Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) applauded efforts by Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei to increase prison sentences for “coyote” human smugglers.
“I applaud efforts by Guatemalan President @DrGiammattei to increase prison sentences for “coyote” human smugglers,” Senator Hagerty tweeted on Tuesday. “When I visited him last year, we discussed the importance of our nations & our neighbors doing all we can to end the border crisis.”
I applaud efforts by Guatemalan President @DrGiammattei to increase prison sentences for “coyote” human smugglers. When I visited him last year, we discussed the importance of our nations & our neighbors doing all we can to end the border crisis. https://t.co/KW36XHTy2u
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) January 18, 2022
Hagerty’s comments were in response to a Reuters article titled, “Guatemala’s president seeks jail terms of up to 30 years for people smugglers.”
According to the article, “Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei presented an initiative to Congress on Friday to drastically increase jail terms for people smugglers, with sentences of up to 30 years for the worst offenders.”
“Giammattei proposed raising the sentences for smugglers, known as “coyotes”, to between 10 and 30 years from the 2 to 5 years currently set out under Guatemalan law. The proposal states that if smugglers transport minors, pregnant women or migrants are subjected to inhumane treatment, the penalties could be even higher,” the article continues.
The bill is seen to have a good chance of passing through Congress.
Guatemala has been a key transit country for impoverished Central American migrants – including Guatemalans – who make the treacherous journey across Mexico to the United States in search of a better life, the outlet notes.
Senator Hagerty met with Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei and Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo in Guatemala City last year to discuss security and migration issues at the US border. During the meeting, the officials all agreed that they “don’t like the caravans of migrants moving from Honduras and Venezuela through Guatemala and Mexico to get to the US-Mexico border.”
Human smuggling is an ongoing problem at the US-Mexico border. For example, on Tuesday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced in a press release that Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents stopped two alleged human smuggling attempts at the Interstate 35 checkpoint, resulting in the apprehension of over 160 individuals.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
