GUATEMALA CITY (AP) -- From mounting cartel violence, border security and a mega project to extend a controversial train line across their borders, the presidents of Mexico and Guatemala talked common goals and concerns in their first face-to-face meeting on Friday.
The two regional allies, who met in Guatemala's northern Peten region, agreed to strengthen coordination on migration, law enforcement and economic development. But top on the agenda for both was a proposal to extend the Mexican government's Maya Train from southern Mexico to Guatemala and Belize.
The idea was first floated by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but was met with skepticism by Guatemala's Bernardo Arévalo.
The Guatemalan leader has said he sees the economic potential of the project to the jungle region but remained adamant that the construction should not come with the kind of environmental damage that it inflicted in Mexico.
The train, which currently runs in a rough loop around Mexico's southern peninsula, was López Obrador's mega-project, with the purpose to connect remote jungle and rural areas in Mexico's south. However, it has for years has fueled controversy and legal battles as it's sliced through large swaths of jungle and damaged a delicate cave system in Mexico that serves as the area's main source of water.
Arévalo said after the meeting with Sheinbaum that extending the train "is a vision we share" but that the project must not encroach on any protected ecosystems in Guatemala, especially the dense jungles of Peten.
He said there would also have to be careful environmental studies and the two presidents looked at an alternative proposal that would have the train loop instead of directly cut through the jungles of Guatemala and Belize.
"I've made it very clear at all times that the Maya Train will not pass through any protected area," Arévalo said.
His stand is a sharp contrast to that of López Obrador, who fast-tracked the train project without environmental studies.
Sheinbaum and Arévalo also spoke about about mounting cartel violence along the Mexico-Guatemala border where the cartels have long fought over control of lucrative migratory routes. Earlier this week, a group of around 100 Mexicans fled across the border because of a burst of violence in their communities.
Later Friday, Sheinbaum and Arévalo were to travel to Calakmul, in southern Mexico, and meet up with Belize Prime Minister Johnny Briceño to continue the talks.
"Today, Mexico and Guatemala are demonstrating the will of two sister nations, with governments committed to justice and their peoples, to move forward together toward a more dignified, equitable and free future," Sheinbaum added.
