GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Guatemala said it is open to engaging in a “constructive and respectful dialogue” with the new administration of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, though no agreement has been made on accepting deported migrants.
In a statement dated Thursday, the government of the Central American country said it has ongoing engagement with Trump’s transition team, though no meeting has occurred with government officials to discuss his plan to deport record numbers of immigrants living in the United States illegally.
Reuters exclusively reported on Thursday that Guatemala is open to receiving citizens of other Central American nations who are deported from the United States, according to three sources familiar with the matter, a signal that the center-left government of President Bernardo Arevalo wants to start on smooth terms with Trump, who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to emphasize that any statements attributed anonymously …. do not accurately reflect the official position of the Guatemalan government,” the government said in its statement on Thursday.
Guatemala has been particularly proactive in preparing for a second Trump term, meeting with transition team members, Senator Marco Rubio before he was tapped for secretary of state and the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, about migration and mass deportations, border security, drug trafficking and China, Reuters reported.
The country would prioritize Guatemalans for re-integration, according to an official, with an aim to put their skills developed in the United States to work in the private sector.
Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras — which make up the so-called Northern Triangle — and Nicaragua must navigate Trump’s demand they accept deportees and a potential curtailing of remittances from immigrants in the U.S., which are a major contributor to their economies.
(Reporting by Isaias Morales in Guatemala City and Sarah Kinosian in Mexico City, writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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