice and Meyer see Islandia as a “fun and quirky” idea, there are some, such as the project CEO and cofounder, Gareth Johnson, who take the concept a bit more seriously, with Johnson telling CNN that the micronation is “as close to a nation as you can get.”

While the new “citizens” of Islandia have expressed enthusiasm regarding their new venture, many persons, including some potential investors, have voiced concerns that the small island will not be able to withstand the mounting effects of the climate crisis, including stronger hurricanes and rising sea levels.