I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2615 

To support the people of Central America and strengthen United States 

national security by addressing the root causes of migration from El 

Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 9, 2019 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, 

Mrs. TORRES of California, Mrs. WAGNER, and Mr. CUELLAR) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To support the people of Central America and strengthen 

United States national security by addressing the root 

causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and 

Honduras. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘United States-Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement 

6 Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Report on drivers of migration from the Northern Triangle to the 

United States. 

Sec. 3. Actions to promote inclusive economic growth and development in the 

Northern Triangle. 

Sec. 4. Actions to combat corruption in the Northern Triangle. 

Sec. 5. Actions to strengthen democratic institutions in the Northern Triangle. 

Sec. 6. Actions to improve security conditions in the Northern Triangle. 

Sec. 7. Authorization of appropriations for assistance to Central America. 

Sec. 8. Conditions on assistance to the Northern Triangle. 

Sec. 9. Enhancing engagement with the Government of Mexico on the Northern 

Triangle. 

Sec. 10. Targeting assistance to address migration from communities in the 

Northern Triangle. 

Sec. 11. Targeted sanctions to fight corruption in the Northern Triangle. 

Sec. 12. Requirement to provide advance notification to Congress of security 

assistance to Northern Triangle countries. 

Sec. 13. Definitions. 

3 SEC. 2. REPORT ON DRIVERS OF MIGRATION FROM THE 

4 NORTHERN TRIANGLE TO THE UNITED 

5 STATES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

8 in coordination with the Administrator of the United 

9 States Agency for International Development and the 

10 heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to 

11 the appropriate congressional committees a report on the 

12 drivers of migration from each of the Northern Triangle 

13 countries and the progress United States foreign assist14 ance is making in addressing such drivers. 

15 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub16 section (a) shall include the following elements for each 

17 of the Northern Triangle countries, with data 


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1 disaggregated by municipality, age, and gender, as nec2 essary: 

3 (1) Information and data on all criminal activi4 ties, including drug trafficking, extortion, trafficking 

5 in persons, and gender-based violence, with par6 ticular emphasis on such activities carried out by 

7 criminal gangs and transnational criminal organiza8 tions such as MS–13 and the 18th Street Gang. 

9 (2) Data on the extent to which criminal activi10 ties referred to in paragraph (1) are reported to gov11 ernment authorities and the number of perpetrators 

12 investigated, apprehended, prosecuted, or convicted, 

13 versus the number of known perpetrators who are 

14 not so investigated, apprehended, prosecuted, or con15 victed. 

16 (3) Data on children and young adults forcibly 

17 recruited for criminal activities referred to in para18 graph (1), including the extent to which government 

19 authorities received reports of forced recruitment. 

20 (4) Data on internal displacement due to crimi21 nal activities referred to in paragraph (1), and serv22 ices, including temporary shelters, provided to those 

23 displaced by violence. 

24 (5) Data on gender-based violence by region 

25 and municipality and descriptions of gender-based 


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1 violence and domestic violence trends, including gen2 der-based violence against indigenous women, and 

3 correlation to outward migration. 

4 (6) Descriptions of the obstacles (including ca5 pacity gaps within the criminal justice systems) to 

6 resolving gender-based violence cases and deterring 

7 violence against women and children. 

8 (7) Information on the availability of trauma9 informed legal and social services, including in shel10 ters, for victims of gender-based violence. 

11 (8) Data on the number of police officers, pros12 ecutors, court personnel, and specialized units 

13 trained in violence against women and children, in14 cluding data on the number of female police officers 

15 in each of the Northern Triangle countries. 

16 (9) Data on reported cases of abuse, including 

17 extrajudicial executions, allegedly committed by 

18 members of the security forces, and collusion be19 tween members of such security forces and gangs 

20 and other criminal groups, including transnational 

21 criminal organizations, and the number of perpetra22 tors investigated, apprehended, prosecuted, or con23 victed, versus the number of known perpetrators not 

24 so investigated, apprehended, prosecuted, or con25 victed. 


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1 (10) Descriptions of the strategies being imple2 mented to address forced recruitment of children 

3 and youth by gangs, transnational criminal organiza4 tions, and other criminal groups, and how such 

5 strategies are complemented by United States ef6 forts. 

7 (11) Descriptions of the strategies being imple8 mented by the governments of each of the Northern 

9 Triangle countries to address corruption and orga10 nized crime and how such strategies are com11 plemented by United States efforts. 

12 (12) Data on the effectiveness of anti-corrup13 tion strategies, including through bilateral and mul14 tilateral anti-corruption assistance. 

15 (13) An assessment of the extent of corruption, 

16 including regarding narcotics trafficking and illicit 

17 campaign financing, a description of steps taken and 

18 to be taken to impose sanctions pursuant to the 

19 Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 

20 (22 U.S.C. 2656 note), and a list of senior officials 

21 who are known or credibly alleged to have committed 

22 or facilitated such corruption, not including individ23 uals who have already been sentenced to crimes in 

24 criminal courts. 


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1 (14) Descriptions of operating conditions for 

2 civil society organizations and independent media in 

3 each of the Northern Triangle countries, and data 

4 on harassment and attacks on civil society and inde5 pendent media from political and criminal actors. 

6 (15) An assessment of information sharing re7 garding known or suspected terrorists and other in8 dividuals and groups that pose a potential threat to 

9 United States national security that are crossing 

10 through or residing in the Northern Triangle. 

11 (16) Descriptions of the obstacles (including ca12 pacity gaps within the criminal justice systems) to 

13 resolving criminal cases and corruption and deter14 ring violence. 

15 (17) Data on the capacity of child welfare sys16 tems in each Northern Triangle country to protect 

17 unaccompanied children, including runaways and 

18 refugee returnees. 

19 (18) Data on the governance capacity of North20 ern Triangle country governments at the local and 

21 national level, including ability to deliver basic cit22 izen services, including tax collection and citizen se23 curity. 

24 (19) Data on the rates of extortion, the impact 

25 of extortion on local businesses and economies, and 


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1 the number of extortion cases investigated, pros2 ecuted, or convicted. 

3 (20) Data on the extent to which the Northern 

4 Triangle governments are promoting economic 

5 growth, improving health outcomes, and addressing 

6 the underlying causes of poverty and inequality 

7 through public policies. 

8 (21) Data on the activities of China and Rus9 sia, an assessment of the threat of such activities to 

10 United States interests, and the impact of such ac11 tivities on irregular migration. 

12 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The report required 

13 under subsection (a) shall be made publicly available on 

14 the website of the Department of State. 

15 SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC 

16 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH17 ERN TRIANGLE. 

18 (a) SECRETARY OF STATE PRIORITIZATION.—The 

19 Secretary of State shall prioritize economic development 

20 in the Northern Triangle countries by carrying out the fol21 lowing initiatives: 

22 (1) Supporting market-based solutions to elimi23 nate constraints to inclusive economic growth, in24 cluding through support for increased digital 

25 connectivity and the use of financial technology, and 


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1 private sector and civil society-led efforts to create 

2 jobs and foster economic prosperity. 

3 (2) Addressing underlying causes of poverty 

4 and inequality. 

5 (3) Responding to immediate humanitarian 

6 needs by increasing humanitarian assistance, includ7 ing through access to clean water, sanitation, hy8 giene, and shelter, and by providing health resources 

9 and improving food security. 

10 (4) Supporting community resilience and 

11 strengthening community preparedness for natural 

12 disasters and other external shocks. 

13 (5) Identifying, as appropriate, a role for the 

14 United States International Development Finance 

15 Corporation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation 

16 (MCC), the United States Agency for International 

17 Development, and the United States private sector 

18 in supporting efforts to increase private sector in19 vestment and strengthen economic prosperity. 

20 (6) Expanding comprehensive reintegration 

21 mechanisms for repatriated individuals once re22 turned to their countries of origin and supporting ef23 forts by the private sector to hire and train eligible 

24 returnees. 


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1 (7) Establishing monitoring and verification 

2 services to determine the well-being of repatriated 

3 children in order to determine if United States pro4 tection and screening functioned effectively in identi5 fying persecuted and trafficked children. 

6 (8) Supporting efforts to increase domestic re7 source mobilization, including through strengthening 

8 of tax collection and enforcement and legal arbitra9 tion mechanisms. 

10 (b) STRATEGY.— 

11 (1) ELEMENTS.—Not later than 90 days after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

13 of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 

14 the United States Agency for International Develop15 ment, the President and Chief Executive Officer of 

16 the Inter-American Foundation, the Director of the 

17 United States Trade and Development Agency, the 

18 Chief Executive Officer of the United States Inter19 national Development Finance Corporation, and the 

20 heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall sub21 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a 

22 five-year strategy to support inclusive economic 

23 growth and development in the Northern Triangle 

24 countries by carrying out the initiatives described in 

25 subsection (a). 


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1 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the strat2 egy required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of 

3 State shall consult with nongovernmental organiza4 tions in the Northern Triangle countries and the 

5 United States. 

6 (3) BENCHMARKS.—The strategy required 

7 under paragraph (1) shall include annual bench8 marks to track the strategy’s progress in curbing ir9 regular migration from the Northern Triangle to the 

10 United States. 

11 (4) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.—The strategy re12 quired under paragraph (1) shall include a public di13 plomacy strategy for educating citizens of the North14 ern Triangle countries about United States assist15 ance and its benefits to them, and informing such 

16 citizens of the dangers of illegal migration to the 

17 United States. 

18 (5) ANNUAL PROGRESS UPDATES.—Not later 

19 than one year after the submission of the strategy 

20 required under paragraph (1) and annually there21 after for four years, the Secretary of State shall pro22 vide the appropriate congressional committees with a 

23 written description of progress made in meeting the 

24 benchmarks established in the strategy. 


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1 (6) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The strategy re2 quired under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly 

3 available on the website of the Department of State. 

4 (c) REPORT ON ESTABLISHING AN INVESTMENT

5 FUND FOR THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE COUNTRIES AND

6 SOUTHERN MEXICO.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Executive Of8 ficer of the United States International Development Fi9 nance Corporation shall submit to the appropriate con10 gressional committees a detailed report assessing the fea11 sibility, costs, and benefits of the Corporation establishing 

12 an investment fund to promote economic and social devel13 opment in the Northern Triangle countries and southern 

14 Mexico. 

15 SEC. 4. ACTIONS TO COMBAT CORRUPTION IN THE NORTH16 ERN TRIANGLE. 

17 (a) SECRETARY OF STATE PRIORITIZATION.—The 

18 Secretary of State shall prioritize efforts to combat cor19 ruption in the Northern Triangle countries by carrying out 

20 the following initiatives: 

21 (1) Supporting anti-corruption efforts, includ22 ing by strengthening national justice systems and at23 torneys general, providing technical assistance to fi24 nancial institutions to identify money laundering and 


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1 other financial crimes, and supporting independent 

2 media and investigative reporting. 

3 (2) Supporting anti-corruption efforts through 

4 bilateral assistance and complementary support 

5 through multilateral anti-corruption mechanisms 

6 when necessary. 

7 (3) Encouraging cooperation agreements be8 tween the Department of State and relevant United 

9 States Government agencies and attorneys general 

10 to fight corruption. 

11 (4) Supporting efforts to strengthen special 

12 prosecutorial offices and financial institutions to 

13 combat corruption, money laundering, financial 

14 crimes, extortion, human rights crimes, asset for15 feiture, and criminal analysis. 

16 (5) Supporting initiatives to advance judicial in17 tegrity and improve security for members of the ju18 dicial sector. 

19 (6) Supporting transparent, merit-based selec20 tion processes for prosecutors and judges and the 

21 development of professional and merit-based civil 

22 services. 

23 (7) Supporting the establishment or strength24 ening of methods, procedures, and expectations for 


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1 internal and external control mechanisms for the se2 curity and police services and judiciary. 

3 (8) Supporting the adoption of appropriate 

4 technologies to combat corruption in public finance. 

5 (b) STRATEGY.— 

6 (1) ELEMENTS.—Not later than 90 days after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

8 of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 

9 the United States Agency for International Develop10 ment and the heads of other relevant Federal agen11 cies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

12 committees a five-year strategy to combat corruption 

13 in the Northern Triangle countries by carrying out 

14 the initiatives described in subsection (a). 

15 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the strat16 egy required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of 

17 State shall consult with nongovernmental organiza18 tions in the Northern Triangle countries and the 

19 United States. 

20 (3) BENCHMARKS.—The strategy required 

21 under paragraph (1) shall include annual bench22 marks to track the strategy’s progress in curbing ir23 regular migration from the Northern Triangle to the 

24 United States. 


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1 (4) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.—The strategy re2 quired under paragraph (1) shall include a public di3 plomacy strategy for educating citizens of the North4 ern Triangle countries about United States assist5 ance and its benefits to them, and informing such 

6 citizens of the dangers of illegal migration to the 

7 United States. 

8 (5) ANNUAL PROGRESS UPDATES.—Not later 

9 than one year after the submission of the strategy 

10 required under paragraph (1) and annually there11 after for four years, the Secretary of State shall pro12 vide the appropriate congressional committees with a 

13 written description of progress made in meeting the 

14 benchmarks established in the strategy. 

15 (6) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The strategy re16 quired under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly 

17 available on the website of the Department of State. 

18 (c) DESIGNATION OF A SENIOR RULE OF LAW ADVI19 SOR FOR THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE IN THE BUREAU OF

20 WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS.—The Secretary of 

21 State shall designate in the Bureau of Western Hemi22 sphere Affairs of the Department of State a Senior Rule 

23 of Law Advisor for the Northern Triangle who shall lead 

24 diplomatic engagement with the Northern Triangle coun25 tries in support of democratic governance, anti-corruption 


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1 efforts, and the rule of law in all aspects of United States 

2 policy towards the countries of the Northern Triangle, in3 cluding carrying out the initiatives described in subsection 

4 (a) and developing the strategy required under subsection 

5 (b). The individual designated in accordance with this sub6 section shall be a Department of State employee in the 

7 Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. 

8 SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO STRENGTHEN DEMOCRATIC INSTITU9 TIONS IN THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE. 

10 (a) SECRETARY OF STATE PRIORITIZATION.—The 

11 Secretary of State shall prioritize strengthening demo12 cratic institutions, good governance, human rights, and 

13 the rule of law in the Northern Triangle countries by car14 rying out the following initiatives: 

15 (1) Providing support to strengthen government 

16 institutions and actors at the local and national lev17 els to provide services and respond to citizen needs 

18 through transparent, inclusive, and democratic proc19 esses. 

20 (2) Supporting efforts to strengthen access to 

21 information laws and reform laws that currently 

22 limit access to information. 

23 (3) Financing efforts to build the capacity of 

24 independent media with a specific focus on profes25 sional investigative journalism. 


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1 (4) Ensuring that threats and attacks on jour2 nalists and human rights defenders are fully inves3 tigated and perpetrators are held accountable. 

4 (5) Developing the capacity of civil society to 

5 conduct oversight and accountability mechanisms at 

6 the national and local levels. 

7 (6) Training political actors committed to 

8 democratic principles. 

9 (7) Strengthening electoral institutions and 

10 processes to ensure free, fair, and transparent elec11 tions. 

12 (8) Advancing conservation principles and the 

13 rule of law to address multiple factors, including the 

14 impacts of illegal cattle ranching and smuggling as 

15 drivers of deforestation. 

16 (b) STRATEGY.— 

17 (1) ELEMENTS.—Not later than 90 days after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 

20 the United States Agency for International Develop21 ment and the heads of other relevant Federal agen22 cies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

23 committees a strategy to support democratic govern24 ance in the Northern Triangle countries by carrying 

25 out the initiatives described in subsection (a). 


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1 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the strat2 egy required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of 

3 State shall consult with nongovernmental organiza4 tions in the Northern Triangle countries and the 

5 United States. 

6 (3) BENCHMARKS.—The strategy required 

7 under paragraph (1) shall include annual bench8 marks to track the strategy’s progress in curbing ir9 regular migration from the Northern Triangle to the 

10 United States. 

11 (4) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.—The strategy re12 quired under paragraph (1) shall include a public di13 plomacy strategy for educating citizens of the North14 ern Triangle countries about United States assist15 ance and its benefits to them, and informing such 

16 citizens of the dangers of illegal migration to the 

17 United States. 

18 (5) ANNUAL PROGRESS UPDATES.—Not later 

19 than one year after the submission of the strategy 

20 required under paragraph (1) and annually there21 after for four years, the Secretary of State shall pro22 vide the appropriate congressional committees with a 

23 written description of progress made in meeting the 

24 benchmarks established in the strategy. 


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1 (6) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The strategy re2 quired under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly 

3 available on the website of the Department of State. 

4 SEC. 6. ACTIONS TO IMPROVE SECURITY CONDITIONS IN 

5 THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE. 

6 (a) SECRETARY OF STATE PRIORITIZATION.—The 

7 Secretary of State shall prioritize security in the Northern 

8 Triangle countries by carrying out the following initiatives: 

9 (1) Implementing the Central America Regional 

10 Security Initiative of the Department of State. 

11 (2) Continuing the vetting and professionaliza12 tion of security services, including the civilian police 

13 and military units. 

14 (3) Supporting efforts to combat the illicit ac15 tivities of criminal gangs and transnational criminal 

16 organizations, including MS–13 and the 18th Street 

17 Gang, through support to fully vetted elements of at18 torneys general offices, appropriate government in19 stitutions, and security services. 

20 (4) Supporting training for fully vetted civilian 

21 police and appropriate security services in criminal 

22 investigations, best practices for citizen security, and 

23 human rights. 

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1 ternarcotics efforts and combat human trafficking, 

2 gender-based violence, and other illicit activities. 

3 (6) Encouraging collaboration with regional and 

4 international partners in implementing security as5 sistance, including by supporting cross-border infor6 mation sharing on gangs and transnational criminal 

7 organizations. 

8 (7) Providing equipment, technology, tools, and 

9 training to security services to assist in border and 

10 port inspections. 

11 (8) Providing equipment, technology, tools, and 

12 training to assist security services in counter13 narcotics and other efforts to combat illicit activities. 

14 (9) Continuing information sharing regarding 

15 known or suspected terrorists and other individuals 

16 and entities that pose a potential threat to United 

17 States national security that are crossing through or 

18 residing in the Northern Triangle. 

19 (10) Supporting information sharing on gangs 

20 and transnational criminal organizations between 

21 relevant Federal, State, and local law enforcement 

22 and the governments of the Northern Triangle coun23 tries. 

24 (11) Considering the use of assets and re25 sources of United States State and local government 


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1 entities, as appropriate, to support the activities de2 scribed in this subsection. 

3 (12) Providing thorough end-use monitoring of 

4 equipment, technology, tools, and training provided 

5 pursuant to this subsection. 

6 (b) STRATEGY.— 

7 (1) ELEMENTS.—Not later than 90 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

9 of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 

10 the United States Agency for International Develop11 ment and the heads of other relevant Federal agen12 cies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

13 committees a five-year strategy to prioritize the im14 provement of security in the Northern Triangle 

15 countries by carrying out the initiatives described in 

16 subsection (a). 

17 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the strat18 egy required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of 

19 State shall consult with nongovernmental organiza20 tions in the Northern Triangle countries and the 

21 United States. 

22 (3) BENCHMARKS.—The strategy required 

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1 regular migration from the Northern Triangle to the 

2 United States. 

3 (4) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.—The strategy re4 quired under paragraph (1) shall include a public di5 plomacy strategy for educating citizens of the North6 ern Triangle countries about United States assist7 ance and its benefits to them, and informing such 

8 citizens of the dangers of illegal migration to the 

9 United States. 

10 (5) ANNUAL PROGRESS UPDATES.—Not later 

11 than one year after the submission of the strategy 

12 required under paragraph (1) and annually there13 after for four years, the Secretary of State shall pro14 vide the appropriate congressional committees with a 

15 written description of progress made in meeting the 

16 benchmarks established in the strategy. 

17 (6) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The strategy re18 quired under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly 

19 available on the website of the Department of State. 

20 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR ASSIST21 ANCE TO CENTRAL AMERICA. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro23 priated to the President $577,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 

24 to carry out the United States Strategy for Engagement 

25 in Central America in accordance with subsection (b). 


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1 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds made 

2 available to carry out this section may not be repro3 grammed, transferred, or used for any purposes not spe4 cifically authorized in subsection (b). 

5 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts authorized to be ap6 propriated pursuant to subsection (a) shall be made avail7 able for assistance to Central American countries to imple8 ment the United States Strategy for Engagement in Cen9 tral America, including efforts to carry out sections 3, 4, 

10 5, and 6. 

11 (c) INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION.—Not less than 

12 $10,000,000 of the funds authorized to be appropriated 

13 pursuant to subsection (a) shall be made available to the 

14 Inter-American Foundation to address the root causes of 

15 migration from Central America. 

16 (d) NORTHERN TRIANGLE.—Not less than 

17 $490,000,000 of the funds authorized to be appropriated 

18 pursuant to subsection (a) shall be made available for pro19 gramming in the Northern Triangle counties. 

20 SEC. 8. CONDITIONS ON ASSISTANCE TO THE NORTHERN 

21 TRIANGLE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds authorized to be ap23 propriated to the President by this Act that are made 

24 available for assistance for each of the central govern25 ments of the Northern Triangle countries, 50 percent of 


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1 such funds for each such central government may only be 

2 obligated with respect to each such country after the Sec3 retary of State certifies and reports to the appropriate 

4 congressional committees that such central government is 

5 demonstrating progress in the following: 

6 (1) Informing its citizens of the dangers of the 

7 journey to the southwest border of the United 

8 States. 

9 (2) Combating all human smuggling and traf10 ficking entities. 

11 (3) Countering the trafficking of illicit drugs, 

12 firearms, and other contraband. 

13 (4) Combating corruption, including inves14 tigating and prosecuting current and former govern15 ment officials credibly alleged to be corrupt. 

16 (5) Implementing reforms, policies, and pro17 grams to increase transparency and strengthen pub18 lic institutions and the rule of law. 

19 (6) Countering the activities of criminal gangs, 

20 drug traffickers, and transnational criminal organi21 zations. 

22 (7) Ensuring that human rights are respected 

23 by national security forces. 


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1 (8) Investigating and prosecuting in the civilian 

2 justice system government personnel who are 

3 credibly alleged to have violated human rights. 

4 (9) Cooperating with commissions against cor5 ruption and impunity and with regional human 

6 rights entities. 

7 (10) Supporting programs to reduce poverty, 

8 expand education and vocational training for at-risk 

9 youth, create jobs, and promote equitable economic 

10 growth, particularly in areas contributing to large 

11 numbers of migrants. 

12 (11) Creating a professional, accountable civil13 ian police force and ending the role of the military 

14 in internal policing. 

15 (12) Protecting the right of political opposition 

16 parties and other members of civil society to operate 

17 without interference. 

18 (13) Implementing tax reforms, ensuring prop19 erty rights, and supporting increased private invest20 ment in the region. 

21 (14) Resolving commercial disputes. 

22 (b) REPROGRAMMING.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds withheld pursuant to 

24 the limitation described in subsection (a) shall be 

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1 angle that do not directly support the central gov2 ernments of such countries. 

3 (2) EXCEPTION.—The limitation described in 

4 subsection (a) does not apply to funds authorized to 

5 be appropriated by this Act for humanitarian assist6 ance or global food security programs. 

7 SEC. 9. ENHANCING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE GOVERN8 MENT OF MEXICO ON THE NORTHERN TRI9 ANGLE. 

10 (a) ENHANCED ENGAGEMENT WITH THE GOVERN11 MENT OF MEXICO ON THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE.—The 

12 Secretary of State shall collaborate with the Government 

13 of Mexico to— 

14 (1) enhance development, particularly in col15 laboration with the Administrator of the United 

16 States Agency for International Development, the 

17 President and Chief Executive Officer of the Inter18 American Foundation, the Chief Executive Officer of 

19 the United States International Development Fi20 nance Corporation, and the heads of other relevant 

21 Federal agencies, in southern Mexico; and 

22 (2) strengthen security cooperation at Mexico’s 

23 shared border with Guatemala and Belize. 

24 (b) STRATEGY.— 


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1 (1) ELEMENTS.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 of State shall submit to the appropriate congres4 sional committees a strategy to carry out the col5 laboration described in subsection (a). 

6 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the strat7 egy required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of 

8 State shall consult with nongovernmental organiza9 tions in Mexico, Belize, the Northern Triangle coun10 tries, and the United States. 

11 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The strategy re12 quired under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly 

13 available on the website of the Department of State. 

14 SEC. 10. TARGETING ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS MIGRATION 

15 FROM COMMUNITIES IN THE NORTHERN TRI16 ANGLE. 

17 Not later than one year after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act and annually thereafter for each of the 

19 three succeeding years, the Comptroller General of the 

20 United States shall submit to the appropriate congres21 sional committees a report that contains the following: 

22 (1) Raw data from Federal agencies on the 

23 number of migrants coming to the United States 

24 from each community or geographic area in the 

25 Northern Triangle countries, with a specific focus on 


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1 communities targeted by United States foreign as2 sistance. 

3 (2) An assessment of whether United States 

4 foreign assistance to the Northern Triangle coun5 tries is effectively reaching the communities from 

6 which individuals are migrating. 

7 (3) An assessment of the extent to which 

8 United States foreign assistance is mitigating North9 ern Triangle migration to the United States, includ10 ing a breakdown of effectiveness by project and im11 plementer. 

12 (4) An assessment of the extent to which the 

13 Department of State and the United States Agency 

14 for International Development are adjusting foreign 

15 assistance programming in the Northern Triangle 

16 countries as migration patterns shift. 

17 (5) An assessment of how the Department of 

18 State, the United States Agency for International 

19 Development, and other implementers of United 

20 States foreign assistance in the Northern Triangle 

21 are measuring the impact of programs on migration 

22 trends. 

23 (6) An assessment of how the Department of 

24 State, the United States Agency for International 

25 Development, and other implementers of United 


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1 States foreign assistance in the Northern Triangle 

2 are implementing a public diplomacy strategy that is 

3 widely informing local citizens about United States 

4 Government assistance and the dangers of illegal mi5 gration to the United States, including an assess6 ment of the effectiveness of such strategy on curbing 

7 such illegal migration. 

8 (7) An assessment of the extent to which the 

9 governments of the Northern Triangle countries are 

10 addressing drivers of migration, including efforts to 

11 increase economic prosperity, citizen security, anti12 corruption efforts, democratic principles, and rule of 

13 law. 

14 (8) An assessment of how the Northern Tri15 angle countries are educating their citizens about 

16 the dangers of illegal migration to the United States 

17 and the effectiveness of such educational efforts on 

18 curbing such illegal migration. 

19 SEC. 11. TARGETED SANCTIONS TO FIGHT CORRUPTION IN 

20 THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE. 

21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that— 

23 (1) corruption in the Northern Triangle coun24 tries by private citizens and select officials in local, 

25 regional, and federal governments significantly damVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2615.IH H2615

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1 ages the economies of such countries and deprives 

2 citizens of opportunities; 

3 (2) corruption in the Northern Triangle is fa4 cilitated and carried out not only by private citizens 

5 and select officials from those countries but also in 

6 many instances by individuals from third countries; 

7 and 

8 (3) imposing targeted sanctions on individuals 

9 from throughout the world and particularly in the 

10 Western Hemisphere who are engaged in acts of sig11 nificant corruption that impact the Northern Tri12 angle countries will benefit the citizens and govern13 ments of such countries. 

14 (b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—The President shall 

15 impose the sanctions described in subsection (c) with re16 spect to a person who the President determines to be en17 gaged in an act of significant corruption that impacts a 

18 Northern Triangle country, including the following: 

19 (1) Corruption related to government contracts. 

20 (2) Bribery and extortion. 

21 (3) The facilitation or transfer of the proceeds 

22 of corruption, including through money laundering. 

23 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions described in 

25 this subsection are the following: 


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1 (A) ASSET BLOCKING.—The blocking, in 

2 accordance with the International Emergency 

3 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), 

4 of all transactions in all property and interests 

5 in property of a foreign person if such property 

6 and interests in property are in the United 

7 States, come within the United States, or are or 

8 come within the possession or control of a 

9 United States person. 

10 (B) INADMISSIBILITY TO THE UNITED

11 STATES.—In the case of a foreign person who 

12 is an individual— 

13 (i) ineligibility to receive a visa to 

14 enter the United States or to be admitted 

15 to the United States; or 

16 (ii) if the individual has been issued a 

17 visa or other documentation, revocation, in 

18 accordance with section 221(i) of the Im19 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

20 1201(i)), of the visa or other documenta21 tion. 

22 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at23 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

24 violation of a measure imposed pursuant to para25 graph (1)(A) or any regulation, license, or order 


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1 issued to carry out such paragraph shall be subject 

2 to the penalties specified in subsections (b) and (c) 

3 of section 206 of the International Emergency Eco4 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same ex5 tent as a person that commits an unlawful act de6 scribed in subsection (a) of such section. 

7 (3) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF

8 GOODS.—The requirement to block and prohibit all 

9 transactions in all property and interests in property 

10 under paragraph (1)(A) does not include the author11 ity to impose sanctions on the importation of goods. 

12 (4) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA13 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 

14 under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to an alien 

15 if admitting such alien into the United States is nec16 essary to permit the United States to comply with 

17 the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 

18 United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 

19 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, 

20 between the United Nations and the United States, 

21 or other applicable international obligations. 

22 (d) IMPLEMENTATION; REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 

23 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex24 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 

25 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 


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1 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out 

2 this section. 

3 (2) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President 

4 shall issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as 

5 are necessary to carry out this section. 

6 (e) NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVER.—The President 

7 may waive the application of the sanctions under sub8 section (c) if the President— 

9 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na10 tional interest of the United States; and 

11 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 

12 committees a notice of and justification for the waiv13 er. 

14 (f) TERMINATION.—The authority to impose sanc15 tions under subsection (b), and any sanctions imposed 

16 pursuant to such authority, shall expire on the date that 

17 is three years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT20 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com21 mittees’’ means— 

22 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

23 Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com24 mittee on Financial Services of the House of 

25 Representatives; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

2 the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com3 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

4 of the Senate. 

5 (2) GOOD.—The term ‘‘good’’ means any arti6 cle, natural or man-made substance, material, supply 

7 or manufactured product, including inspection and 

8 test equipment, and excluding technical data. 

9 (3) PERSON FROM A NORTHERN TRIANGLE

10 COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘person from a Northern Tri11 angle country’’ means— 

12 (A) a citizen of a Northern Triangle coun13 try; or 

14 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

15 a Northern Triangle country or any jurisdiction 

16 within a Northern Triangle country. 

17 SEC. 12. REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE ADVANCE NOTIFICA18 TION TO CONGRESS OF SECURITY ASSIST19 ANCE TO NORTHERN TRIANGLE COUNTRIES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi21 sion of law, the President may not provide security assist22 ance to a Northern Triangle country during the 3-year 

23 period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act 

24 until 30 days after the date on which the President has 


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1 provided to the appropriate congressional committees no2 tice of such proposed provision of security assistance. 

3 (b) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica4 tion of subsection (a) on a case-by-case basis if the Presi5 dent— 

6 (1) determines it is in the national security in7 terests of the United States to do so; and 

8 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 

9 committees such determination and the rationale for 

10 the determination. 

11 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

15 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

16 Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

17 (2) SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘secu18 rity assistance’’— 

19 (A) has the meaning given such term in 

20 section 502B(d)(2) of the Foreign Assistance 

21 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304); and 

22 (B) includes assistance under any inter23 national security assistance program conducted 

24 under any other provision of law not specified 

25 in section 502B(d)(2) of such Act. 


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1 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—Except as otherwise provided, the term ‘‘ap5 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

7 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

8 of Representatives; and 

9 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

10 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

11 Senate. 

12 (2) NORTHERN TRIANGLE.—The term ‘‘North13 ern Triangle’’ means the region of Central America 

14 that encompasses the countries of El Salvador, Gua15 temala, and Honduras. 

16 (3) NORTHERN TRIANGLE COUNTRIES.—The 

17 term ‘‘Northern Triangle countries’’ means the 

18 countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

19 (4) TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZA20 TION.—The term ‘‘transnational criminal organiza21 tion’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘significant 

22 transnational criminal organization’’ in Executive 

23 Order 13581 (July 24, 2011). 

Æ 


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