Guatemalan President Promises to Accept More Deportation Flights from the US.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo announced plans to increase the number of deportation flights from the United States by 40%. This initiative concerns both Guatemalan citizens and citizens of other countries who have been deported from the US. He made this statement following a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio also announced that the US would help repatriate citizens of other Central American countries that Guatemala will accept from the US. He emphasized that Arevalo's proposal is very important in the context of the migration situation we are facing.

According to an official representative of Guatemala, since December of last year, under the previous administration of US President Joe Biden, the number of deportation flights was approximately 14 per week. In 2024, more Guatemalan citizens were deported than in any year during Trump’s administration.

Arevalo stated that details regarding the increase in the number of flights will be discussed in working group meetings. He also noted that the issue of accepting criminals was not discussed in the meeting with Rubio. Previously, El Salvador offered to house 'dangerous criminals' in its prisons who were deported from the US.

It is also known that the administration of President Donald Trump called on Immigration and Customs officers to make more arrests of illegal immigrants every day. However, if all illegal immigrants are deported from the US, the country's economy could suffer a loss of 8% of GDP.

Recall that on January 22, US President Donald Trump signed an order to close the southern border of the US with Mexico to illegal immigrants.