by Steve Hecht Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales President Donald Trump has made clear his concerns regarding Central American gangs active in the United States, but he is on the verge of missing a watershed moment. The appointment of the next justice minister in Guatemala, to take office ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht The U.S. news media don’t often cover news about Guatemala, the small Central American nation on Mexico’s southern border. As a result, many Americans were surprised to learn that Guatemala recently announced it would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Why is Guatemala ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht President Obama’s foreign policy of appeasement won him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for merely being elected. In the Middle East, it led to a frightful deal with Iran. In the Western Hemisphere it led to the embrace of anti-American dictators, such as the Castro regime in Cuba, ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht The Trump administration plans to change Obama policy and deport 150,000 illegal child immigrants who “arrived alone” in the United States. Their arrival is a symptom of a problem that needs treatment south of the border, where the deep state is festering alliances. According to ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht President Donald Trump stated in his campaign, “The United Nations is not a friend of democracy, it's not a friend to freedom.” His speech on Tuesday to the General Assembly called for improvement, for the United Nations to be a "more accountable and effective advocate for human ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht Guatemala City Obama holdovers are undermining President Trump’s efforts for democracy in the Americas. Venezuela has fallen into dictatorship, and State Department insiders have just put Guatemala on that same path with an effective coup d'état. Stability and the rule of law ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht President Donald Trump has committed the "full weight of US diplomatic and economic” to bear on Venezuela "to restore its democracy." Yet an Obama-holdover ambassador and elements of the State Department are leading a constitutional coup in Central America. Venezuela now has ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht A reversal of the flood of illegal immigrants and drugs across the southern US border seems beyond reach. A missing piece of the puzzle, however, has flown under the radar. The Obama administration exacerbated these problems by favoring collectivists in Latin America, most ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht America’s opioid crisis has heightened the demand for heroin and the importance of counter-narcotics operations in Latin America. However, a knee-jerk response will fail to grasp the complexities on the ground. While the Mexican military has a vigorous poppy air-interdiction ...Read More...

Uproot Personnel, Apply the Cuba Reversal to Guatemala by Steve Hecht On June 16 in Miami, President Trump reversed Obama’s Cuba policy with a new approach that emphasizes basic freedoms and personal opportunity. On the same day, also in Miami, Vice President Mike Pence met with Guatemalan ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht The Obama-Castro alliance extends far beyond Cuba, and understanding this is the key to resolving the plight of Central America. Their agenda stands in the way of economic development and reducing the flight of Central Americans and contraband to the United States. On Thursday ...Read More...

House Resolution on CICIG Conceals the Truth about Guatemala, Aids Violent Leftists by Steve Hecht CICIG Commissioner Iván Velásquez holds the ceremonial check from the US embassy in Guatemala, with Ambassador Todd Robinson on the right. (US Embassy) An unaudited UN commission, with the ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht A new report is dominating discussion of Central America policy, but it glosses over one pivotal problem. The authors' deference to the status quo puts them at odds with the Trump administration's search for solutions to problems bleeding across our southern border. The self-described ...Read More...

Enforce Terms of US Aid to the Northern Triangle by Steve Hecht Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly understands the deathly, exploitative nature of migrant routes to the United States: “young women get taken into the … sex trade” against their will. The good news is that there are immediately ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht The flow of illegal immigrants and contraband — drugs and military-grade weapons — requires immediate attention to our neighbors to the southwest and a new approach to foreign relations. President Trump has launched a commission chaired by Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) ...Read More...

US Ambassador, UN Commissioner Work against Alliance for Prosperity Objectives by Steven Hecht Attorney General Thelma Aldana and Cicig Commissioner Iván Velásquez interact with members of Congress during a session on changes to the Guatemalan Constitution. (El Periódico)   Policy ...Read More...

Heads Must Roll or Illegal Immigration Will Keep Flowing by Steve Hecht Ambassador Todd Robinson avoided the call for resignations, since he is a career diplomat, and now he is rushing to perpetuate the Obama agenda through Donald Trump's tenure. When Donald Trump requested the resignations ...Read More...

The Hill Overlooks Opportunity to Strike the Root in Guatemala by Steve Hecht Migrants ride the "Beast" or "Train of Death" through Mexico on their way to the United States — seen here in Tenosique, near the border with Guatemala. (Marilyn Alvarado Leyva) A recent report from the Hill newspaper ...Read More...

Guatemala Presents the Opportunity, but Heads Must Roll by Steve Hecht   US Ambassador Todd Robinson (left) sits in on the meeting between Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales (right). (US Embassy Guatemala) The fight against illegal immigration ...Read More...

Guatemala's Porous Border Offers Easy Access through Mexico by Steve Hecht   At times, one cannot tell whether he is in Mexico or Guatemala, so open is the border. (einalem)   The Trump administration’s temporary travel ban on seven Middle Eastern countries, pending proper vetting, ...Read More...

US Ambassador Jets Constitutional Reforms, Backs Marxists by Steve Hecht US Ambassador Todd Robinson (left) and Acting Secretary of State Thomas Shannon (right) give their support and US taxpayer dollars to Commissioner Iván Velásquez (center) of the UN Commission Against Impunity, the ...Read More...

by Steven Hecht Taxpayers are on the hook for $750 million annually for five years to Central America, but under current circumstances, US foreign officials will squander the money.   The goal of this "Alliance for Prosperity" is to stabilize the Northern Triangle —  Guatemala, El Salvador, ...Read More...

By Armando de la Torre  Now that the curtain has come down on your long-running play, it’s time for some parting thoughts. You’ve already let me know, in countless different ways, what you think of me. My answer to you has been in process for nearly 60 years. Fidel, your career has been one more ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht Guatemala may fly under the radar of US media, but how Donald Trump handles this Central American nation will be crucial to restoring the rule of law on immigration. As William La Jeunesse noted on Tucker Carlson Tonight, “the real problem the border patrol is experiencing now isn’t ...Read More...

by Steve Hecht Dr. Walid Phares's account of the meeting between Mr. Trump and President Peña Nieto [NER, September 3] puts a frame around matters that's all too rare in our current landscape of media analysis.   While connoisseurs of the moment have emphasized the differences between the ...Read More...