Guatemalan President Rejects Possibility of US Military Operations in His Country

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo has rejected the possibility of US military operations against organised crime in his country. Arevalo stressed that Guatemala’s Constitution ‘does not permit operations, the execution of joint military operations’ with foreign armed forces. ‘For them to carry out military operations, to bring weapons… the law does not allow it,’ Arevalo said in an exclusive interview with AFP during a visit to Panama, as reported by AFP on Tuesday (23/6/2026). US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said a week earlier that targeted strikes could be deployed in Guatemala and Ecuador to target criminal gangs and drug trafficking. However, Guatemala is part of an anti-drug trafficking alliance promoted by US President Donald Trump. Arevalo emphasised in the AFP interview that the agreed cooperation with Washington includes ‘training, support at the tactical operations level for planning raids, and intelligence sharing’. He further stressed that armed actions against criminal groups remain the responsibility of Guatemalan security forces. Drug trafficking mafias and gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18, which have been designated as ‘terrorists’ by the Trump administration, operate in Guatemalan territory. Earlier this month, the US carried out a raid in Venezuela that killed Tren de Aragua criminal gang leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias Nino Guerrero. He had been indicted on drug trafficking, extortion, and other charges in the US prior to the raid. Trump posted a video of the raid on the high-value target, who had a US$5 million bounty on his head, on social media. The video shows an aerial view of a building surrounded by trees before an explosion occurs, generating a plume of smoke. No people are clearly visible in the video. Additionally, the US has conducted a series of air strikes against vessels suspected of drug trafficking in Caribbean and Pacific waters, which have so far killed more than 200 people. Washington has also acknowledged conducting joint missions with Ecuador in areas along the border with Colombia.