In early July, the Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristin Noem, traveled to Guatemala to sign a memorandum of understanding with the government of Guatemala, agreeing to the launching of the Joint Security Program, which will allow intercepting people linked to the so-called trans-border networks of organized crime or with terrorist links, in ports and airports of this country.
Although Noem maintained that the agreement was that Guatemala would be considered the “third safe country”, on the contrary, the Ministry of the Interior of the Central American country, Francisco Jiménez, denied that such commitment had been assumed. The document states that the objective is to establish the Joint Security Program (JSP), through which it is intended to expand bilateral participation in border security control issues.
United States (U.S.) agents will have the opportunity to participate in person and operate directly at the La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City. Officers participating in this program, including Guatemalan officers, are expected to work under the direction and coordination of the U.S. Chief of Mission in the Republic of Guatemala, and under the operational supervision of the Immigration Advisory Program (IAP) division, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and in coordination with the General Directorate of the Guatemalan National Civilian Police.
“Cooperation may be extended to other border ports, seaports and international airports in the Republic of Guatemala,” the document reads.
U.S. agents will also have free access to operational areas in locations where it is agreed to implementar this security program, e.g., access to restricted areas at airports in order for officers “to fulfill their obligations under this memorandum. Obtaining such authorization is critical to the effective implementation” of the Joint Security Program, according to the agreement.
Guatemala is committed to maintaining “full confidentiality of information received pursuant to this memorandum, as well as similar information already in its custody,” according to the agreement, and any disclosure under the program must be reported to the US.
For example, if cooperation is interrupted, in whole or in part, both governments commit to protecting all information exchanged, consistent with the memorandum.
FBI and Southern Command
It seems that the administration of the current US President Donald Trump is seeking to tighten cooperation with the Central and South American region, targeting Mexico as a problem, pointing out that it is the bridge, along with China and India, to produce and traffic synthetic drugs, including fentanyl, and its precursor chemicals.
According to the State Department, it seeks to improve “border security to disrupt so-called Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs),” according to the 2026 budget justification.
Among the program’s initiatives, it is expected to expand the exchange of information and concentration of biometric data through U.S. interagency and regional networks.
That is why, following Noem’s visit to Guatemala, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Southern Command and the 7th Special Forces Group of the U.S. Army conducted a training process for different delegates of the national civilian police forces of the Latin American and Caribbean region in operational techniques.
The objective of the program, led by the Western Hemisphere Transnational Organized Crime Operations Unit (TOC-West), an appendage of the FBI and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), “is to enhance the ability of partner countries to combat criminal organizations, especially drug cartels. The teams are currently operating in several locations in Latin America and the Caribbean, and plan to expand their activities to Panama,” the instructors noted.
The goal of the program, led by the Western Hemisphere Transnational Organized Crime Operations Unit (TOC-West), an appendage of the FBI and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), “is to enhance the ability of partner countries to combat criminal organizations, especially drug cartels. The teams are currently operating in several locations in Latin America and the Caribbean, and plan to expand their activities to Panama,” the instructors noted.
This program, in addition to training teams that are actively deployed in specific locations in the region, its primary role is to “assist the FBI in investigating transnational organized crime abroad,” according to the trainers.
Original text by Santiago Navarro F published in Avispa Midia on July 10, 2025.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.