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Guatemala opens centers to apply for legal migration to the U.S.

Guatemala opens centers to apply for legal migration to the U.S.
Photo: AP

June 13 |

A program announced by the United States and Guatemala to discourage irregular migration from Central America began Monday with the launch of a website that will receive applications for refugee status, family reunification and visas from those seeking to reach U.S. territory.

The program, called Secure Mobility, on the website https://movilidadsegura.org will be administered by the US government, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), according to the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry.

“A form must be filled out, data must be entered; then an appointment will be scheduled in which it will be explained to people personally if they are eligible to opt for any of the existing mechanisms to migrate to the United States,” explained the Secretary of Communication of the Presidency of Guatemala, Kevin Lopez.

For his part, the US Ambassador to Guatemala, William Popp, said that it is “a virtual platform for Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans can access through a virtual way to find opportunities for legal channels for a safe migration, also orderly, between family reunification, work visa opportunities and also to apply for opportunities for the refugee program.”

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Although it was announced that the platform would be available to schedule appointments from 10:00 a.m. on Monday morning it was not, and only in the afternoon were those interested able to start their formalities.

The Centers for Attention to Migrants and Refugees (Capmir), are located in the Guatemalan Air Force, Petén, Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, Quiché and Huehuetenango.

With the opening of these centers at origin, financed by the US, Washington is trying to establish migratory actions in countries that, like Guatemala, are used as transit countries by migrants fleeing poverty and violence in the region.

According to the website, all citizens covered by the Central American Free Mobility Agreement (CA-4), that is, citizens of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua who are in their countries, can register.

However, “not all persons requesting an evaluation will qualify or benefit from the program,” the site explains.

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Those interested must be 18 years old, have a valid email address, a valid phone number or an international data plan. In addition, they will be asked for a stable internet connection, digital photographs of the applicant and their family members, as well as scanned copy or photographs of their identity documents such as passport and identity card, as long as they are available.

The information is completely free of charge. The pilot plan will run for six months.

The White House announced that these offices will also start working in Colombia on June 19, one week after Guatemala.

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Central America

Mulino warns Trump: Darién is U.S.’s ‘other border’ in call for bilateral solutions to migration

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino reiterated on Thursday that the Darién region is “the other border” of the United States and that President-elect Donald Trump must understand this, given his announcement to toughen U.S. immigration policy.

“And I repeat what I have said: he (Trump) must know that his other border, the U.S. border, is in Darién, and we need to begin solving this issue bilaterally or together with a group of countries that contribute people to the migratory flow,” Mulino stated during his weekly press conference.

The Panamanian leader added that the United States “needs to be more aware that this (the flow of irregular migrants through Darién) is their problem. These people are not coming to stay in Panama… they want to go to the United States for whatever reasons they may have.”

In 2023, more than 520,000 irregular migrants crossed the Darién jungle into Panama, a historic figure. This year, the flow has decreased, with more than 281,000 travelers making the journey by October 31, mostly Venezuelans (over 196,000), according to Panama’s National Migration Service.

“Panama is doing what it can,” Mulino said, emphasizing the country’s significant financial investment in security, medical care, and food for migrants. However, he noted, “As long as the crisis in Venezuela persists, all signs point to this continuing, with the human drama that it involves.”

He emphasized that Venezuelans make up the majority of those crossing the jungle, with 69% according to Panamanian statistics, followed by Colombians (6%), Ecuadorians (5%), Chinese (4%), and Haitians (4%). The rest come from over fifty countries worldwide.

On July 1, when Mulino began his five-year term, Panama and the United States signed an agreement under which the U.S. government covers the costs of repatriating migrants who entered through Darién. Under this program, which is funded with $6 million, more than 1,000 people have already been deported, mostly Colombians.

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Central America

Ten dead in Panama due to storms causing over $100 million in damages

Ten people have died in Panama due to storms that have caused over $100 million in damages from flooding and infrastructure collapse in the last ten days, President José Raúl Mulino reported on Thursday.

The most affected areas are the western provinces of Chiriquí, which borders Costa Rica, Veraguas, and the indigenous Ngäbe Buglé comarca, due to heavy rains that have been falling for more than ten days.

During his weekly press conference, Mulino initially stated that the storm had caused five deaths, but this was immediately corrected by the director of the National Civil Protection Service (Sinaproc), Omar Smith, who confirmed that the number of deaths had risen to ten.

“What worries me are the human lives, I think we had five (deaths), how many? Ten already? Imagine that,” Mulino said.

Last year, Panama experienced a drought that led to reduced traffic through the interoceanic canal, which operates on fresh water, but the situation began to normalize this year with the onset of the rainy season, which has been abundant since May.

The president announced that the government will declare a state of emergency for the affected areas, where rivers have overflowed, homes have been damaged, landslides have occurred, roads have collapsed, and crops have been lost.

“Based on the reports I’ve received, the damage is significant,” Mulino noted.

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Central America

Bukele urges Costa Rica to reform prison system amid rising crime rates

El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, recommended that Costa Rica toughen its prison system, describing it as too “permissive” after visiting a Costa Rican prison with his counterpart, Rodrigo Chaves, on Tuesday at the end of an official visit.

“We believe the prison system should be less permissive, focusing more on the rights of those outside and a country’s right to security,” Bukele said after touring the La Reforma prison, located 23 km east of San José.

During Bukele’s visit to Costa Rica, the two presidents discussed different security approaches and strategies to combat organized crime. They also signed memorandums of understanding on tourism, trade, and bilateral relations.

Bukele noted the contrasts between Costa Rica’s prison system and that of El Salvador, which he reformed as part of his “war” against gangs launched in March 2022 under a state of emergency allowing arrests without warrants.

The Salvadoran president pointed out Costa Rica’s high cost per inmate, which he estimated at around $1,200 per month.

“They are spending nearly two minimum wages per inmate. It’s an injustice,” Bukele stated, adding that Costa Rica’s penal system “needs reform.”

Regarding inmate rights, Bukele suggested limiting intimate visits and TV access to prevent prisons from becoming “headquarters for crime.”

“We hope you take the necessary measures,” Bukele said about the increase in crime in Costa Rica, which has seen 757 homicides in 2024, mostly related to drug trafficking.

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