Guatemala, May 26, 2023 – This afternoon, President Alejandro Giammattei spoke by telephone with the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, to discuss irregular migration, border security, fighting drug trafficking and investment, as well as other topics of interest on the bilateral agenda.
Vice President Harris congratulated President Giammattei for Guatemala’s cooperation in Joint Task Force Alpha deployment, which resulted in the conviction of 74 criminals for human trafficking and 800 arrests for human trafficking.
According to the Vice President, the large number of extraditions to the U.S. achieved in March represents great progress and the first time there has been such collaboration with President Joseph Biden’s administration.
She also congratulated Guatemala’s president for the “anticoyotaje law,” an amendment to the Migration Law approved by the Congress of the Republic in February 2022, which increased the sanctions against migrant smuggling offenders.
She congratulated Guatemala on the City of Non-Violence against Women project, a comprehensive model for women victims of violence empowerment 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 for the granting of 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.
President Alejandro Giammattei invited Vice President Harris to send a U.S. delegation to visit Guatemala to engage in a sincere and open dialogue to find a joint solution to the proposed creation of the Centers for the Attention of Migrants and Refugees -CAPMiR- and to address irregular migration with a comprehensive approach.
