[This material is no longer current. Updated data will be posted.]
Background: Belize was the site of several Mayan city states until their decline at the end of the first millennium A.D. The British and Spanish disputed the region in the 17th and 18th centuries; it formally became the colony of British Honduras in 1854. Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include an unsustainable foreign debt, high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, growing urban crime, and increasing incidences of HIV/AIDS.(Source: CIA—The World Factbook)
Security Assistance Funding: (Source: 2009 Congressional Budget Justifications for Foreign Operations)
($ in thousands)
| Account | FY 2007 | FY2007 | FY 2008 | FY 2008 | FY2009 |
| Actual | Supp | Estimate | Supp | Request | |
| FMF | 175 | -- | -- | -- | 200 |
| IMET | 310 | -- | 162 | -- | 200 |
Direct Commercial Sales: (Source: 2007 Section 655 Report)
In FY 2007, the Department of State authorized the export of defense articles and services valued at $917,224.
