The
United States and Guatemala signed a controversial asylum agreement on Friday, days after President
Donald Trump threatened tough retaliation against the small Central
American country if it did not sign on.
The so-called "safe third country" agreement, requiring US-bound migrants who enter Guatemala to seek asylum there instead, will "provide safety to legitimate asylum seekers and stop asylum fraud," Trump told reporters.
"This landmark agreement will put the coyotes and smugglers out of business," the president said, referring to people who have trafficked thousands of migrants through
Mexico to the southern US border.