Guatemala agrees to accept deportees from other countries, in deal with Rubio

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Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo confirmed that his country is willing to accept migrants of other nationalities being deported from the U.S. under President Donald Trump's administration.

Arevalo made the announcement during a visit from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday. The new agreement declares Guatemala a "safe third country" for deportation, with the U.S. paying for migrants to be eventually returned to their home countries.

"We have agreed to increase by 40% the number of flights of deportees both of our nationality as well as deportees from other nationalities," Arevalo said, speaking during a news conference with Rubio.

The agreement is similar to but less expansive than the one Rubio reached with El Slavador's president, Nayib Bukele, on Tuesday. Bukele said his country would accept U.S. deportees of any nationality, including American citizens and legal residents who are imprisoned for violent crimes.

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Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo cleared the path for his nation's status as a "safe third country." (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

"We have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system," Bukele wrote on X Monday night. "We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee. The fee would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable."

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Rubio said the Salvadoran president "has agreed to the most unprecedented, extraordinary, extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world."

"We can send them, and he will put them in his jails," Rubio told reporters, referring to illegal immigrants behind bars in U.S. prisons. "And, he’s also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentences in the United States, even though they’re U.S. citizens or legal residents."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with President Nayib Bukele at his residence at Lake Coatepeque, El Salvador, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP)

While Bukele did extend the offer to include violent American criminals, it is highly unlikely that part of the offer would actually happen, since it is illegal to deport U.S. citizens. A U.S. official said the Trump administration has no plans to deport American citizens, but noted that Bukele's offer was significant.

The proposal with El Salvador, known as a "safe third country" agreement, could potentially be an option for Venezuelan gang members convicted in the U.S. if Venezuela refuses to accept them, and Rubio said Bukele offered to accept detainees of any nationality.

People are seen boarding a U.S. military aircraft. The White House announced Friday that "deportation flights have begun" in the U.S. (White House)

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Bukele also said he would take back all Salvadoran MS-13 gang members in the U.S. illegally, and promised to accept and incarcerate criminal illegal aliens from any country, especially those affiliated with Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.