LatinNews Daily - 25 February 2025

*Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo has announced plans to expand Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala’s largest Pacific Ocean port, with cooperation from the US Army Corps of Engineers (Usace). The port is run by Empresa Portuaria Quetzal (EPQ), a government entity, and located in Escuintla department. A Usace delegation was in Guatemala from 17-21 February to conduct initial assessments of the capacity of the port, which was constructed in the 1980s with the objective of handling up to 700,000 tonnes of cargo but has not undergone expansion since. The proposal to expand the port with US cooperation  was first announced during the visit earlier this month to Guatemala by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which Guatemala agreed to accept a 40% increase in the number of deportation flights arriving from the US, carrying both undocumented Guatemalans and citizens from other countries. A US embassy press release states that the port’s expansion “is the first step to modernizing Guatemala’s broader infrastructure network, including its railway corridor”, efforts which “will increase employment opportunities and secure regional and global commerce that will benefit Guatemala and the US”. José Antonio Lemus, president of EPQ’s board of directors, said a letter would be signed by both countries in May formalising their commitment regarding the port expansion project, while in August a further technical visit would take place with aim of compiling the final necessary information to design the expansion of the port.