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LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

September 29, 2025

Where Do Relations Between the U.S. & Guatemala Stand?

The government of Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo recently extradited the accused leader of a drug trafficking network to the United States. // File Photo: Guatemalan Government via Flickr PDM 1.0.

Q

  • Guatemala recently extradited to the United States Roberto Carlo Girón Hernández, whom U.S. authorities accuse of leading a cocaine trafficking network, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced Sept. 9. The announcement came a month after U.S. authorities announced the extradition to the United States of another Guatemalan, Romeo Ramos Cruz, who is accused of being a key member of a drug trafficking organization. How well are the administrations of U.S. President Donald Trump and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo cooperating on antidrug efforts? How has Arévalo’s cooperation with Trump on security and migration affected Guatemala and its broader relationship with the United States? How do Guatemala-U.S. ties affect Arévalo’s public standing in Guatemala and his ability to pursue other parts of his agenda?

A

Brian Nichols, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs: “Under President Bernardo Arévalo’s reformist banner, Guatemala is attempting something that has long eluded its leaders: anchoring U.S. partnership in the fight against crime within a broader commitment to institutional integrity. In March 2024, Arévalo consolidated counternarcotics and border security functions under a single entity, ending a previously fragmented and failed approach. For decades, Guatemala served as a conduit for cocaine shipments from Colombia and Ecuador coursing toward U.S. markets. But now, authorities report a three-fold increase in narcotics seizures—a shift, small but real, in the logic of impunity. The extradition of Roberto Carlo Girón Hernández, alias El Gordo, to the United States…”

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