Reuters:
Guatemala has suspended flights into the country carrying Guatemalans and other nationalities deported from the United States under a deal with Washington, the government said on Tuesday, amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.
The deportations have formed part of U.S. pressure on Central American countries to shoulder the burden of stopping illegal immigration, which U.S. President Donald Trump has made a keystone of his re-election campaign.
In a statement, Guatemala’s Foreign Ministry said it had suspended the flights until proper sanitary protocols could be established in the country to permit the safe return of the people to their places of origin.
Guatemalan Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo said the flights would be halted for the duration of a “state of calamity” declared in the country, which is due to end on April 6.
