US military aircraft transporting deported migrants has arrived in Guatemala, according to officials

U.S. President Donald Trump continued his military deportation efforts on Monday, dispatching another flight of migrants to Guatemala just a day after nearly triggering a trade conflict with Colombia, which denied landing rights to C-17 aircraft.

Two anonymous U.S. officials confirmed that the aircraft arrived in Guatemala on Monday afternoon following a journey from Texas. A Guatemalan official informed Reuters that the military transport plane carried 64 individuals.

Reuters was the first to report on the flight to Guatemala on Monday. Amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Colombia, Bogota announced it would send Colombian air force planes to the U.S. to retrieve migrants that Trump attempted to deport. Colombia described this arrangement as a “win-win,” raising questions about the White House’s claims that Colombia had agreed to accept U.S. military deportation flights.

During a gathering with Republican lawmakers at his Doral golf club, Trump asserted that his unprecedented deployment of military aircraft for deportations would persist, framing the recent standoff with Colombia as a triumph in his immigration policy. “For the first time in history, we are locating and loading illegal aliens into military aircraft and flying them back to the places from which they came,” he stated, receiving applause.

“We’re respected again, after years of being ridiculed as if we were foolish.” Monday’s flight marked the third successful landing in Guatemala since the initiation of military deportation flights last week. So far, Guatemala appears to be the sole nation accepting military flights carrying migrants. On Sunday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro criticized the military deportation flights as inhumane and rescinded permission for two C-17 aircraft to land in Colombia after they had departed from California.

Trump reacted swiftly, threatening Colombia with significant tariffs and sanctions as a form of retribution. “As you saw yesterday, we’ve made it clear to every country that they will be taking back the people that we’re sending out … and if they don’t, they’ll pay a high economic price,” Trump stated.

On Sunday evening, Colombia released a conciliatory statement that resolved the impasse. A trade conflict could have had devastating effects on Colombia, which relies heavily on the United States as its primary trading partner. This relationship is largely attributed to a free trade agreement established in 2006, which resulted in $33.8 billion in bilateral trade in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The deployment of U.S. military aircraft for deportation flights is part of the Pentagon’s response to Trump’s recent national emergency declaration regarding immigration. Last week, the Pentagon announced that the U.S. military would facilitate the deportation of over 5,000 immigrants detained by U.S. authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.

Historically, U.S. military aircraft have been utilized to transfer individuals between countries, as seen during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. According to one U.S. official, this marks the first instance in recent memory where military aircraft have been employed to transport migrants out of the country. Additionally, Trump has instructed the U.S. military to assist with border security, imposed a sweeping ban on asylum, and taken measures to limit citizenship for children born on U.S. soil.