GUATEMALA CITY, Feb 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Guatemala has pledged a 40% increase in deportation flights carrying Guatemalans and migrants of other nationalities from the United States, President Bernardo Arévalo announced Wednesday during a press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Guatemala has also agreed to create a task force for border control and protection along the country’s eastern borders. The force, composed of members of the National Police and army, will be tasked with fighting “all forms of transnational crime,” Arévalo said.
Foreign nationals who arrive in Guatemala through deportation flights will be repatriated to their home countries, Arévalo said, adding that the US and Guatemala would continue to have talks on how the process would work and how the US would cooperate.
Arévalo also said that Rubio has voiced his support for developing infrastructure projects in the Central American nation. He added that his government would send a delegation to Washington in the coming weeks to negotiate deals for economic investments in Guatemala – which he said would incentivize Guatemalans to stay in their home country and not migrate to the US.
Arévalo said Guatemala has not had any discussions about receiving criminals from the US as El Salvador’s president has offered. He also insisted his country has not reached a “safe third country” agreement with the United States, which would require migrants who pass through Guatemala to apply for asylum there rather than continuing to the US.
Speaking alongside Rubio, the Guatemalan leader said Wednesday’s talks did not address the matter, and his country has agreed to a new operation for repatriating Guatemalans and other nationals deported from the US.
Rubio is visiting Central American countries for his inaugural trip as the top US diplomat. It comes as US President Donald Trump has made stemming migration to the US a top priority and has enacted a slew of directives, including ordering thousands more troops to the US southern border.
Tens of thousands of migrants from Central America attempt to travel to the US each year. However, according to Customs and Border Protection data, the number of border encounters with people from Northern Triangle countries – Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala – dropped in 2024.
Guatemalan officials have previously signaled that they see Washington’s mass deportation plans as an opportunity to develop.
“The return of our migrants presents an opportunity not only for the state and the government, but to coordinate this as a national effort with the private sector, the tourism sector, infrastructure,” Santiago Palomo, Arévalo’s press secretary said last week.
He said Guatemalans in the US “are people that have built capacities, they can speak perhaps two languages” and can help Guatemala develop, citing the food industry and the tourism sector as some areas where repatriates could add value to his country.
The official said his government is launching a nationwide plan to welcome the migrants back and reintegrate them into the economy.
While some countries, such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, have opposed the use of military planes to fly deportees back from the US, the mode of transport is still allowed in Guatemala, where the government won the election in 2023 on a progressive, center-left platform.
“We believe Guatemala is positioned as a solid strategic ally of the US, regardless of the government,” said Palomo. — NNN-AGENCIES
