Guatemala to accept migrants from other countries deported by US

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said on Wednesday that his country had agreed to accept migrants from other countries after they are deported from the United States.

At that point, under the “safe third country” agreement announced on Wednesday, the U.S. would pay for the migrants to return to their home countries.

Arévalo announced the “safe third country” agreement at a news conference with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.

“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.

The agreement is similar to an offer made by El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, earlier this week. Bukele said El Salvador would continue accepting deported Salvadorans who were living in the U.S. illegally, as well as members of international criminal gangs MS-13 or Tren de Aragua.

In exchange, Bukele — known for his aggressive approach to tackling gang violence in his country — would accept a fee from the U.S. government.

“We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee,” Bukele wrote on the social media platform X Monday night.

“The fee would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable,” he added.

Rubio later said that Bukele’s offer was “generous” but could face “legalities” in the U.S.

Rubio is in Guatemala as part of his first foreign trip as the country’s top diplomat. He began the five-country visit in Panama, before traveling to El Salvador and Costa Rica. He will wrap up his trip in the Dominican Republic.

The Associated Press contributed.