Guatemala City | May 29, 2026 — 07:00 AM local time
Guatemala on Wednesday rebutted reports that it agreed to authorize direct U.S. military strikes against drug traffickers operating on its soil, insisting its request for security cooperation with Washington falls within existing bilateral agreements and constitutional law.
The government’s sharp denial came in response to a New York Times report published Tuesday that cited two unidentified sources saying President Bernardo Arévalo had cleared U.S. military action against designated drug-trafficking organizations on Guatemalan territory.
“There is no agreement authorising foreign military operations by any country within national territory,” Guatemala’s government said in a statement Wednesday. The statement was accompanied by a note from Defense Minister Henry Saenz to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, dated May 28, in which Saenz wrote that Guatemala “desires to lead, with US assistance, active military operations” against drug groups designated as terrorist organizations by Washington.
The competing narratives underscored the deepening tension between Guatemala’s stated commitment to national sovereignty and the escalating U.S. pressure to use force against organized crime networks in Central America. Since January, the United States has conducted hundreds of air strikes against alleged drug boats in the Pacific and Caribbean — a campaign that rights advocates say amounts to extrajudicial killings. At least 194 people have been killed in those strikes, according to figures cited by the Pentagon.
Under President Donald Trump, Washington has shown a growing willingness to bypass host-nation consent for unilateral military action in Latin America, most dramatically in January when U.S. forces abducted Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro — a move that subsequently led to Maduro’s removal and his replacement by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.
For Guatemala’s Arévalo, who rode to power in 2023 on an anti-corruption platform, the episode is an uncomfortable test of his campaign promises. He declared a state of emergency in January after suspected gang members killed at least 10 police officers in a single incident — but he has consistently rejected foreign military intervention as contrary to Guatemala’s sovereignty and legal framework.
Regional analysts say the confusion surrounding the scope of U.S.-Guatemala security talks reflects a broader pattern of ambiguity in how Washington defines “cooperation” and “leadership” in joint counterdrug operations. “Guatemala writes ‘joint operations led by Guatemala.’ Washington reads ‘U.S. forces welcome,'” said Adrienne González, a Central America security fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America. “The same document, two completely different interpretations.”
The White House has not responded to requests for comment on Guatemala’s formal denial.
Guatemala City and the Eastern Petroleum corridor — key transit zones for cocaine flows toward the United States — remain on high alert as both governments navigate the diplomatic fallout from the contradictory messaging.