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The international
border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
between
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
and
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
measures . It runs between north and west Guatemala (the Guatemalan departments of San Marcos, Huehuetenango,
El Quiché EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...
and El Petén) and the Mexican states of
Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...
,
Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...
and
Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
. The border includes stretches of the Usumacinta River, the Salinas River, and the Suchiate River. Geopolitically, this border represents much of the western and northern boundary of the region of
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
within
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. It is across this border that most of the commerce between Mexico and Guatemala and the rest of Central America takes place.


History

In 1881, problems arose for Guatemala when President
Justo Rufino Barrios Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón (19 July 1835 – 2 April 1885) was a Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1873 to his death in 1885. He was known for his liberal reforms and his attempts to reun ...
claimed lands in
Soconusco Soconusco is a region in the southwest corner of the state of Chiapas in southeastern Mexico along its border with Guatemala. It is a narrow strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is the sout ...
and
Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
. The initial position of the Government of Mexico was not to accept discussion about their rights in that region. However, from 1882 began talks to resolve the problem between Matías Romero and Justo Rufino at The Winch at Hacienda de Barrios (Soconusco), where both had possessions. They decided to go to
arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...
in the United States. The preliminary agreement was signed in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on 12 August 1882, and it stated that: "The Republic of
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
dispenses with the argument that has held about his rights to the territory of Chiapas and Soconusco department." The position of Mexico is well seated in their rights of those territories. The final boundary treaty was signed in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
on September 27 of 1882. The first article provides that: "The Republic of Guatemala forever renounce rights that judges have on the territory of the State of Chiapas and Soconusco your district, and therefore considers the territory as part of the United Mexican States." As for the delineation of the border itself, Mexico and Guatemala agreed to use straight lines between key points known and accepted by both countries. The measurement and demarcation work was completed in 1899. Soconusco in Guatemala advanced to the Suchiate river and Mexico received the county of Motozintla.


Definition

Article 3 of the treaty of September 27, 1882, defines the Guatemala-Mexico border as follows: # The line along the middle of the Suchiate River, from a point situated in the sea three leagues from its mouth, up river, along its deepest channel, as far as the point ertice de Muxbalwhere the same river intersects the vertical plane that passes the highest part of the volcano of Tacana, and about 25 meters distant from the most southern pillar of the Custom-house Station of Talquian, in such manner that this Custom-house Station shall be within the territory of Guatemala. # The line determined by the vertical plane previously defined, from its meeting with the Suchiate River until it intersects the vertical plane which passes over the summits of Buenavista and Ixbul ertice de Niquihuil # The line determined by the vertical plane that passes by the summit of Buenavista, and which has already been astronomically fixed by the Mexican Scientific Commission, and the summit of the Ixbul Hill, from its intersection with the former one up to a point 4 kilometers beyond the same hill ertice de Santiago # The parallel of latitude, which passes through this last point, and from thence in an easterly direction until meeting with the deepest channel of the Usumacinta River or the Chixoy River, in case the aforesaid parallel should not meet the first-named of these rivers. # The line along middle of the deepest channel of the Usamacinta, continuing along this latter, in the other case, from the meeting of the one or the other river with the aforesaid parallel, until the deepest channel of the Usamacinta meets the parallel situated 25 kilometers to the south of Tenosique, in
Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...
, measured from the center of the square of the said town. # The parallel of latitude just referred to, from where it intersects the deepest channel of the Usamacinta, until the meeting with the meridian ertice del Ceibo which passes at a third part of the distance between the centers of the squares of Tenosique and Sacluc, the said third part being reckoned from Tenosique. # This meridian from its intersection with the aforesaid parallel to latitude 17°49' ertice de Campeche # The parallel of 17°49' from its intersection with the aforesaid meridian indefinitely towards the east ertice de Aguas Turbias


Immigration issues

In 2006, Joseph Contreras profiled the entry of Guatemalan immigrants Mexico for ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' magazine and pointed out that while Mexican president
Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elected president on the Nat ...
demanded that the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
grant legal residency to millions of Mexican immigrants, in Mexico 15,000 immigrants had been regularly registered. Additionally, Contreras found that at coffee farms in the state of
Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
, "40,000 Guatemalan field hands endure backbreaking jobs and squalid living conditions to earn roughly S3.50 a day" and that some farmers "even deduct the cost of room and board from that amount."


Programa Frontera Sur

Like the
Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...
, Mexico has some fencing along its southern border with Guatemala.The Globe and Mail: "Southern exposure: The costly border plan Mexico won’t discuss" by Stephanie Nolen
January 5, 2017
In July 2014, Mexico adopted the ''Programa Frontera Sur'' at the urging of the United States. The plan proposes "to overcome common challenges related to migration and respect for human rights" and to establish "a more modern, efficient, prosperous and secure border." Instead of building a wall and preventing people from crossing the border, Mexico relies on interior enforcement via layers of checkpoints staffed by the National Institute of Migration, the military police, the
Mexican Army The Mexican Army () is the combined Army, land and Air Force, air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National Defense o ...
, and the
Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy () is one of the components of the Mexican Armed Forces. The Secretariat of the Navy is in charge of administration of the navy. The commander of the navy is the Secretary of the Navy, who is both a cabinet minister and a career ...
. The results of the enforcement program has been mixed with increased detentions and removals but also increased victimization of migrants by criminal gangs and corrupt government officials due to more dispersed flows as migrants use less travelled routes. In 2015, Mexican authorities arrested more than 170,000
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
ns up from 120,000 in 2014. In 2016, according to the Mexican
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
organization Meso-American Migration Movement (''Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano''), over 400,000 migrants crossed Mexico's southern border with 20,000 of them dying or disappearing in Mexico due to criminal gangs,
trafficking Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
, or exposure to the elements.


Gun and drug running

The border with Guatemala is the primary source of military grade weaponry – including
rocket-propelled grenades A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...
, hand grenades, plastic explosives, and grenade launchers – used by the Mexican drug cartels. The weapons are typically stolen from Central American government munitions stockpiles. A 2010 leaked U.S. diplomatic cable states that Mexico does not have sufficient resources to patrol the border with only 125 officers to monitor the entire border.El Paso Times: "Document: Mexico can't control border" by Diana Washington Valdez
December 10, 2010
Mexican officials confirm that they do not have sufficient resources as they have been concentrating their efforts on fighting the cartels in the North.McClatchyDC: "Headless corpses spark worries on Mexico's southern border" by Tim Johnson
May 26, 2011


Cities and border crossings

In 2014, Mexico's border with Guatemala and
Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
had 11 formal crossings (10 with Guatemala and 1 with Belize) and more than 370 informal crossings. As part of an effort known as ''Plan Frontera Sur'' (Southern Border Plan), which is intended to limit illegal Central American entry into the country, Mexico will increase the number of formal crossings. Guatemala and Mexico had 10 formal border crossings in 2004: * Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas – Ciudad Tecún Umán, San Marcos * Talismán, Chiapas – El Carmen, San Marcos * Union Juárez, Chiapas – Toquían Grande, San Marcos * Mazapa de Madero, Chiapas – Sibinal, San Marcos * Ciudad Cuahtemoc, Chiapas – La Mesilla, Huehuetenango * Carmen Xhán, Chiapas – Gracias a Dios, Huehuetenango * Nuevo Orizaba, Chiapas – Ingenieros, El Quiché * Frontera Corozal, Chiapas -
Bethel Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Bet ...
, El Petén *El Ceibo, Tabasco – El Ceibo, El Petén *El Martillo, Tabasco – El Naranjo, El Petén


See also

* Belize–Mexico border * Volcán Tacaná


References

Borders of Guatemala Borders of Mexico International borders {{Commonscat, Guatemala-Mexico border