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The United States has deported nearly 2,350 Mexicans to Guatemala so far this year and has sent at least dozens more to Honduras, a change from what occurred at the start of President Donald Trump's second term when such transfers were minimal, authorities reported.
The Guatemalan presidency confirmed to The Associated Press that 64 Mexican migrants arrived on Thursday morning and another 42 are expected to arrive on Friday. Authorities said that upon arrival, the migrants were assisted and then sent by bus toward the border between both countries for their return to Mexico.
Some civil organizations believe this pivot is a way to increase pressure on Mexico, whose government complained to Washington over the death of 17 Mexicans in operations or while in the custody of immigration authorities and is dealing with constant demands regarding security. It is also noted as Trump has expanded agreements with allied Latin American countries to conduct joint operations in the region against criminal groups.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo had confirmed on Wednesday that so far this year, 2,284 Mexicans deported from the United States had arrived in the country as a “transit stop” to subsequently take them to Mexico as part of “an arrangement” with the Mexican government, and without these individuals being under any refugee or asylum status.
“They are arriving on flights for returned Guatemalans, and what we have done is admit them in transit status in order to, in coordination with Mexican immigration authorities, return them and admit them into Mexican territory in less than 24 hours after they entered the country,” he explained in a press conference.
The costs of these operations are covered by the Mexican government or, in some cases, by U.S. funding, he added.
Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) confirmed to The Associated Press in a brief message that there are Mexicans deported by the Trump administration to Guatemala and Honduras primarily since April, and that they are then transported from there by bus to southern Mexico.
“The cause is that the United States wants to prevent them from crossing back” into its territory, it added. The INM did not provide figures or further details.
When asked about these deportations of Mexicans to Central America and the reasons behind them, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicated that “the Trump administration is using every legal avenue at its disposal to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as the president promised.”
“The Government of Mexico has conveyed to U.S. authorities its rejection of this practice and has reiterated that every Mexican person has the right to enter national territory,” the Mexican Foreign Ministry stated in a press release on Thursday. It added that Mexico is coordinating with the affected countries for the “safe and dignified return” of the affected Mexicans.
Mexico has always shown willingness to receive its deported citizens and, since Trump's first term, also accepts deportees from third countries sent from its northern neighbor, although there has been no clarity regarding the implementation of certain agreements with Washington. In 2025, it received about 12,000 foreign deportees, most of them Cubans and Venezuelans, according to figures provided by President Claudia Sheinbaum that the government has not updated since December.
The Honduran government did not respond to a request for comment, but according to official government documents accessed by AP, a total of 82 Mexicans deported from the U.S. arrived in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula on two flights on August 13 and 15. On Thursday, 35 more arrived.
Another 165 Mexicans were deported to Honduras between May and mid-July, according to the website Third Country Deportation Watch, managed by the NGOs Human Rights First and Refugees International, which tracks U.S. deportation flights to third countries.
The website does not clarify the origin of its figures regarding nationalities, but both organizations are concerned because migrants have different profiles and these transfers can put them in danger.
“It seems they want to pressure the Mexican government; they don't want Mexicans to cross the border,” said Savitri Arvey of Human Rights First. Some of the deportees arrived in Honduras on U.S. military flights, she added.
A recent change in the U.S. deportation pattern
At the beginning of his second term and with migration control as one of his priorities, Trump reached agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama to act as “bridge” countries or destinations for migrants from third countries expelled from U.S. territory. These agreements were gradually expanded to more places, including some African countries, the most recent being Liberia.
Until now, Mexicans deported from the United States were sent almost exclusively to their own country by both air and land. Only a handful arrived in other countries.
Arévalo said on Wednesday that in 2025 they received 15 Mexicans. As of February 2026, Honduras had officially reported the arrival of six. Costa Rica has received 11 Mexicans since Trump's return to the White House and, according to local migration authorities, they remain in the country. Presumably, these individuals may have requested not to be returned to Mexico out of fear.
Immigration lawyers believe the Trump administration is using deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers or undocumented immigrants to return to their countries of origin. Civil organizations inside and outside the country and opponents of the president have also questioned the use of force employed by U.S. immigration authorities.
[Publicidad]