Former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei has been barred from entering the U.S. over allegations of “his involvement in significant corruption,” the State Department said on Wednesday. This is the former Guatemalan president who rebuked the Biden administration for its open borders.
“The State Department has credible information indicating that Giammattei accepted bribes in exchange for the performance of his public functions during his tenure as president of Guatemala, actions that undermined the rule of law and government transparency,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The former president was criticized during his tenure for not reviving a U.N.-backed anti-corruption watchdog terminated by his predecessor, and he allegedly clashed with the U.S. over efforts to curb graft.
Giammattei Criticized Biden’s Migration Policy
The former Guatemalan President is a conservative. He once told Vice President Harris that Biden’s messaging had coyotes smuggling children “the very next day.”
A normal President would be concerned about the welfare of the children, but Biden was just angry with Giammattei.
Protesters in Guatemala told Kamala Harris to “go home” and “Trump won.” She got to see the signs on her way to meet Guatemalan President Giammattei.
Guatemalan President Giammattei lectured Harris. He said they “are not on the same side of the coin” regarding migration. “We asked the United States government to send more of a clear message to prevent more people from leaving,” said Giammattei.
Giammattei added that when Biden took office, “the message changed too: ‘We’re going to reunite families, we’re going to reunite children” he said. Consequently, “the very next day, the coyotes were here organizing groups of children to take them to the United States.”
WATCH: Guatemalan president says Joe Biden’s policies encourage illegal immigration from “all over.”
“Messages were used here by the coyotes” that “came and took the children to the United States.” pic.twitter.com/HOTE8jhfdz
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 10, 2021
In 2022, Guatemala’s President snubbed Biden’s America’s Summit. Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced he would not attend even if invited, while Guatemala’s conservative leader Alejandro Giammattei pulled out after Washington sanctioned his top prosecutor. Mexico’s President Obrador was considering passing on it.
Biden was angry.
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