The restriction will not apply to units transporting perishable products, fuel, beverages and food, and cranes, as they are service equipment, which may circulate and do not require special permits.

The measure was made official through Ministerial Agreement 295-2021, which was published in the Diario de Centroamerica on March 15, 2021.

Article 2 of the Agreement states that ".... Freight transportation may only circulate as follows:

a) From kilometer 290 Highway CA-09-N to the facilities of the Puerto Barrios railroad terminal and to the facilities of the Santo Tomas de Castilla Port on the CA-09-N;

b) From kilometer 80 Highway CA-09-SUR-A to the facilities of Puerto Quetzal, to kilometer 104 Highway CA-09-SUR-09 and kilometer 114 Highway SA-09-SUR."

See full Ministerial Agreement 295-2021.

More on this topic

Freight: Costarican Vehicle Restrictions

August 2020

The Tax Administration of Guatemala has reported that it will be strengthening controls to detect cases that are not complying with the restrictions imposed on exports by land transport with Costa Rican registration or driver.

Ministerial Agreement number 681-2020 of the Ministry of Economy, whose compliance is mandatory since June 9, 2020, establishes that Costa Rican pilots and means of transport may only remain in Guatemalan territory for a maximum period of 5 days.

Heavy Transport Circulation: Reactivating Restrictions

July 2020

After the government of Guatemala issued new regulations, the Municipality of the country's capital decided to restrict the circulation of heavy vehicles from Monday to Friday, from 5:00 to 9:00 and from 16:30 to 21:00.

At the beginning of April, when the health emergency that arose as a result of the covid-19 outbreak began, the Municipality of Guatemala City decided to remove restrictions on the movement of cargo transport.

Cargo Transport: Controversy Continues

July 2020

In response to the restrictions applied to Costa Rican pilots, who are prevented from leaving with cargo from Panama, since July 14 Costa Rica has not allowed trucks with Panamanian plates to leave carrying goods.

Because of the spread of covid-19, Costa Rica was the first country to impose restrictions on cargo transport units from other countries in the region.

Cargo Transport: Requirements to Enter Costa Rica

May 2020

The monitoring of trucks by GPS to supervise the scheduled routes and the time of the carrier in the country, is the proposal of the Costa Rican authorities so that the cargo transport units of Central America can enter their territory.

The Costa Rican presidency decided that from May 18, only transporters that make direct transit from border to border would enter Costa Rican territory, whose units would be subject to police surveillance. In response to this announcement, Central American business and transport associations have spoken out against it and called for the restrictions to be lifted.