(FILES) Guatemala's President Bernardo Arevalo speaks during the official report of his second year as head of state at the National Congress in Guatemala City on January 14, 2026. Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo said on February 15, 2026, that the state of emergency he declared a month ago, which ends on February 16, had helped to control the gangs that killed eleven police officers in January and rioted in prisons. (Photo by JOHAN ORDONEZ / AFP)
Guatemala has agreed to conduct joint strikes with the United States against drug traffickers in its territory, the New York Times reports on Thursday.
The move marks an escalation of US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on drug cartels operating out of Latin America.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo agreed to the strikes with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in a call last week, the Times reported, quoting two people familiar with the talks.
The Central American nation has formally requested “cooperation in operations led by Guatemalan security forces against drug trafficking organisations” in a letter to Hegseth, Alvaro’s office told The Times.
