US Border Agents Went Rogue and Illegally Detained Hundreds of Migrants in Guatemala

[Judi Lynn]

Officials also tried to cover up the misuse of funds, according to a new Senate report.
MA
By Maya Averbuch
October 14, 2020, 2:57pm

Customs and Border Protection agents stationed in Central America detained and removed hundreds of Honduran migrants, acting as law enforcement on foreign soil, according to a new Senate report.

The officers were in Guatemala – funded by the State Department – to train their local counterparts and provide “mentoring, advising, and capacity-building.” Instead, they took charge on the ground and returned migrants themselves.

In January, they helped Guatemalan police round up Hondurans traveling on foot in a caravan, shuttled them into unmarked vehicles (also funded by the U.S.) and sent them back to the Honduran border, according to a new report from Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee called “DHS Run Amok?”

The report exposes the reach of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and includes the accusation that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials tried to cover up their misuse of government funds.

. . .

"These are sovereign countries, and you’re not supposed to be carrying out arrests and kicking in doors in another country," said Adam Isacson, the director of defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, a think tank also known as WOLA.

More:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxqwmx/us-border-agents-went-rogue-and-illegally-detained-hundreds-of-migrants-in-guatemala

[mdelaguna]

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