Skepticism meets migrant smuggler crackdown in Guatemala

By SONIA PÉREZ D.
Associated Press

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala has tripled prison sentences for migrant smugglers, eager to show it’s trying to slow the steady flow of its people north to the United States. And following the U.S government’s announcement that it will lift its asylum limits at the border, Guatemalan authorities said they are preparing to handle an increase in migration through their territory. While February’s legal reform is supposed to dissuade smugglers and cast the government as a willing partner of the U.S. in managing migration, experts and lawmakers say it will only make the trip more expensive. The factors pushing Guatemalans to migrate remain strong and the smuggling networks continue to ply their trade _ sometimes with the help of public officials.