President-elect says Guatemala can’t do migrant deal with U.S.

Agreement requires asylum-seekers to stay in Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY — An immigration agreement between Guatemala and the Trump administration won’t work because the Central American nation does not have the resources, the country’s presidentelect says.

Alejandro Giammattei, a conservative who was chosen overwhelmingly by voters in a weekend runoff election, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that Guatemala is too poor to tend to its own people, let alone those from other countries.

The agreement, signed in July by the outgoing administration of President Jimmy Morales, would require migrants from other countries who cross into Guatemala to apply for asylum here rather than in the U.S.

“In order to be a safe country, one has to be certified as such by an international body, and I do not think Guatemala fulfills the requirements to be a third safe country. That definition doesn’t fit us,” said Giammattei, a 63-yearold doctor.

“If we do not have the capacity for our own people, just imagine other people.”

Guatemalans make up one of the largest groups emigrating from Central America because of poverty, unemployment and crime. Critics say it is hard to see how the country could offer a safe haven to migrants from other nations.

The agreement signed by the current Morales government is aimed at reducing the number of asylum-seekers arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration pressured Guatemala to sign the deal by threatening to punish Guatemala with tariffs.

Giammattei, who takes office Jan. 14, said that annexes to the agreement are still being negotiated with the United States, and that he would ask Morales to include members of his transition team in those talks.

The president-elect also noted that the agreement would have to be ratified by the congresses of both nations to go into force. There has been widespread criticism of the deal in Guatemala.