There have been various incidents like these in recent years from 2015 to present, especially documented by the Belize Territorial Volunteers and leader Wil Maheia.

According to the Wyke-Aycinena Treaty of 1859, "any islands which may be found [within the Sarstoon River] shall belong to that Party on whose side of the main navigable channel they are situated.

"[5] In 1860, commissioners for British Honduras (now Belize) and Guatemala surveyed the Sarstoon River and found that the river's current predominantly passed to the south of the island, making Sarstoon Island part of the territory of British Honduras.

[2] A map was drawn up from the survey results showing the boundary running along the southern channel.

[5] Guatemala later terminated the agreement, arguing that the United Kingdom had failed to live up to the conditions of the treaty.