The Latin American nation of Guatemala has agreed to increase the number of deportation flights it receives from the United States, following a visit from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo also announced that his country would accept non-citizens sent from the US.
“We have agreed to boost the number of deportation flights by 40 percent, including both Guatemalan citizens and deportees from other countries,” stated Arevalo, who appeared alongside Rubio.
This is not the first time Guatemala has accepted deportation flights from the US, as it did so during the previous administration of US President Joe Biden.
However, Trump, the current president, has made it a priority to reduce irregular migration to the US, and since taking office on January 20, he has urged countries in the region to join his efforts.
A Guatemalan official, speaking anonymously, told Reuters news agency that under Biden, the country received approximately 14 deportation flights per day.
It remains to be seen how this number might increase under Trump’s administration.
However, Reuters reported that the almost 66,000 Guatemalans deported from the US in fiscal year 2024 was a higher number than any single year during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021.
Rubio visited Guatemala as part of his inaugural trip as the US’s top diplomat.
He has been traveling through the region to garner support for Trump’s anti-immigration stance, visiting Panama, El Salvador, and Costa Rica before reaching Guatemala. His next destination is the Dominican Republic.
During his visit to Guatemala, Rubio commended Arevalo for agreeing to accept non-citizens into the country.
Prior to taking office, the Trump administration faced challenges with where to place non-citizens detained during immigration raids. Some countries, such as Venezuela and Cuba, refused to participate in US deportation flights.
Last December, reports emerged that Trump intended to approach Caribbean nations, including the Bahamas, Grenada, and Turks and Caicos, to accept migrants from other countries.
However, leaders of the island nations declined the request. Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis stated, “The Bahamas simply does not have the resources to accommodate such a request.”
On Wednesday, Rubio mentioned that the US would provide financial assistance to Guatemala so they could repatriate non-citizens to their home countries.
He also praised Arevalo, noting that the deportation-flight agreement was “crucial in light of the migratory challenges we are facing.”
“His willingness to accept not only Guatemalan nationals but also individuals from other countries seeking to return to their homelands is significant, and we have pledged our support for these efforts,” Rubio stated.
President Arevalo, on his part, indicated that the matter of accepting migrants with criminal backgrounds was not up for discussion.
On a previous day, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, offered to incarcerate any violent offenders sent from the US—whether they are migrants or American citizens.
However, even officials in Trump’s administration have expressed doubts about the legality of this offer.
Rubio thanked Bukele publicly for the offer but acknowledged the legal obstacles. “We have a Constitution,” he emphasized regarding the US.
Nonetheless, on Tuesday, the US began sending undocumented immigrants to its military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the location of a detention center criticized for alleged human rights violations.
An estimated 11 million undocumented individuals reside in the US as of 2022, many of whom play crucial roles in their communities.
