US Border Patrol agents will deploy to Guatemala to train 'side-by-side'

US Border Patrol agents and other Department of Homeland Security law enforcement officers will be sent to Guatemala to assist in training missions with local authorities as part of a two-year plan aimed at decreasing migration flows to the United States.

Posted 11:00 p.m. May 31, 2019 — Updated 11:00 p.m. May 31, 2019

Geneva Sands

, CNN

CNN — US Border Patrol agents and other Department of Homeland Security law enforcement officers will be sent to Guatemala to assist in training missions with local authorities as part of a two-year plan aimed at decreasing migration flows to the United States.

Agents will be "side-by-side" with local Guatemalan authorities, deployed to locations where US law enforcement has not traditionally operated, according to a senior DHS official.

This is a unique surge of Department of Homeland Security personnel to Guatemala, with a "significant increase" in US law enforcement presence in the country, said acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan.

"Nothing on this scale has been done before," said another US official.

The Washington Post is also reporting on the deployment.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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