Guatemala City, by Brenda Larios -AGN- Guatemalan President spoke this afternoon via telephone with the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, for an exchange on matters of bilateral interest.
During the meeting, they addressed issues of irregular migration, border security, fighting drug trafficking, and investment, among other topics of interest on the bilateral agenda.
The President invited the Vice President to send a U.S. delegation to visit Guatemala to engage in a transparent and open dialogue to find a shared solution to the creation of the Centers for the Assistance of Migrants and Refugees (CAPMiR) and to address irregular migration with a comprehensive approach.
Dialogue
The Vice President complimented Guatemala’s cooperation in the deployment of Joint Task Force Alpha, which resulted in the conviction of 74 criminals for human trafficking, and 800 arrests for human trafficking.
According to the Vice President, “These include significant extraditions to the United States achieved in March, representing great progress and the first time there has been such collaboration with President Joseph Biden’s administration.”
During the meeting, Vice President Harris also highlighted the creation of the Anti-Coyotaje Law, an amendment to the Migration Law approved by the Congress of the Republic in February 2022.
This law toughened the penalties against those responsible for smuggling migrants.
Support for Women
Vice President Harris congratulated Guatemala on its “City of Non-Violence against Women” project, a comprehensive model for empowering women victims of violence, supported by the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
“When women are doing well, it makes communities better,” stated U.S. Vice President
President Giammattei advocated for improving the assistance to migrants to obtain work visas, as well as consular procedures at the U.S. Embassy, to which the Vice President affirmed that she would follow up on his request.
Vice President Kamala Harris commented: “President Biden and I are grateful to Guatemala for being allies and partners with the United States in targeting the causes of migration.”
Vice President Harris referred to the policies for attracting foreign direct investment that allow the creation of well-paid jobs and are an incentive to reduce irregular migration, such as the Japanese-owned auto parts producer Yazaki, recently established in Guatemala.
As part of the electoral process, both parties agreed on the importance of international observation in a legal, legitimate, and peaceful process during the civic celebration this coming June 25.
