The United States said Wednesday it saw a growing partner in Guatemala’s new government as it held high-level three-way talks with Mexico on migration, a major political headache for President Joe Biden.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought together his counterparts from Mexico and Guatemala, where anti-corruption campaigner Bernardo Arevalo took office as president last month following unsuccessful attempts by establishment forces to block him.
The United States is “very, very pleased to see the transition take place and the government not only in place, but acting strongly to meet the challenges of the moment, including the challenge of irregular migration,” Blinken said of Guatemala.
Record numbers of migrants have been seeking to enter the United States, largely from Central America and Venezuela, as they flee poverty, violence and disasters exacerbated by climate change.
The issue has emerged as a top political issue with Biden’s likely Republican challenger in November elections, former president Donald Trump, vowing more drastic action and linking the issue to a hold by his allies in Congress on assistance sought by Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion.
Biden and Trump are set to make dueling trips to the border on Thursday.
The Biden administration has agreed to greater enforcement measures, but Blinken said the United States also wanted to work with Mexico and Guatemala on “safe, orderly and humane migration.”
“The bottom line for so many people around the world is that if you can’t put food on the table for your kids, you’ll try to figure out anything necessary to do that, including leaving your own country,” he said.
Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Martinez said that his country, one of the top sources of migrants, was committed under its new president to building the economy.
“We are the first who must manage the needs of our population. We must create and provide opportunities so that our people do not migrate,” he said.
“Even if we work on this effort for the next four years, we may not correct this, but we want to build a foundation for a new country.”
– © 2024 AFP
