Migration and drug trafficking dominated a meeting on Friday between U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo, according to the president. Landau concluded his regional tour in Guatemala, which also included visits to Mexico and El Salvador, where he met with Presidents Claudia Sheinbaum and Nayib Bukele, respectively.
“The working meeting allowed us to review the key issues on the bilateral agenda between the United States and Guatemala, including critical topics such as the fight against drug trafficking and human smuggling,” Arévalo said at a press conference. He also noted that the two discussed Guatemala’s cooperation in ensuring the “orderly, safe, and dignified management of migration flows.”
In addition, they spoke about U.S. support for infrastructure development in Guatemala and “challenges related to trade and investment,” he added. Arévalo also announced the creation of a special command to counter “transnational threats,” which will operate under the Ministry of Defense.
This command, he explained, “will serve as a mechanism for more direct coordination with the United States, Mexico, or any other country we are collaborating with in the fight against transnational crime.” The president said he also presented Landau with the new regulation on the authorization and control of precursors and chemical substances, which was published Friday in the official gazette.
He emphasized that the regulation is a tool to combat drug trafficking, especially the use of new precursors for manufacturing synthetic drugs. Landau also met with other Guatemalan government officials and private sector representatives, and visited Puerto Quetzal on the Pacific coast, where U.S. soldiers are working on expanding and modernizing the port terminal.
In Mexico, President Sheinbaum stated earlier that she had expressed to Landau her disagreement with immigration raids, a topic she hopes to address directly with President Donald Trump during next week’s G7 Summit in Canada. In San Salvador, Landau praised Bukele, calling him “a great partner,” and said that the United States values “El Salvador’s leadership in the region.”
