Guatemala is looking to partner with the U.S. military to carry out operations targeting cartels in the country.“The Government of Guatemala desires to lead, with U.S. assistance, active military operations to combat U.S.-designated terrorist organizations (DTOs) within Guatemala,” the Guatemalan government said in a statement on Thursday. “There is no agreement that authorizes foreign military operations by any country on national territory.”The government’s announcement came after the New York Times reported on Thursday that the two sides made an agreement to carry out joint strikes and operations to confront cartels.
The Trump administration has made a concerted effort to increase the military and economic pressure on cartels throughout Central America and South America, making it a dominant foreign policy objective throughout the administration’s first year and a half in power.
This broader effort includes a similar agreement with Ecuador, more than 50 fatal strikes on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean, and the capture of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
During President Donald Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said, “We are now partnering with [Venezuela], hopefully, even on the counter-cartel mission as we secure our hemisphere.”
