GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo 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,” Arévalo 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,” Arévalo 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.
