UK donation to help Guatemalan borders upgrade security
Guatemala’s General Directorate of Migration received new forgeries detection equipment from the British Government.
Ambassador with Director of Migration
The United Kingdom’s Immigration Enforcement International (IEI) made the donation possible. The British Ambassador Guatemala, Carolyn Davidson, presented 340 magnifying lenses and 241 UV torches worth Q70,000 quetzals to General Director of Migration, Carlos Morales.
At the presentation, Ambassador Davidson said the UK government was pleased to support the General Directorate of Migration as a continuation to the passport training delivered in Guatemala by UK authorities in 2017 and 2018. During which, the Director explained that the Directorate lacked the equipment to identify fake or altered passport or ID documents, making it very difficult to do their job.
General Director Morales stated that the equipment would be distributed amongst officials at La Aurora Airport and to the different immigration posts at Guatemala’s borders. Using the new equipment, immigration officers will be able to identify people attempting to enter or leave the country illegally, tackle modern slavery issues like trafficking of people and other threats associated with immigration offences.
The British Ambassador to Guatemala, Carolyn Davidson, said:
Ours is a solid, strong partnership and we hope you and the citizens of Guatemala view the UK and our Embassy as the partner of choice, especially in the areas of border and citizen security. The number of foreigners trying to enter Guatemala using fake travel documents is growing. This potentially poses a threat to Guatemala’s national security and we want to work closely with the local authorities to help them combat such actions.