MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) (In progress) Palace of Culture this morning where we presenting this press conference. We have the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Dr. Bernardo Arévalo de Leon and the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio. Welcome this morning.
We thank each one of you for being here in this press conference. And we give the floor to the president of the Republic of Guatemala, Dr. Bernardo Arévalo. Welcome.
PRESIDENT ARÉVALO: (Via interpreter) Good morning, everyone. And good morning particularly Secretary of State Rubio and his delegation. Secretary Rubio, as I said to you yesterday afternoon in our conversations, we welcome you to Guatemala and we greet Donald Trump's government administration. Your presence here today opens new opportunities for cooperation between our countries. Guatemala is and will continue to be the United States partner to address the issues that we face as countries, but also to build more dignified societies and with greater opportunities for development. Our countries share 176 years of diplomatic relations that bring us together and present a common horizon for both.
We are now confronted with the challenges of 21st century - migration, border security, and combat of transnational crime. For this reason, these challenges have also been the core of the work agenda that we now share. These challenges need to be addressed comprehensively and jointly to guarantee regional stability, the dignity of our peoples, and the security of our countries.
As a government, we have clarity of the vision of the future that we are building for Guatemala - a joint vision for all the peoples and sectors of our country.
We believe in a new migration model that will allow us to address the phenomenon of migration in a humanitarian and comprehensive manner to address the causes that have forced so many Guatemalan men and women to leave their communities, their families, their country. As part of this strategy, we have implemented that the return home plan that makes it possible for our brethren back home to be dignified and that their reintegration be facilitated. To migrants in the United States, we repeat: You are not alone. We are with you. Our government works with our sight to ensure your dignity and safety, and to resolve the migration crisis will allow us to create conditions to find long-term solutions.
In this framework, we make a commitment to broaden the capacities that allow more Guatemalan men and women to go - come back to their home, Guatemala, where we will welcome you with the dignity and with more opportunities. In this framework, we have agreed to increase by 40 percent the number of flights of deportees, both national returnees as well as deportees from other nationalities for their ulterior repatriation. The details of this process will be discussed and binational working groups to be established for that purpose.
However, the permanent response to migration is to bring development for people not to have to leave the country. For this reason, a delegation led by the Government of Guatemala and with the support of the private sector will visit - will perform a high-level visit to Washington, D.C. in coming weeks to create agreements in terms of economic productive development and investment to ensure tangible impact, positive impact for Guatemala.
On the other hand, we know that border security is key to address these challenges. We understand that by protecting Guatemala's territory, we care for and protect the region, as we have been doing with initiatives that - the Fire Belt with Mexico and the special forest operations in Petén, Guatemala. For that reason, we have shared with Secretary Rubio the creation, the protection - for border control and protection task force in the northern border of our country, along the almost 300 kilometers of border - a combined force of the national civic police and the national armed forces that will protect and combat all forms of transnational crime. With a border that has been strengthened and which is secure, we guarantee the peace and security of our people.
We have requested the re-establishment of cooperation programs in terms of development and security, and we appreciate the approval by Secretary Rubio to consider priority problems to combat transnational crime, including narco-traffic and particularly combatting the trafficking on fentanyl, the trafficking of persons, border security, and prevent the conditions that produce the Guatemalans' migration in this regard.
We thank Secretary Rubio for the letter, dated today, where he expresses his support for the establishment of a partnership for the development of a priority infrastructure established by my government - ground infrastructure, air infrastructure, sea infrastructure, and rail infrastructure, including the metro.
Mr. Secretary, we appreciate your expressions of support to democracy, respect for the sovereign decision of the people in the ballots, combat of corruption, and strengthening democratic institutions. Guatemala is a country of people who are hardworking, who are solidary, and who get ahead - a dignified people with commitment with the present and future of Guatemala. We will continue to act with firmness to build a safer country with dignity, prosperity, and democracy. And with these objectives we know that the United States is a key partner. Thank you very much.
MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) We have heard the president of the Republic of Guatemala, and now we give the floor to Mr. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States.
SECRETARY RUBIO: (Via interpreter) Mr. President, thank you very much for having us and welcoming us so openly. You've given me - you gave me so much time last night and this morning as well. I think this has been such an impactful visit that there was an earthquake that we felt. It's the first time I have ever felt an earthquake in my life. I was awake at 1:00 in the morning. I felt some movement. I thought maybe I was dizzy, I don't know, and then I realized this morning that no, there was a small earthquake. I'd never experienced that in Miami. So that was the impact of this trip.
In all seriousness, thank you very much. First, I'd like to commend you for your commitment to democracy, to institutions. We said last night that democracy really is a modern moment. During most of the history of humanity, democracy has only existed for under 300 years, approximately, and it's difficult - it's easy to write, hard to establish, because it's not - hard to maintain, because it's not natural, the idea that people can govern themselves through the ballot box in a republic where they put the power in the hands of elected officials to determine the destiny of a country while always answering to the people again at the polls. That is not easy, and each era, each generation must defend it. And I'd like to commend you for your commitment to defending the institutions of a republic, and we will continue to work together with you so that you can achieve what you wish to achieve along that road.
I'd like to thank you again for the commitment you've made regarding migration, which is an issue that affects us. Guatemala is a country that confronts all aspects of what's happening in our hemisphere. You are a destination. You are also a transit country as well, as you have had many people who have had to leave this country to seek out other opportunities. And on top of all that, you've had to face the fact that geographically you are in the middle of a massive drug and drug trafficking industry that uses your country as a transshipment point for moving this poison that is on its way to the United States. And I thank you for all of your cooperation, which we will continue to strengthen, in order to intervene and prevent it not only from coming to the United States but to prevent it from corrupting the institutions of this country and harming your economic plans.
I'm very pleased to have signed that letter today in support of everything that we can do, but specifically the opportunity that exists for the Army Corps of Engineers of the U.S. to work together with your government to create preliminary plans that are necessary in order to build a modern port and everything that is necessary in order to have an economy that moves forward. These projects as they progress will create employment in the short term in construction and labor, which is important because that builds a middle class, but in the long term it will position Guatemala as a hub of economic activity in the region - a vision that takes some time to build, but it will be something positive and really revolutionary for the future of this country. We'd also like to thank you, and we're doing everything we can.
And finally, we thank you very much for your support and the relationship that you already have with Taiwan, another democracy. It's not easy in a world where there is a lot of pressure to change that recognition and to break those ties, but you have always stood firm, and we look for opportunities for that only - not only to be a diplomatic relationship, but for it also to be an economic relationship with investments and opportunities.
So in all of these areas, we will continue to work together - two peoples who are not only allies and neighbors, but we are united by a long history and there are so many things that we have in common in our cultures and our cooperation. So I'd like to thank you, and briefly in English, if I may, I'd like to say a few words. And he speaks English perfectly well, just so you know. If you didn't know that, his English is perfect. His English is better than my Spanish.
(In English) I just want to say a few words. First off, I want to thank this very warm reception that I have received here from our allies, our partners in Guatemala, with whom we have a long history of diplomatic and economic and cultural engagement. We're not just neighbors; we're allies, we're friends, and I think that will be evidenced by the work that we've done here in the day that we - in the hours that we have been here. The - the very important offer of cooperation, which was already existing - Guatemala was already accepting deportation flights of their nationals who were returning home, and not just accepting them as deportees but reintegrating them into society.
In fact, I want to thank the business community here who very firmly has said that this is an important part of bringing back their brothers and sisters and reintegrating them into the economic hopes and dreams as a labor force for the future. And so I think that's a very important step by the government and also by the private sector, which has been so supportive.
The president who has made the offer today, then we'll be working on the details of all this - but the offer to increase these flights - these - by - and these deportations by 40 percent. It's very important for us in terms of the migratory situation that we're facing. His willingness to accept not just nationals but those from other nationalities as they seek to ultimately return to their own homelands is also important.
And we've pledged our support with those efforts, as we've done with other countries, like Panama. We recognize that in addition to those who may be returned because they're currently in the United States, there are those who are here now from faraway places. And we are pledged to do all we can to help assist getting them from here to the - to their final destinations and their homelands.
In addition, our law enforcement cooperation is very strong. Tragically, Guatemala, because of its geography has been a place of transshipment of drugs. At one time it was through aerial, small little airplanes that landed in clandestine fields. At one time it was 70 to 80 flights a year. Now, it was - last year I think there was one, and we hope this year it'll be zero. And that's thanks to the dedication that the authorities here have placed in shutting that down, but those maritime routes and other routes still exist. And it takes resources, and frankly, courage and dedication to go after those routes and shut down those routes. And we, today, will reauthorize programs that allow us to continue to work in partnership to stop that from happening.
Drug trafficking organizations who do not simply leave violence along the way and obviously ship drugs into the United States that are very deadly, but they also - their existence in any country - one of the impacts that it has is it creates corruption. It compromises institutions and makes it harder to govern a country and progress moving forward. We recognize that that is the nefarious metastasis that often happens with the presence of these groups. And we are going to do everything - continue to do everything we can to help in that endeavor. And today I'll be signing waivers on foreign aid that will continue that partnership and hope to build on it as well.
In addition, there are opportunities to cooperate economically. Today I've signed a letter of support pledging the full cooperation of the State Department on a very specific project, which is the partnership between the Government of Guatemala and the Army Corps of Engineers in the United States to begin preliminary planning for the expansion of not one but two new port facilities, and in addition to that, the opportunity to do the interconnections through highways and railroads so that Guatemala can become an economic hub of trade and commerce, creating even more opportunity for the people of the region and of Guatemala.
And finally, we must recognize the commitment the president and his administration have had to democracy and to freedom and to - and respect for institutions and the rule of law. Democracy is a pretty new concept. It's less than 300 years old. It's easy to write on a piece of paper. It's hard to maintain. And your commitment to maintaining and defending democracy and the stability of institutions, the integrity of institutions, is critical for Guatemala's future. It's critical for all of our futures in every country where it's threatened.
And in particular, as part of that is your longstanding friendship and relationship with the people of Taiwan. And we hope - and we'll do all we can to expand it beyond just the diplomatic realm to an economic one. We'll do all we can to facilitate more Taiwanese investment in the economy of Guatemala so that it can continue to grow into the advanced, prosperous, 21st-century economy that allows it to be a place where all of its people can flourish and prosper and leave their children better off than themselves.
Thank you. Muchísimas gracias.
MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) We have heard the Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And at this time, we answer questions. The first question by Guatemala, by Eduardo Perea.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Good morning, President, Secretary Rubio. I'd like to ask you how prepared is Guatemala, how ready is Guatemala to be considered a third safe country, and what is your official position regarding China and Taiwan?
PRESIDENT ARÉVALO: (Via interpreter) Good morning. A pleasure to see you again. A safe country is not a topic that exists. It was not discussed in title or content. What we have now is a new migration arrangement that guarantees safety, humanitarian conditions for repatriation processes in the case of Guatemalans and for the case of deportations of other nationals in such a way that they can continue on to their respective countries of origin, which are elements that have nothing to do with the concept of third safe country.
We - about your second question, our relationship with Taiwan, we have stated from the first moment that we maintain our diplomatic relationship with Taiwan and that we hope to be able to improve on them within the framework of our government administration to be able to further develop them in terms of economics and investment, as Secretary Rubio has said.
MODERATOR: The second question is by the United States, Eric Martin.
QUESTION: Gracias. Thank you, Secretary Rubio, Presidente Arévalo. Secretary Rubio, I'd like to ask you about USAID. Guatemala has been a large recipient of USAID in recent years as a developing nation, and the halt of funding - we've spoken with contractors and Foreign Service officers who work for you. They say that the impact on lifesaving programs worldwide, even with the waiver, has been severe, has provoked chaos and confusion among rank-and-file staff, who say it's been severely demoralizing, especially the order to return home. Isn't all of this angst, confusion, and upheaval a gift to America's geopolitical, geostrategic rivals such as Russia and China?
(Via interpreter) President Arévalo, I would like to ask you - first of all, I'd like to say that it's a pleasure to see you again. We saw each other last in Washington before you were inaugurated as president. Now, regarding the return of Guatemalans from the U.S., what kind of work or jobs do you expect that deportees will be able to do here in Guatemala? What is the role of the private sector in the reintegration process? And could you please share a few of the companies that are involved in the My First Home initiative? Thank you to both of you.
SECRETARY RUBIO: I'll answer the USAID question first. Let me walk everybody through these steps; they're important.
Our goal for USAID was to align the programs that it fulfills with the foreign policy of the United States. What would be a gift to our geopolitical rivals is billions of dollars in foreign aid that is not aligned to the national interest and the foreign policy of the United States. If you read the statute that created USAID, it is supposed to take policy direction from the President, the National Security Council, and the Secretary of State. And yet, over the last two decades, it has not, and it has gotten worse and worse. And multiple administrations have complained about it, but none of done anything about it. We are going to do something about it.
Our preference was to go into USAID and work from the top down in identifying all of our programs. What are all the programs we fund around the world? Which are the ones that make us safer, stronger, and more prosperous? Which are the ones that align us with the foreign policy of the United States? And which are the ones that we should not be involved in? Not only is this a good idea, we owe it to the American taxpayer because this is taxpayer money. This is not a charity. These are not private funds. This is American taxpayer funds, and we have an obligation to spend it wisely. It is not even - in some ways, some of that money could be freed up to be spent, even more money, on the real priorities by repurposing it. That was our hope.
Unfortunately, we had very little cooperation. We didn't have that problem at State Department, by the way. At State Department, our program officers, we got a really good insight, and that's why every single day we are issuing waivers on State Department programs. On USAID, unfortunately, we did not get the same level of cooperation. In fact, we had individuals, even after the orders were issued, that were still trying to push payments through in contravention and in direct insubordination. And so now we've had to do it in the opposite direction. It is not the direction I wanted it. It's not the way we wanted to do it initially, but it is the way we will have to do it now.
About the notice that was issued yesterday, if you read on it, it says language, very specific language. It talks about specially designated programs as being exempt from the order of returning home. And that language is deliberate because we are now going to have to work from the bottom up instead of the top down to identify which programs should be specially designated and therefore exempted from that order. Our preference would have been to do this in a more orderly fashion from the top down, but we had no cooperation, and in fact insubordination, and so it required us to work from the bottom up.
And so we are, as I speak to you now, openly engaging missions all over the world that have a USAID presence to identify which programs they are running so that we can define those that we're going to specially designate because they further our national - and are aligned with our national interest. And those that do not will not continue. This not about ending foreign aid. It is about structuring it in a way that furthers the national interest of the United States. And in fact, because I'm here today, we've already had insight into what some of those programs are here that contribute to some of the things we've discussed here today.
That is what we seek to preserve, because they further our national interest, because they make us stronger, because they make us safer, because they allow our economy to grow and create prosperity - and not just for us but for our partners and allies. And that's what we hope to be able to achieve here in the coming hours and days.
PRESIDENT ARÉVALO: (Via interpreter) About your question about returnees, it is very difficult to decide in advance where we will be able to locate returnees because this is a population that we don't know well yet what skills they bring back, what capacities they bring, whether they're formal, informal. And it is only based on that knowledge that we can look for and explore the best way to help them to become a part of the labor market in Guatemala and explore different possibilities, not only in terms of jobs but possibly in terms of investment. Some of them may be coming with savings, and we can make credit available to them, and so on and so forth.
In the framework of our return home plan, in the second phase of the plan we have established a process through which the ministry - the Migration Institute with the Ministry of Labor together interview returnees to identify precisely their qualifications, their capabilities, their skills, if they bring them formally, and to be able to begin to understand all of it.
On the other hand, we are holding conversations with different companies, the private sector in general, to identify those that are ready to absorb some of these migrants, but this availability will be dependent on the capabilities that we identify as they return. For example, we expect there's going to be people who come with vast experience in one topic - to give you an example, in installing air conditioners - but did it without any technical formal training. They don't have a certificate to confirm that they are qualified. In identifying a person with those skills without a certificate, we will send them to a certificate program within the CAP or the ministry of education that will recognize that skill and in this manner will make it possible for him/her to be absorbed by a company that is looking for technicians in refrigeration.
A very simple example - we know that our returnees will come back speaking English, which for the tourism industry that is growing in Guatemala is necessary. Tourism in Guatemala grew by 13.7 percent; last year we exceeded 3 million visitors. It's a growing industry, and all of these persons who now come with English as an added skill but might also bring experience in the hospitality industry, hotels, restaurants, cruise ships - all of these persons can be reabsorbed. But the first task is go through this process of diagnosis, to call it something, of initial classification, to be able to identify the labor supply that we have and the labor demand that the private sector will have.
MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) We then continue. The next question is by Guatemala, by Sergio Morales, journalist.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) President, Secretary, good afternoon. Welcome to Guatemala. Well, let's say if these agreements don't become true, what can Guatemala do?
Speaking about sanctions, I would like to ask you if the United States is going to keep the sanctions against persons accused of corruption and anti-democratic practices, because many of them contributed to the triumph of President Trump.
And last, I want to ask you about Taiwan. How much are you concerned about Chinese influence in Guatemala through a gigantic technological company whereby they have become positioned in the agencies of the state? How much concern do you have?
SECRETARY RUBIO: (Via interpreter) In the first part, this is not a question of - we have a need domestically for an ally country that's helping us. It's a matter of people who have the obligation to accept under an international agreement, so we're just cooperating in this process. It's not a matter of sanctioning a government for not cooperating. That's what friends and allies do to help each other out, as we are committed to working with you on several projects, not only in economic development but also confronting drug trafficking and other actors that try to corrupt the country.
The second phase - we've only been in power for two weeks - there have been no changes to sanctions against individuals. So far, every administration always reviews existing sanctions that they have inherited from previous administrations, but to date no decisions have been made in that regard, nor have these been discussed or contemplated.
And third, regarding the China question, yes, it is difficult. We know that the government in Beijing is committed not only to breaking those ties but also to coming into important sectors of the economy, and they are obsessed with establishing or dominating telecommunications through Huawei and other companies. And this is a very serious threat to a country's security to be able to communicate without interruptions.
They also like to make a lot of promises. We've seen case after case where the Chinese Government comes in with billions of dollars, they promise, they start a project, but then they never finish. They bring in their own workers to do the work, and in the end the project is either incomplete or they are in debt and now a government owes them billions of dollars in what we call a debt trap. And we want governments to know about that risk.
I also think that the relationship with Taiwan, as I said, we'll do everything we can to help with that. We are going to support it not only being diplomatic recognition, but for it to also have economic benefits, to do anything possible to bring investment in the economy, Guatemala's developing economy.
MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Next question and last question, also by the United States, by Celia Mendoza.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Thanks very much to both of you.
(In English) How is the administration planning to carry out the proposal of President Trump to own Gaza and relocate Palestinians? For how long the U.S. will be planning to stay in that territory? And how can you accomplish the rebuild plan, as regional partners have rejected the proposal to forcibly relocate Palestinians, advocate for the two-state solution, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for the United Nations to step in to protect the rights of the Palestinian people?
(Via interpreter) President, the question for you is we know that now you will have an agreement that is similar to the one in Panama. Will you receive foreign nationals in Guatemala on these flights, the deportation flights coming from the United States? And how would that work? And as in El Salvador, would you be willing to receive members of gangs such as Tren de Aragua, other criminal gangs?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Let me answer the first question. What President Trump said yesterday is an acknowledgement of the following: Gaza has been severely damaged. If you look at the aerial imagery, you see what's happening, the billions of dollars that are going to be required for reconstruction are enormous. Some areas have been rendered unlivable, now and for the foreseeable future. And so what the President - what President Trump announced yesterday is the offer, the willingness of the United States to become responsible for the reconstruction of that area.
And while you are rebuilding, while you're clearing debris - by the way, there are unexploded munitions; there are all kinds of Hamas weaponry still buried underground. For people to be able to live in a place safely, all of that has to be removed. It's an enormous undertaking. And the only thing President Trump has done - very generously, in my view - is offer the United States willingness to step in, clear the debris, clean the place up from all the destruction that's on the ground, clean it up of all these unexploded munitions.
And in the meantime, the people living there will not be able - the people who call that home will not be able to live there while you have crews coming and removing debris, while you have munitions being removed, et cetera. That's the offer that he's made. It's actually - he made a similar - obviously, we didn't have a conflict at the time, but when he - in his first term, he offered a $50 billion plan to help Palestinians, which was rejected by the PA and obviously others. So in the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you're rebuilding. It is akin to a natural disaster. So what he's very generously - very generously has offered is the ability of the United States to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction, the rebuilding of homes and businesses and things of things of this nature, so that then people can move back in. But in the meantime, they'll have to live somewhere.
Now the details of that, if it was accepted, would have to be worked out among multiple partner nations. It's a unique offer, one that - no other country in the world has stepped up and made an offer. But I think it's one people need to think about seriously. It was not meant as a hostile move. It was meant as, I think, a very generous move, the offer to rebuild and to be in charge of the rebuilding of a place, many parts of which right now, even if people moved back, they would have nowhere to live safely because there are still unexploded munitions and debris and rubble.
PRESIDENT ARÉVALO: (Via interpreter) About your question, first and foremost, how does it work? In the case of the foreigners, citizens of foreign nationalities that may come to Guatemala in the framework of these flights, they do it in - as part of their continued repatriation. So the way that this repatriation will be pursued, how the United States is going to cooperate with the Government of Guatemala, our topic is that we are going to be discussing in a bilateral working group that we have agreed today on establishing. There has been no discussion around convicted criminals in the framework of those talks.
MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) We thank the high authorities for the information that they had provided at the National Palace of Culture and the Courtyard for Peace. We now bid farewell to the President of Guatemala and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And with this, this press conference comes to an end. Thank you very much, friends from the media, both domestic and international.
