Guatemala denies authorizing US anti-drug strikes on its soil

Published by Albis · 29 May 2026

President Bernardo Arévalo says Guatemala has not agreed to US military operations on national territory, while confirming a request for cooperation on equipment, training and experts against drug trafficking

• • The denial blocks a potentially major expansion of cross-border militarized counternarcotics policy.
• • Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said Thursday that there is no agreement allowing the United States to conduct anti-drug trafficking operations on Guatemalan soil, according.
• • His denial followed a New York Times report that Guatemala had agreed to joint strikes.
• • “There is no agreement,” Arévalo told reporters, according to ABC News and Newsweek.