LatinNews Daily - 11 March 2024

Mexico/Guatemala: On 28 February senior Mexican, Guatemalan, and US officials convened at the US State Department for a trilateral ministerial meeting which aimed to strengthen collaboration on managing migration and displacement, whilst further promoting regional progress and development. According to a joint statement shared by the US State Department, the official agenda included matters concerning “issues related to root causes and development, border enforcement and control, labour mobility pathways and orderly, humane, and regular migration in the region”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and White House Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall led the US delegation. Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez and Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez attended on behalf of Guatemala, with Mexico’s Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena leading the Mexican delegation. Blinken affirmed that the US partnership with respect to Guatemala and Mexico “has never been stronger, never been greater”. He said that while the challenges were also significant, “we are facing them together across the board”. The delegations agreed on the urgency of addressing the root causes of irregular migration, discussing the importance of encouraging investments in Guatemala that develop infrastructure and expand access to health, education, electricity, and housing. Participants also emphasised the need to foster economic productivity and supply chains between the three countries, and to create jobs in the region. The delegations committed to expanding access to labour mobility pathways as well as strengthening joint law enforcement efforts, including by enhancing information sharing and working collectively to investigative and prosecute human trafficking and migrant smuggling networks. Discussion also focused on the need to increase joint efforts on humane border management and enforcement at the US-Mexico and Mexico-Guatemala borders. The delegations agreed to establish a trilateral working group to improve security, law enforcement, processes, and infrastructure along their international borders.

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