Guatemala embargos Belize operators - what's the story here?

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A friend of mine just received the following letter from his travel agent, advising him that flights he had booked on Tropic Air (a Belize carrier) between Belize and Guatemala have been canceled due to a decision made by the Government of Guatemala.

Can anyone here shed any light on this and perhaps provide the background story? Is it likely that this restriction will be lifted anytime soon?

Here's the official statement that Tropic Air provided to travel agents: "Due to a unilateral change in Guatemalan regulations, Tropic Air, along with all other Belizean airlines, are no longer able to provide service between Belize and Guatemala effective November 16, 2007".

[joe grind]

Issue should be resolved this week. Caused an uproar within the tourism community in the Peten (Tikal) region.
There is rumor of association between an unnamed dgac officer and a private intity in Guate to force Belizean operators out so they can have a 100% monopoly on a fairly lucrative route.
Tropic Air by the way has been operating reliably, accident and incident free into the Peten region for 27+ yrs. Also, MayaIsland Air has done the same for the past 5 yrs.

[joe grind]

Issue should be resolved today or tomorrow.

[Panama Jack]

I think this case can be summed-up as third-worldish, petty Government politics, not unlike the decision by the Ecuadorian DAC to ban Iberia from Ecuador, following the runway overrun by an A340 in Quito, until they prove to Ecuadorian authorities that Iberia has adopted security standards that meet the Ecuadorian safety standards.

Give me a break. Iberia is an IATA carrier that complies with IOSA standards. Besides, Ecuador didn´t even meet ICAO standards until recently as according to FAA IASA audits. :yuk:

Knee jerks? I think so.

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Thanks Joe, your insight is much appreciated

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Does anyone know if service is back to normal between these two countries?