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Guatemala Agrees to Accept US Deportees From Other Nations in Deal With Rubio
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo announced on Feb. 5 that his nation would accept illegal immigrants from other countries being deported from the United States after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Titled the “Safe Third Country” agreement, Guatemala’s acceptance would act as a step in the ultimate U.S. plan to return all deportees to their home countries, which Arévalo said would be done at the United States’ expense.
Guatemala is already cooperating with the United States in receiving both military and civilian deportation flights.
“We have agreed to increase by 40 percent the number of flights of deportees both of our nationality as well as deportees from other nationalities,” Arévalo said during a news conference with Rubio.
Arévalo previously told The Associated Press that his predecessor’s “Safe Third Country” agreement during Trump’s first term was “absolutely inadequate.” He said that a more regional approach was necessary but did not rule out the possibility of making a similar deal.
Guatemala’s announcement comes after El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, announced his nation’s plan to accept imprisoned illegal immigrants of any nationality into their prison system, as well as convicted U.S. citizens if the opportunity arises.
All incoming prisoners would be added to El Salvador’s new “mega-prison” called the Terrorism Confinement Center, which opened in 2023 and can hold 40,000 inmates. The United States would be charged a fee that Bukele described as being “relatively low for the U.S.” yet high enough to help sustain the prison system.
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