Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo said about 2,300 Mexican nationals deported from the United States have been flown to Guatemala this year before being transferred to Mexico within 24 hours.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
About 2,300 Mexican nationals deported from the United States have passed through Guatemala so far in 2026 under an arrangement that allows them to be transferred onward to Mexico, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo said in an interview aired late Wednesday.
Arevalo said the Mexican deportees arrive aboard flights that are also carrying Guatemalan nationals being returned from the United States.
The Mexican migrants remain in Guatemala for less than 24 hours before being transferred to Mexico in coordination with Mexican immigration authorities, according to Arevalo.
“They are arriving in planes of Guatemalan returnees, and what we have done is process them as in transit, in coordination with the Mexican immigration authorities,” Arevalo said.
The Guatemalan president stressed that his country is not granting the Mexican deportees refuge or housing them after their arrival.
He also said Guatemala is not functioning as a “safe third country” under the arrangement because the deportees are treated strictly as travelers in transit and remain in the country for less than a day.
The disclosure follows a CBS report earlier this week stating that the Trump administration has been sending Mexican nationals to Guatemala and Honduras as part of its efforts to discourage illegal migration into the United States.
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry and the Honduran Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Mexican authorities had previously told CBS that Mexico opposed sending its citizens to “third countries” during deportation proceedings and said the government had not entered into an agreement permitting such transfers.
Arevalo’s account indicates that at least 2,300 Mexican deportees have nevertheless traveled through Guatemala this year before being moved to Mexico.
The transfers are taking place as President Donald Trump expands immigration enforcement following his 2024 reelection campaign, during which he pledged to reduce illegal border crossings and conduct mass deportations of people determined to be unlawfully present in the United States.
The administration has relied on arrangements involving several countries in the Americas as part of that broader deportation strategy.
Under the process described by Arevalo, Mexican deportees are placed on flights carrying returning Guatemalans, processed by Guatemalan authorities as transit passengers and then transferred to Mexican officials rather than remaining in Guatemala.
Arevalo said the short duration of their stay and the absence of housing or asylum arrangements distinguish the practice from a safe-third-country system.
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