Guatemala President Denies US 05/29 06:37

   

   GUATEMALA CITY (AP) -- Guatemalan President Bernardo Arvalo on Thursday 
denied the existence of an agreement with the United States to conduct 
anti-drug trafficking operations on Guatemalan soil.

   The comments come after The New York Times reported that the Central 
American nation agreed to carry out joint strikes.

   The case is the latest in ongoing tensions between the Trump administration 
and Latin American governments that seek to strike a balance between bilateral 
cooperation to fight drug trafficking and maintaining sovereignty.

   "There is no agreement. There is a request that falls within the framework 
of existing agreements in several countries," Arvalo said at a news conference.

   "What we are signing are types of collaboration that have been taking place 
in the past. We conduct maritime interdictions where the United States has been 
collaborating with training, capacity building and equipment," Arvalo said.

   He said the government's actions are in accordance with Guatemalan law and 
the Constitution.

   "The only body that can authorize operations involving soldiers on 
Guatemalan soil is the Congress of the Republic. The Guatemalan government is 
not requesting this cooperation and has no plans to do so," the president said.

   When asked about the supposed agreement, acting Pentagon press secretary 
Joel Valdez said he cannot "speculate on future operations or discuss matters 
of operational security" but emphasized that the Department of War works with 
partners in the region to fight drug trafficking and other transnational 
threats.

   The Guatemalan government also published a press release and two letters in 
which its defense minister discusses combined military operations under 
pre-existing agreements with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

   The April deaths of two CIA agents in northern Mexico after an operation to 
destroy a drug lab highlighted the presence of U.S. agents in Latin America and 
raised questions about heightened U.S. involvement throughout the region. In 
the days following, Mexican officials offered contradictory accounts on how 
much information the country had regarding the CIA agents' involvement.

   The Mexican government acknowledges the presence of U.S. agencies on Mexican 
territory but says that they cannot participate in on-the-ground operations.