GUATEMALA CITY — On Wednesday, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo announced that his nation would accept deported migrants from other countries who are being sent back from the United States. This agreement marks the second deportation arrangement made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his trip to Central America, which is predominantly centered on immigration issues.
According to the announcement made by Arévalo, the return of these deportees will be financed by the United States government. “We have agreed to increase the number of flights for deportees by 40%, which includes both our nationals and deportees from other nationalities,” he stated during a joint news conference with Rubio.
Historically, Guatemala had been accepting approximately seven to eight flights of its citizens returned by the U.S. each week, a trend that continued under the Biden administration. Previously, during President Donald Trump’s tenure, Guatemala was one of the nations that received migrants back on military planes.
Similarly, El Salvador recently unveiled a more comprehensive agreement, with President Nayib Bukele declaring that the country would accept U.S. deportees of any nationality, even American citizens and legal residents incarcerated for severe crimes. Both Trump and Rubio acknowledged the complex legal implications of sending Americans to be imprisoned abroad. “If we had a legal basis to do it, I would adopt that measure in an instant,” Trump remarked to reporters on Tuesday in the Oval Office. “I am currently assessing the legality of it.”
Rubio described the proposal as exceptionally generous but stressed the importance of considering the legal boundaries involved, emphasizing the existence of constitutional guidelines. Immigration has consistently remained a primary concern for the Trump administration, and it was the focal point of Rubio’s initial foreign diplomatic journey, which includes visits to five countries: Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.
The agreements with both El Salvador and Guatemala offer possible solutions to one of the longstanding challenges in immigration enforcement; not all undocumented individuals in the U.S. can be swiftly repatriated. For instance, most Venezuelan migrants, who have formed a significant portion of those migrating to the U.S. in recent years, cannot easily be deported back to Venezuela. However, existing arrangements enable the U.S. to send various individuals to multiple Central American nations.
Under the new plan, Guatemala will enhance its infrastructure to accommodate not just its citizens, but also migrants from other countries who can then be returned to their nations of origin. Specific details concerning this plan still need to be finalized. “Ultimately, addressing immigration effectively requires development initiatives to ensure that people do not feel compelled to leave their countries,” Arévalo stated, announcing plans for a high-level Guatemalan delegation that will include members from the private sector to visit Washington in the upcoming weeks.
In addition, Arévalo declared the establishment of a new border security unit, which will oversee the nation’s borders with Honduras and El Salvador. This newly formed body will comprise police officers and military personnel tasked with tackling various forms of transnational crime.
Rubio’s visit has been met with challenges, notably the recent dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), highlighted by an abrupt directive late Tuesday that removed nearly all agency staff from their roles. After meeting with Guatemala’s president, Rubio visited the U.S. Embassy, where staff members and their families gathered to seek clarity on their future roles under the new administration.
Both the embassy gatherings in Guatemala and El Salvador were closed to journalism, differing from an earlier event in Panama that was open to the press. The USAID missions in both Guatemala and El Salvador are substantial, which adds to the significance of the situation.
In his concluding activities in Guatemala, Rubio inspected a local facility that processes deportees near an air force base, highlighting that the agreed measures could elevate the number of deportees by up to 40%. This initiative receives backing from both the U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
Furthermore, Rubio received updates on Guatemala’s counternarcotics strategies, including the seizure of four shipments containing precursors for fentanyl in recent months, totaling 127.5 kilograms (280 pounds), sufficient to manufacture over 114 million doses of the drug.
Rubio, who has granted exemptions to Trump’s extensive ban on foreign assistance, has issued waivers that enable funding to persist for several programs. “This exemplifies foreign aid that is aligned with our national interests. That is the reason I authorized these waivers, allowing these valuable programs to resume functioning,” Rubio noted.
Additionally, on Wednesday, Rubio conversed with Mexican Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente regarding measures to fortify the U.S.-Mexico border, combat the fentanyl crisis, impede transnational criminal organizations, and address illegal immigration.
