Guatemalan Congressman Héctor Aldana expressed his support for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump this week by wearing a red pro-Trump hat during a Congressional session.
Aldana, a lawmaker in Guatemala’s conservative Vamos party, wore the red hat on Tuesday during that day’s session in Congress. According to the Guatemalan newspaper La Hora, the Congressman donned the red hat after objecting to a Law of the Designated Authority of the Port System, which passed.
The red hat worn by Aldana featured Trump’s name with the American flag and the phrase “Take America back.” The hat reportedly earned him the applause of several of his fellow lawmakers, who also expressed support for Trump’s victory in the November 5 presidential election.
In remarks given to reporters in Congress, Aldana described Trump’s victory as a new opportunity for Guatemala and as a “refresh.” The lawmaker congratulated Americans who went to the polls, stressing that, “today, we take a turn for Latin America.”
“I still maintain that we have good Latin American leaders like [Argentine President] Javier Milei, like [Salvadoran President Nayib] Bukele, and today we have President Trump,” Aldana said.
A reporter from La Hora asked Aldana if he has a U.S. visa, to which he responded that he does not because he has not applied for one. The reporter then asked him if he speaks English, to which he answered “yes,” but added that he would not speak the language at that time.
Aldana told the reporter that he would send his “regards” from the United States when he visits the country.
Last week, in remarks given to reporters after the U.S. presidential election, Aldana celebrated Trump’s victory and described the president-elect as an “objective person who we consider that his guiding principles are focused on a right-wing theme, a theme of protection of life, a theme of protection of our spirituality.”
“I believe that this is a respite for the world and a respite for all the countries of Latin America in which we can also see an objectivity and we believe that we can strengthen very good ties with the United States government that we have already had, but I believe that now we can be on the same wavelength,” Aldana said.
Aldana is a member of the conservative Vamos party, which ruled Guatemala between 2020 and January 2024 under the administration of conservative former President Alejandro Giammattei. Giammattei maintained friendly ties with the United States but was actively critical of outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News in 2022, Giammattei criticized Biden for the idea of purchasing oil from the Venezuelan socialist regime, an act he described would be akin to “nourishing the devil.”
In that interview, Giammattei also criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’s apparent inaction and lack of communication over the migrant crisis at the United States southern border. Trump defeated Harris in the November 5 election.
The Biden administration sanctioned Giammattei in mid-January, days after the Guatemalan left office, due to his alleged “involvement in significant corruption” during his presidency.
Current leftist President of Guatemala Bernardo Arevalo congratulated President-elect Trump on his electoral victory last week via social media. Arevalo stated that his administration will continue to work with the United States to strengthen the ties between both countries and its peoples, which have maintained friendly relations for 175 years.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
