Guatemala Agrees to Accept US Deportees From Other Nations in Deal With Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo reach out to shake hands at the end of their joint news conference at the National Palace in Guatemala City, on Feb. 5, 2025. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via Reuters

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.

Guatemala was Rubio’s latest stop on his first foreign trip as secretary of state. His five-country tour of Latin America also included Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. The Trump administration’s immigration concerns were a top priority of the trip.

Rubio’s first stop was in Panama to meet with President José Raúl Mulino, who later announced that Panama would not renew its agreement with the Chinese Communist Party’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) once it expires.

Rubio said on social media platform X that Mulino’s decision to not renew the BRI was “a great step forward for U.S.–Panama relations, a free Panama Canal, and another example of [Trump’s] leadership to protect our national security and deliver prosperity for the American people.”

The influence of the Chinese regime over the Panama Canal has been a national security concern for the United States. CK Hutchinson Holdings, a Hong Kong-based company, still operates the ports at both ends of the Panama Canal, Balboa to the west and Cristobal to the east.

Aldgra Fredly, Frank Fang, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.