WASHINGTON: US top diplomat Antony Blinken will visit Guatemala this week for regional negotiations on migration, the State Department said on Sunday, as the two countries continue to deepen ties over the matter.
Washington has been encouraging the Central American nation’s new administration to become partner on migration, with presidents Joe Biden and Bernardo Arevalo meeting in March. The tour also saw the announcement of $170 million in US assistance.
Guatemala has also agreed to a three-way partnership with the United States and Mexico on migration.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken will head the US delegation on Tuesday in Guatemala for the regional meeting of the 2022 Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.
The framework for cooperation on migration was reached during a meeting in the Los Angeles metropolis led by Biden in 2022.
Miller in a statement said Secretary Blinken will highlight advances of the US over the past two years and look ahead to the next joint steps to bolster humane migration management.
Blinken to meet with Arevalo
He said Blinken is also set to meet with Arevalo, as well as other leaders of the region.
Tuesday’s migration talks come as record numbers of migrants have been trying to enter the United States, mostly from Central America and Venezuela, as they flee violence, poverty, and natural disasters.
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The issue is on the top with Biden’s Republican challenger in the November elections, former president Donald Trump.
Nearly 130,000 Guatemalans crossed the US-Mexico border illegally from October to February.
Arevalo assumed office in January, after unsuccessful attempts by Guatemala’s political setup to block the inauguration of the underdog anti-corruption campaigner.
