[3] Belize achieved full independence from the United Kingdom on September 21, 1981, following several months of negotiations involving the UK and Guatemala.

The U.S. elevated the status of its diplomatic presence from a Consulate General to an Embassy on October 29, 1981, with Malcolm R. Barnebey serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.

[3] Initially located in Belize City, which had been battered by hurricanes in 1931 and 1961, and fires in 1999 and 2004, the embassy eventually moved to the new capital, Belmopan, on December 11, 2006.

[citation needed] The United States regularly participates in military training and exercises with the Belize Defense Force.

Until the end of 2002, Voice of America operated a medium-wave radio relay station in Punta Gorda that broadcast to the neighboring countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.