U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in the Dominican Republic for talks Thursday with Dominican leaders on the last stop of multination tour of Latin America.

Rubio is set to meet with Dominican President Luis Abinader and Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez in Santo Domingo.

He traveled from Guatemala, where he announced U.S. plans to support Guatemala with new infrastructure projects and to sign waivers on foreign aid to strengthen the U.S. partnership with that country Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the two countries have reached a new migration arrangement under which Guatemala will accept 40% more deportation flights from the United States, including both Guatemalan nationals and individuals of other nationalities.

Speaking alongside Guatemalan President Bernardo Arvalo in a joint news conference, Rubio said he had signed "a letter of support" pledging full State Department cooperation on a partnership between Guatemala and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The initiative aims to "begin preliminary planning for the expansion" of "two new port facilities," along with highway and railroad connections to position Guatemala as a regional trade hub and boost its economic opportunities.

"Today, I'll be signing waivers on foreign aid that will continue that partnership, and hope to build on it," Rubio told reporters.

He said U.S. foreign aid has contributed to the arrest and extradition of criminals, including members of transnational groups.

"Certain individuals" and "fugitives" can be extradited, and they are actually "strategic objectives" for both the U.S. and its allies, Rubio said while visiting a facility near the Guatemalan Air Force base, where deportation flights arrive.

According to the State Department, this initiative has led to the arrest of more than 1,400 criminal fugitives upon arrival in Guatemala City.

Deportation flight

President Arvalo, after talks with Rubio, said the two countries will establish working groups to finalize the details and processes for increasing deportation flights from the United States.

"In this framework, we have agreed to increase by 40% the number of flights of deportees," both of Guatemalan nationals and "deportees from other nationalities" for repatriation, said the president through a translator.

He clarified that the "safe third country" was not discussed in title or content, emphasizing that the new arrangement with the U.S. ensures safe and humane conditions for repatriation.

The United States repatriated nearly 70,000 Guatemalans in 2024.

"Along with the agreement on Monday in El Salvador, as well as the tightening of the migration accord and repatriation flights with Panama, the Trump administration is focused on choke points on the approach to the southern border. Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, and maintaining migration enforcement with Mexico will likely lead to a drastic reduction in migrants at the southern border," Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA on Wednesday.

Safe third-country agreement

In 2019, former Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales signed an Asylum Cooperative Agreement, commonly known as the safe third country agreement, with the first Trump administration.

The agreement was seen as part of Trumps strategy to curb the flow of migrants to the United States.

In 2021, the Biden administration fulfilled a campaign promise and suspended the agreement, which allowed the U.S. to deny asylum seekers at the border and deport them to a designated third country, where they would be required to apply for asylum.

Critics argued that the policy exposed asylum seekers to unsafe conditions.

Guatemala-Taiwan ties

Guatemala remains one of the few countries maintaining official ties with Taiwan. President Arvalo has reaffirmed his commitment to recognizing Taiwan throughout his term, despite China's efforts to sway Guatemala toward Beijing.

"We have stated from the first moment that we maintain our diplomatic relationship with Taiwan," Arvalo said through an interpreter during the press conference when asked about his stance on China and Taiwan. He added his government seeks to "further develop" ties with Taiwan in "economics and investment."

Secretary of State Rubio expressed U.S. support for expanding Guatemala-Taiwan ties beyond diplomacy to economic cooperation.

In recent years, several Western Hemisphere nationsPanama, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Hondurashave switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. These switches have been influenced by China's growing economic investment in Latin America.

Speaking in Guatemala City, Rubio cautioned against what he described as China's "debt trap."

"Weve seen case after case where the Chinese Government comes in with billions of dollars, they promise, they start a project" and "bring in their own workers to do the work" but "in the end the project is either incomplete" or countries are left with massive debts.

In Washington, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu dismissed Rubios remarks as "malicious slander," urging the U.S. to focus on promoting "mutually beneficial cooperation" and "common global development."

Guatemala marks the fourth stop on Rubios five-nation tour across Central America and the Caribbean, focusing on curbing illegal immigration and combating drug trafficking.

Following meetings in Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, Rubio traveled to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for further discussions with regional leaders.