US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s meeting on February 4 with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo has generated controversy and confusion. Interpretations span from concerns over gracious treatment of Arévalo to fears the United States will remove him from office.
A Guatemalan news service reported that Rubio “disappointed conservative sectors in Guatemala by congratulating [Arévalo] for his ‘commitment to democracy.’” The criticism was that Rubio ignored the incumbent Semilla Party’s crimes and electoral fraud that brought Arévalo to power.
The truth is Rubio came with urgent needs of the Donald Trump administration, and this left no time to prepare for the broader context. Guatemalan expectations were too great, and Rubio could not deal with the complex challenges in Central America—at least not yet.
Rubio did achieve the two primary objectives of his first trip: (1) cooperation from Panamanian President José Raul Mulino with restraining what President Trump has described as China’s “influence and control” over the Panama Canal; (2) agreements from Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and Arévalo to accept US deportees.
Trump pledged in his campaign to deport illegal immigrants. He began arresting those with criminal records immediately upon taking office. By February 4, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was holding nearly 42,000 migrant detainees despite a 38,521-bed capacity.
As of July 31, 2024, there were 662,566 noncitizens with either criminal convictions (435,719) or pending criminal charges (226,847) on ICE’s national docket. Considering US Customs and Border Protection reported 10.8 million inadmissible encounters since 2021, the number of deportees will only go up.
The Trump administration urgently must be able to deport migrant detainees—hence Rubio’s trip. An address of other issues will likely happen later.
ConCriterio, a leftist outlet, reported a meeting between private-sector leaders and US embassy personnel in preparation for Rubio’s visit. Ernesto Alarcón, president of the National Entrepreneurs Council (CNE), said a corrupt cabal had ruled Guatemala until Arévalo. Now, Alarcón alleges, this purported cabal is trying to overthrow him.
Perhaps struggling to express himself, Alarcón attempted to protect Arévalo and said US officials needed to understand the Guatemalan context before any removal. Alarcón further asserted that the US embassy understands this, hinting at Arévalo’s backing at the US embassy.
The Joe Biden regime created the CNE one week before Kamala Harris’s visit to Guatemala in 2021. This initiative was there to deceive the US public that the regime was mitigating the root causes of illegal migration. We need not be surprised then that the Biden regime’s embassy, still intact, would side with Arévalo.
Rubio emphasized combating transnational crime—narcotics and human trafficking—on each stop in his trip. In contrast, the Biden regime sided with organized crime and flooded the United States with illegals and contraband. These acts were blatant, and there is evidence of collaboration in the electoral fraud that installed Arévalo to the presidency.
The State Department’s (DOS) nemesis, Attorney General Consuelo Porras, investigated the election. Under high-court order, Porras’s office presented its investigation—with evidence of fraud—to the electoral authority. Two million votes out of 5.6 million are missing, sufficient to annul the election.
The Justice Department’s Joint Task Force Alpha on March 16, 2023, praised Guatemala for unprecedented cooperation with extradition of human traffickers. Although only the attorney general can request extraditions, the statement did not mention Porras or her office, likely because of DOS insistence.
Arévalo and DOS committed crimes attempting to remove Porras from office. As noted by the Liga Pro-Patria civic association, DOS has sought to remove Porras. DOS wants to “hide its personnel’s and its agents’ crimes and commit new crimes to promote its agenda. This includes facilitating the flow of illegal migrants, including child trafficking, and narcotics from and through Guatemala.”
As Rubio departed Guatemala on February 5, he addressed the press and emphasized the importance of extraditing key transnational criminals: “Our new attorney general and the Justice Department are prioritizing our extradition requests.” Porras has shown her commitment to law enforcement and will be a great US ally against transnational crime, especially child-traffickers.
Rubio said prosperity depends on investment, which requires security and the rule of law. If the law were properly applied in Guatemala, Arévalo would be removed from the presidency, and its Congress would appoint a new president and vice president. The Liga Pro-Patria has stated “DOS has intimidated our judiciary to not apply the law to Arévalo.”
Arévalo agreed to what Rubio wanted from him because he seeks to maintain the US intimidation of Guatemala’s judiciary and remain in office. Arévalo cannot with his record, however, promote prosperity or combat transnational crime. Arévalo is destroying Guatemala’s institutions, as opposed to Porras, who upholds institutionality.
The Trump administration should immediately work with Porras. That would align with Rubio’s assertion that good governance creates prosperity and requires the rule of law. Guatemala can help itself and become a strong US ally by properly applying its laws.
