Two flights carrying deported migrants from the US arrive in Guatemala

Guatemala City — Two U.S. military planes carrying deported migrants landed in Guatemala late Thursday and early Friday, officials confirmed, though it remains unclear if they were part of the deportation operation initiated by President Donald Trump.

The first flight, arriving around midnight, carried 79 Guatemalans—48 men and 31 women—according to Guatemala’s migration institute. A second flight, with an unspecified number of deportees, arrived Friday morning.

The White House described the operation as part of a broader effort to deport “criminal aliens,” with President Trump calling the flights a step toward removing “the bad, hard criminals out.” Images shared by the administration on social media depicted men in shackles being led onto military aircraft.

These deportations mark a continuation of aggressive immigration policies under the Trump administration. On his first day in office, Trump declared a “national emergency” at the southern border, pledged to deploy additional troops, and vowed to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, requiring asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases are processed.

While deportation flights were also conducted under President Biden’s administration—with 270,000 people removed in fiscal year 2023, the highest during his presidency—the current administration’s focus is on cracking down specifically on criminal migrants, according to Trump.

Guatemalan officials received the deportees at a reception center in the nation’s capital, but no further details were released to the media.