President Trump Wants to Punish Guatemala Over Failed ‘Safe Third Country’ Deal

Photo: Gustavo Amador/EPA/Shutterstock

Guatemalan president had canceled U.S. trip to discuss agreement requiring migrants to seek asylum there

President Trump threatened to punish Guatemala for what he described as the country’s reneging on a proposed deal to welcome Central American asylum seekers.

Mr. Trump said on Twitter Tuesday that the U.S. had been “ready to go” but was now considering tariffs, remittance fees and an unspecified “BAN.”

Last year, Guatemalans living outside the country sent more than $9 billion home, making up about 12% of Guatemala’s gross domestic product.

“Guatemala, which has been forming Caravans and sending large numbers of people, some with criminal records, to the United States, has decided to break the deal they had with us on signing a necessary Safe Third Agreement,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales canceled a trip to Washington earlier this month for discussions on a deal that would have required migrants from El Salvador and Honduras to seek asylum there rather than in the U.S.

For several months, Mr. Morales’s government had been negotiating the possibility of designating Guatemala a safe third country for asylum seekers. But he called off the planned meeting with Mr. Trump after Guatemala’s top court blocked him from signing such a deal amid growing concerns that the Central American country is unprepared to absorb the influx of migrants.

Read the rest from the WSJ HERE and follow link below to a related story:

POLITICO: Trump warns of retaliation against Guatemala after immigration deal falls through

If you like what you see, please "Like" us on Facebook either here or here. Please follow us on Twitter here.