Quick summary (Guatemalan extradition law and the death penalty, checked 2026-09-28):
- Guatemala can extradite its own nationals to the US. Constitution Art. 27 bars extraditing Guatemalans for political offences only; the Constitutional Court held in Expediente 137-92 that the article “no prohíbe, la extradición de guatemaltecos por delitos comunes, lo cual debe quedar sujeto al régimen que se convenga en cada tratado internacional”.
- The 1903 US-Guatemala treaty (Art. V): neither country is bound to hand over its own citizens, but each executive may do so at its discretion.
- The procedure is judicial first (Decreto 28-2008): a hearing no sooner than 10 and no later than 15 days after it is requested, one written appeal within 3 days, then a final Sala ruling (amparo preserved), then, where the Executive decides surrender, an acuerdo gubernativo within 15 days of the communication of the ruling or the extradition is deemed granted.
- The death penalty is still in the Constitution (Art. 18), with five exclusions, and “El Congreso de la República podrá abolir la pena de muerte.” In October 2017 the Constitutional Court ruled on challenges to the death-penalty clauses in several specific Penal Code articles and the anti-narcotics law. That is not an abolition.
- Art. 18(e): no death penalty for a person whose extradition was granted on that condition.
General legal information, not legal advice. For a specific case, speak to a Guatemalan abogado y notario.
This page answers two separate questions: whether Guatemala can hand its own nationals over to the United States, and whether the death penalty still exists in Guatemalan law. Two short statements you may run into are both contradicted by the Constitution as the Constitutional Court reads it, and by the treaty: that Guatemala does not extradite its nationals, and that Guatemala abolished the death penalty. Below is what each instrument says, article by article, stopping where the sources stop.
Part 1 — Extradition
What the Constitution says (Art. 27)
Article 27 covers asylum and extradition. The two extradition sentences are:
“La extradición se rige por lo dispuesto en tratados internacionales.”
“Por delitos políticos no se intentará la extradición de guatemaltecos, quienes en ningún caso serán entregados a gobierno extranjero, salvo lo dispuesto en tratados y convenciones con respecto a los delitos de lesa humanidad o contra el derecho internacional.”
In plain English: extradition is governed by treaties; for political offences, extradition of Guatemalans will not be attempted, and they will in no case be handed to a foreign government, except under treaties and conventions on crimes against humanity or against international law.
The limit is tied to the kind of offence, not to nationality in general. The Constitutional Court said so directly in Expediente 137-92 (ruling of 17 June 1993): the article “no prohíbe, la extradición de guatemaltecos por delitos comunes, lo cual debe quedar sujeto al régimen que se convenga en cada tratado internacional” — it does not prohibit extraditing Guatemalans for common crimes, which is left to whatever each treaty provides.
The US-Guatemala treaty (1903, supplemented 1940)
The bilateral extradition treaty on the US Statutes at Large record is the one signed at Washington on 27 February 1903 (33 Stat. 2147), proclaimed 17 July 1903. A Supplementary Convention signed 20 February 1940 (55 Stat. 1097) was made to “enlarge the list of crimes” and entered into force for the US “on and from March 13, 1941”.
Three articles matter here.
Art. V — own citizens. The treaty does not oblige either country to surrender its nationals, and it does not forbid it either:
“Neither of the contracting parties shall be bound to deliver up its own citizens under the stipulations of this convention, but the executive authority of each shall have the power to deliver them up, if, in its discretion, it be deemed proper to do so.”
Art. IV — political offences. The treaty excludes them:
“The provisions of this convention shall not be applicable to persons guilty of any political crime or offense or of one connected with such a crime or offense.”
The same article carves out one exception: an attempt on the life of the head of a foreign government, or of a member of his family, involving murder, assassination or poisoning, “shall not be considered a political offense”.
Art. VI — pending cases in the requested country. If the person sought has been accused, arrested or convicted for an offence in the country where he or she is found, “his or her extradition may be deferred until he or she is entitled to be liberated on account of the offense charged” — by acquittal, the end of the prison term, the end of a commuted term, or pardon. Under the treaty, deferral is discretionary: it may be deferred.
Read together, the Constitution (Art. 27), the Court’s reading of it (137-92) and the treaty (Art. V) line up: common-crime extradition of a Guatemalan is possible; the treaty makes it a discretionary act rather than an obligation.
Does it happen in practice?
Yes, on the primary record we opened. A US Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs release dated Thursday, July 2, 2026 opens: “A Guatemalan man pleaded guilty today for his involvement in a 2022 mass casualty alien smuggling event in San Antonio, Texas, that resulted in 53 deaths and 11 aliens injured.” It states that in August 2024 he was “arrested in Guatemala pursuant to a U.S. request for his extradition”, and: “He was extradited from Guatemala in March 2025.” We cite the release only as evidence that the mechanism is used; this page names no one and comments on no case. (DOJ release)
How a US request is handled inside Guatemala: Decreto 28-2008
Guatemala’s procedural law is the Ley Reguladora del Procedimiento de Extradición, Decreto 28-2008. Its first rule puts the treaty on top:
“El procedimiento de extradición se regirá por los tratados o convenios de los cuales Guatemala sea parte; en lo no previsto en los mismos se regirá por la presente ley.”
Art. 34 repeats the point: where a treaty sets different procedures, the treaty prevails.
The court stage is decided by “los tribunales de sentencia con competencia en materia penal que tengan su sede en la ciudad de Guatemala” (Art. 10). The person has the right to a defence lawyer and a translator, and the ruling is not a trial of the facts: “En ningún caso, la resolución que decida el procedimiento de extradición hará mérito sobre la inocencia o culpabilidad de la persona” (Art. 2). Under Art. 3 the person may consent (allanarse) or surrender voluntarily at any point. Art. 4 attaches a condition: the request “deberá ir acompañada de la renuncia expresa a cualquier recurso o acción interpuesta ante cualquier órgano jurisdiccional o constitucional” — it must come with an express waiver of any recurso or acción already filed before any court or constitutional body — and it suspends the extradition procedure for the person who consents.
The deadlines, step by step
| Step | What the law says | Deadline in the text | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governing rules | Treaty first; the law fills gaps; a treaty with different procedures prevails | — | Decreto 28-2008 Arts. 1, 34 |
| Which court | A sentencing court with criminal jurisdiction seated in Guatemala City | — | Art. 10 |
| Hearing requested | Once the person is detained, the Ministerio Público asks the court to set the hearing | Within 2 days of the detention | Art. 17 |
| Hearing held | The hearing on the formal request, with at least 3 days between notice and hearing | No sooner than 10 and no later than 15 days after the hearing is requested | Art. 17 |
| Appeal | The only appeal, to the Sala de la Corte de Apelaciones, in writing, stating its ground | Filed within 3 days | Art. 23 |
| Sala ruling | No further appeal; constitutional guarantees (amparo) preserved | Final | Art. 25 |
| Executive decision | Where the Executive decides surrender, an acuerdo gubernativo issues | Within 15 days of the communication of the judicial ruling, or the extradition is deemed granted | Art. 29 |
| Surrender deferred | Only where the treaty has no express rule: while the person faces criminal proceedings or serves a sentence in Guatemala; proceedings opened after the request date do not defer it | Deferred while that lasts | Art. 30 |
| If refused | Denial obliges the Guatemalan State to prosecute, where applicable under the treaty or domestic law | — | Art. 10 |
The rows that carry text worth reading exactly:
- Art. 23 (the appeal): filed in writing within three days, stating the ground on which it rests, bajo sanción de inadmisibilidad — or it is inadmissible.
- Art. 25 (the Sala’s ruling): “no admitirá recurso alguno. Quedan a salvo de esta disposición, las garantías constitucionales correspondientes.” The ordinary appeal chain ends at the Sala, but constitutional remedies remain available.
- Art. 29 (executive silence): “Si el acuerdo gubernativo no es emitido en la fecha indicada, se entenderá que la extradición ha sido concedida”. Silence from the Executive counts as a grant.
- Art. 30 (deferral): it applies only “A falta de disposición expresa en los tratados, convenios o arreglos internacionales”, and it has a cut-off: “La entrega no será diferida por causa de procesos iniciados posteriormente a la fecha de solicitud de extradición.” For a US request, the treaty’s own Art. VI (above) speaks to deferral, and it is discretionary.
- Art. 22 (the surrender ruling): when a Guatemalan court decides a request made to Guatemala, “No se podrá condicionar la entrega del solicitado a la imposición de una pena determinada.” The surrender may not be conditioned on the imposition of a particular penalty.
These are the law’s deadlines, not a measured average of how long real cases last; nothing in our sources tracks actual durations.
Part 2 — The death penalty
What the Constitution says (Art. 18)
Article 18 does not abolish the death penalty. It limits it, sets the appeal route, and leaves abolition to Congress:
“La pena de muerte no podrá imponerse en los siguientes casos:”
“a) Con fundamento en presunciones;”
“b) A las mujeres;”
“c) A los mayores de sesenta años;”
“d) A los reos de delitos políticos y comunes conexos con los políticos; y”
“e) A reos cuya extradición haya sido concedida bajo esa condición.”“Contra la sentencia que imponga la pena de muerte, serán admisibles todos los recursos legales pertinentes, inclusive el de casación; éste siempre será admitido para su trámite.”
“La pena se ejecutará después de agotarse todos los recursos.”
“El Congreso de la República podrá abolir la pena de muerte.”
In English, the death penalty may not be imposed: on the basis of presumptions; on women; on people over sixty; on those convicted of political offences or common offences connected to political ones; or on a person whose extradition was granted under that condition. Every legal remedy, including cassation, is available against a death sentence, and it may only be carried out once all remedies are exhausted. Congress may abolish it.
The 2011 ruling on the recurso de gracia
In Expediente 538-2010 (ruling of 30 November 2011) the Constitutional Court held that “en tanto no esté debidamente agotado el recurso de gracia -entendiéndose por ello a que se haya conocido y resuelto por autoridad competente- no puede ejecutarse la pena de muerte” — while the plea for clemency has not been heard and resolved by a competent authority, a death sentence cannot be carried out. The Court also said that “lo que apremia es una regulación legal que desarrolle lo relativo a la competencia y procedimiento para conocer del recurso de gracia” and urged the bodies with legislative initiative to propose that law. Whether such a law has since been enacted is outside what the sources for this page cover, so this page does not say.
The 2017 ruling: Expediente 5986-2016
On 24 October 2017 the Constitutional Court (Expediente 5986-2016) ruled on challenges to the death-penalty clauses in these provisions:
- Código Penal Art. 132 Bis, literal a);
- Código Penal Art. 201, the phrase “se les aplicará la pena de muerte y cuando ésta no pueda ser impuesta”;
- Código Penal Art. 201 Ter, only the paragraph imposing death in the aggravated forced-disappearance case — where the victim suffers serious or very serious injuries, permanent psychic or psychological trauma, or dies;
- Ley contra la Narcoactividad (Decreto 48-92), Art. 12 literal a) (De muerte) and, in Art. 52, only the phrase se aplicará la pena de muerte.
The ground quoted in the IDPP annotated edition of the Constitution is the American Convention on Human Rights, Article 4, through Inter-American Court Advisory Opinion OC-3/83 of 8 September 1983: “una reserva limitada por su propio texto al artículo 4.4 de la Convención” — a reservation limited by its own text to Article 4.4 — does not allow a State Party’s government to “legislar con posterioridad para extender la aplicación de la pena de muerte respecto de delitos para los cuales no estaba contemplada anteriormente”.
The IDPP edition reproduces the challenge and that ground, not the operative part of the ruling. The one provision whose outcome we can document is Art. 132 Bis: a consolidated, reform-annotated Código Penal compilation (Berger Pemueller, 2024) marks the text at that position, immediately before Art. 133, with the note “PARRAFO e INCISOS DECLARADOS INCONSTITUCIONALES por EXPEDIENTE No” 5986-2016, dated 24 October 2017 — the paragraph and sub-items declared unconstitutional. Whatever the ruling did to each provision, it did not remove Art. 18 from the Constitution, and it is not an abolition.
Death-penalty status at a glance
| Question | Answer from the sources | Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Is the death penalty in the Constitution? | Yes, with limits | Constitution Art. 18 |
| Who can never receive it? | Anyone convicted on presumptions; women; people over sixty; political offenders and common offences connected with political ones; a person extradited under that condition | Art. 18 a)–e) |
| When can a sentence be carried out? | Only after all remedies are exhausted, cassation included | Art. 18 |
| Clemency | Cannot be executed while the recurso de gracia is not duly resolved | CC Exp. 538-2010 (30 Nov 2011) |
| Has Congress abolished it? | Art. 18 says Congress may; the research for this page found no abolition law | Art. 18 |
| What did the 2017 ruling address? | Challenges to death-penalty clauses in Código Penal Arts. 132 Bis a), 201 (phrase), 201 Ter (aggravated-case paragraph) and Decreto 48-92 Arts. 12 a) and 52 (phrase); a consolidated Código Penal compilation marks the Art. 132 Bis text as declared unconstitutional | CC Exp. 5986-2016 (24 Oct 2017) |
| When was the last execution? | Not stated here: the sources we read do not record it | — |
| Extradition link | No death penalty for someone extradited to Guatemala on that condition | Art. 18(e) |
Where the two questions meet
The link is Constitution Art. 18(e): death may not be imposed on “A reos cuya extradición haya sido concedida bajo esa condición”. In plain terms, when a person is surrendered to Guatemala on a no-death condition, Guatemala cannot impose death.
That clause is about people extradited into Guatemala. The procedure for requests made to Guatemala — including a US request for a Guatemalan national — is the Decreto 28-2008 procedure described in Part 1, with the treaty prevailing where it sets its own rules.
If a relative is involved
This page is general legal information. What the texts give any person facing a request, in Decreto 28-2008:
- a defence lawyer and a translator (Art. 2);
- a ruling that does not decide innocence or guilt (Art. 2);
- the option to consent or surrender voluntarily at any point (Art. 3) — which requires an express waiver of any recurso or acción already filed (Art. 4);
- one appeal, in writing and stating its ground, filed within three days (Art. 23), with constitutional guarantees preserved after the Sala (Art. 25).
For advice on a specific case, speak to a Guatemalan abogado y notario.
Related reading
- US government actions affecting Guatemalans (2026) — the dated tracker of US measures, including law-enforcement cooperation
- Re-entering Guatemala after deportation or a refused entry — what the Código de Migración and its Reglamento (IGM-017-2023) say about bans and re-entry
- Can a foreigner join a protest in Guatemala? — another instrument-by-instrument reading of Guatemalan constitutional law
- All practical guides — the rest of the rules-and-laws set
Official sources
- Constitución Política de la República de Guatemala — OAS copy (Constitutional Court notes cited from the IDPP annotated edition)
- Ley Reguladora del Procedimiento de Extradición, Decreto 28-2008 — OAS copy
- US-Guatemala extradition treaty of 27 February 1903, 33 Stat. 2147 — govinfo.gov
- Supplementary Convention of 20 February 1940, 55 Stat. 1097 — govinfo.gov
- US Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs release of July 2, 2026
All read 2026-09-28.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Guatemala extradite its own citizens to the United States?
It can. Constitution Art. 27 bars extraditing Guatemalans for political offences only, and the Constitutional Court (Expediente 137-92, ruling of 17 June 1993) held that the article ’no prohíbe, la extradición de guatemaltecos por delitos comunes’, leaving it to each treaty. The 1903 US-Guatemala treaty, Art. V, says neither country is bound to deliver its own citizens, but each executive ‘shall have the power to deliver them up, if, in its discretion, it be deemed proper to do so’. A US Justice Department release dated July 2, 2026 describes a Guatemalan man who was arrested in Guatemala on a US extradition request and extradited from Guatemala in March 2025.
What does the Guatemalan Constitution say about extradition?
Art. 27 says ‘La extradición se rige por lo dispuesto en tratados internacionales.’ It adds that for political offences the extradition of Guatemalans will not be attempted, and that they will in no case be handed to a foreign government, except under treaties and conventions on crimes against humanity or against international law. The ban is on political offences, not on extraditing Guatemalans in general.
Which US-Guatemala extradition treaty is on the record?
The bilateral extradition treaty on the US Statutes at Large record is the one signed at Washington on 27 February 1903 (33 Stat. 2147, proclaimed 17 July 1903), plus a Supplementary Convention signed 20 February 1940 (55 Stat. 1097) to ’enlarge the list of crimes’, in force for the US ‘on and from March 13, 1941’. Art. IV excludes political crimes, and says an attempt on the life of the head of a foreign government or a member of his family involving murder, assassination or poisoning shall not be considered a political offense. Art. VI says the extradition of a person accused, arrested or convicted for an offence in the country where he or she is found ‘may be deferred’.
What are the legal deadlines in a Guatemalan extradition case?
Under Decreto 28-2008 Art. 17, once the person is detained the Ministerio Público must ask for the hearing within two days, and the hearing must be held no sooner than 10 and no later than 15 days after it is requested, with at least three days between notice and hearing. The only appeal goes to the Sala de la Corte de Apelaciones, in writing, within three days (Art. 23); the Sala’s decision admits no further appeal, with constitutional guarantees preserved (Art. 25); where the Executive decides surrender, the acuerdo gubernativo must issue within 15 days of the communication of the judicial ruling, or the extradition is deemed granted (Art. 29). These are statutory deadlines, not a measured average of how long real cases last.
Does Guatemala still have the death penalty?
It remains in the Constitution. Art. 18 limits it (not on presumptions, not on women, not on people over sixty, not for political offences or common offences connected with them, not on someone extradited on that condition) and says ‘El Congreso de la República podrá abolir la pena de muerte.’ The research for this page found no abolition law. In a ruling of 24 October 2017 (Expediente 5986-2016) the Constitutional Court ruled on challenges to the death-penalty clauses in several specific Penal Code articles and the anti-narcotics law. This page does not say when the last execution took place: the sources we read do not record it.
Can someone extradited to Guatemala be sentenced to death?
Constitution Art. 18(e) says the death penalty cannot be imposed ‘A reos cuya extradición haya sido concedida bajo esa condición’ — on a person whose extradition to Guatemala was granted under that condition. For a specific case, ask a Guatemalan abogado y notario.
Can a person agree to be extradited?
Yes. Decreto 28-2008 Art. 3 allows the person to consent (allanarse) or surrender voluntarily at any point in the procedure. Under Art. 4 that request must come with an express waiver of any recurso or acción already filed before any court or constitutional body, and it suspends the extradition procedure for that person. Art. 2 gives the person the right to a defence lawyer and a translator, and says the extradition ruling does not decide innocence or guilt.
