The US government has ended a controversial deal with Guatemala that sent asylum seekers processed at the US- Mexico border to the Central American Country to await hearings, Guatemala’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday. The ministry said it had been informed by US Officials of the cancellation of the program that was initiated under the administration of the former president Donald Trump.
The agreement with Guatemala was signed in 2019, just as similar pacts were negotiated with El Salvador and Honduras, all in a bid by Trump to force other countries in the region to help the United States alleviate a surge of asylum-seekers arriving at the US Southern border by agreeing to take them in for prolonged waits.
The pacts were sharply criticized by rights groups which said they added to the misery of the asylum-seekers.
