Belize has said that Guatemala is to deport eight of its nationals who were arrested after allegedly hopping off a boat onto a Guatemalan beach without authorisation.
The incident occurred amid revived tensions between the two Central American neighbours, fuelled by a longstanding border dispute and a fatal shooting incident last month.
"It is expected that the group will be deported back to Belize by road later this week," the Belizean government said in a statement yesterday.
It said the eight had been allowed to go to the Belizean embassy in Guatemala City to secure travel documents ahead of their deportation.
Last Friday, the Belizean government announced that Guatemala had arrested the group as it alighted from a boat on Punta Manabique, a beach on a Guatemalan peninsula jutting into the Caribbean that is about 25 kilometers (17 miles) from Belize's coastline.
Guatemala's navy had reported the group possessed Belizean fishing licenses but no boat registration nor a Guatemalan document giving port authorisation.
Guatemala and Belize agreed this week to try to avoid incidents along their common border that might worsen ties that turned explosive on April 20, when a Belizean patrol shot and killed a 13-year-old Guatemalan boy.
