President Arévalo Refutes Claims of US Military Strikes in Guatemala

In a firm statement issued Thursday evening, President Bernardo Arévalo stood at a press conference in Guatemala City and reaffirmed that his administration has never entered into an agreement permitting the United States to conduct anti‑drug strikes on Guatemalan territory. The clarification follows a New York Times article that suggested a potential joint operation between Washington and Guatemala.

Arévalo repeated that the government’s request for cooperation with the United States is strictly limited to intelligence sharing, training, and interdiction support – all actions that are already covered by existing security arrangements. In his words, “We are signing 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.” He underscored that only the Guatemalan Congress holds the authority to approve any military action on national soil, a power he stated the administration does not intend to exercise.

The president’s comment comes against a backdrop of heightened U.S. engagement in the region. Under the former administration, the United States launched a series of air strikes against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific oceans, a campaign that critics say has caused extrajudicial killings. Additionally, the recent deaths of two CIA agents during an operation in northern Mexico have intensified scrutiny on U.S. military presence in Latin America.

Guatemalan officials, however, maintained that the country’s security partnership with Washington is confined to joint maritime interdiction and not to offensive operations in Guatemalan airspace or territory. Defense Minister Henry Saenz’s correspondence with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, dated May 28, clarified that Guatemala “desires to lead, with US assistance, active military operations against drug groups identified as designated terrorist organisations” but emphasized that this request remains within the framework of existing bilateral agreements and does not involve U.S. strikes on Guatemalan soil.

The denials highlight the delicate balance Central American governments seek between collaborating with the United States on counter‑drug efforts and preserving national sovereignty. With a long history of shared intelligence and interdiction operations, Guatemala continues to pursue a cooperative strategy while rejecting any unilateral military action that would violate its constitution and legal frameworks.