There has been some discussion recently of the Falklands War of 1982 but I don’t think this issue has been raised. If the British had failed to respond to the Argentine invasion or had lost the war, one thing is almost certain. Guatemala would have been encouraged to push its claim to Belize (formerly British Honduras), possibly to the extent of an invasion, as almost happened in the 1970s.
A defeat in the Falklands would have left the Thatcher government in turmoil, and possibly have brought it down. Would the British public have the will to fight another war in faraway places with strange-sounding names? How would the other Central American states react - support for another anti-imperialist adventure or fear of an expanded, aggressive Guatemala? How would the US respond to a conflict of this type on the American mainland - support a traditional ally or the Monroe Doctrine?
A defeat in the Falklands would have left the Thatcher government in turmoil, and possibly have brought it down. Would the British public have the will to fight another war in faraway places with strange-sounding names? How would the other Central American states react - support for another anti-imperialist adventure or fear of an expanded, aggressive Guatemala? How would the US respond to a conflict of this type on the American mainland - support a traditional ally or the Monroe Doctrine?