LatinNews Daily - 19 August 2026

*Guatemala’s foreign minister, Carlos Ramiro Martínez, has held a bilateral meeting with his Mexican counterpart Roberto Velasco Álvarez, during an official visit to Mexico in what is the latest sign of close ties between the left-of-centre Guatemalan and Mexican governments led by Bernardo Arévalo and Claudia Sheinbaum, respectively. The meeting is the first in-person encounter between the two foreign ministers since Velasco took office in April. According to a Guatemalan government press release, the two mandated the holding of the XIII plenary meeting of the Guatemala–Mexico binational commission, a political dialogue mechanism progress. They also highlighted progress in areas such as labour mobility, amid efforts to “promote mechanisms for regular, safe, and orderly mobility for migrant workers” and addressed issues related to “border infrastructure and interconnection, trade, comprehensive risk management, and coordination on regional and multilateral matters”. The two diplomats also reaffirmed their governments’ interest in deepening cooperation vis-à-vis the economy and investment, highlighting initiatives such as a joint freight customs clearance pilot plan, as well as the importance of continuing to promote joint initiatives in rail interconnection. The two officials also welcomed the recent commemoration of the ‘First Great Maya Forest Day’, celebrated on 15 August, marking one year since the trilateral meeting held at the Mayan archaeological site of Calakmul in Mexico’s southeastern state of Campeche between Arévalo, Sheinbaum. and Belize’s Prime Minister John Briceño, which recognises the Maya Forest as “a strategic space of high ecological and environmental value”, according to the Guatemalan government press release.

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