III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 518 

Expressing solidarity with the people of Guatemala and urging the Government of Guatemala to permit a peaceful transfer of power to Presidentelect Bernardo Are ́valo. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 10, 2024 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. BUTLER, and Mr. WELCH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing solidarity with the people of Guatemala and urging the Government of Guatemala to permit a peaceful 

transfer of power to President-elect Bernardo Are ́valo. 

Whereas the United States and Guatemala have shared 

strong bilateral relations on issues of mutual interest for 

decades, including— 

(1) addressing the root causes of irregular migration; 

(2) a shared commitment to addressing key development challenges, such as poverty, child hunger and illiteracy, citizen security, and more transparent and accountable governance; and 

(3) supporting Taiwan and Ukraine’s independence 

from Russia; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•SRES 518 IS 

Whereas general elections were held in Guatemala on June 

25, 2023, resulting in a runoff election between the 2 

presidential candidates receiving the most votes, Congressman Bernardo Are ́valo of the Movimiento Semilla 

party and Sandra Torres, a former first lady representing the Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE) 

party; 

Whereas the runoff election, held on August 20, 2023, resulted in the people of Guatemala electing Congressman 

Are ́valo as President with more than 60 percent of the 

popular vote; 

Whereas the election observation teams from the European 

Union and the Organization of American States, which 

were present at the invitation of the Government of Guatemala, reported that both rounds of the election were 

run professionally and efficiently and concluded that 

there was no basis for claims of fraud; 

Whereas Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) certified that the presidential elections upheld national, regional and international standards for a democratic election; 

Whereas immediately following the election of President-elect 

Are ́valo on August 20, 2023, Guatemala’s Public Ministry, led by Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras 

Argueta, who has been designated for visa restrictions by 

the United States Government for significant corrupt and 

undemocratic activities, initiated a series of efforts to undermine President-elect Are ́valo’s inauguration, which is 

scheduled to take place on January 14, 2024, including— 

(1) a raid on the facilities of the TSE Citizen Registry and the Operations Center of the Electoral Process 

(COPE) on September 12, 2023, during which Public 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•SRES 518 IS 

Ministry officials opened ballot boxes in violation of Guatemala’s Electoral and Political Party Law; 

(2) a formal request on September 27, 2023, by the 

Public Ministry to the Supreme Court (CSJ) to remove 

the immunity of the 5 magistrates of the TSE; 

(3) an order from the Public Ministry on November 

15, 2023, which instructs the TSE to surrender registration documents for the Movimiento Semilla party and 

President-elect Are ́valo, immediately followed by a press 

conference on November 16, 2023, at which the Public 

Ministry announced that it intended to seek the removal 

of immunity against President-elect Are ́valo, Vice President-elect Herrera, and Congressman Samuel Perez, who 

is also a member of the Movimiento Semilla party; and 

(4) a decision by the Public Ministry on December 

8, 2023 to issue arrest warrants against two members of 

the TSE and a simultaneous announcement that the 

2023 presidential elections should be annulled; 

Whereas the November 30 vote of Guatemala’s current governing coalition in Congress to remove the immunity of 

four TSE magistrates demonstrates that the Public Ministry has largely been supported by the political establishment in Guatemala; 

Whereas the actions of the Public Ministry follow a trend in 

which the Public Ministry has intimidated, threatened, 

forced into exile, and in some cases imprisoned dozens of 

judges, prosecutors, civil society actors, and independent 

journalists who have worked to root out corruption in 

Guatemala, including anti-corruption prosecutor Virginia 

Laparra and journalist Jose ́ Rube ́n Zamora, who were 

sentenced, respectively, to four and six years; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•SRES 518 IS 

Whereas, since October 1, 2023, Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala, who comprise nearly 42 percent of the population 

of Guatemala, have led protests against the Public Ministry’s actions, which demonstrates citizen organizing in 

support of a peaceful transfer of power; 

Whereas the Organization of American States, the European 

Union, the United Nations, the Department of State, and 

the governments of many European and Latin American 

countries have released public statements condemning the 

Public Ministry’s efforts to annul the 2023 presidential 

elections and prevent President-elect Are ́valo from assuming office on January 14, 2024; and 

Whereas the Constitutional Court of Guatemala ruled, on December 14, 2023, that Guatemala’s Congress must take 

steps to ensure that every elected official in the 2023 

electoral process, including President-elect Bernardo 

Are ́valo, must be allowed to take office on January 14, 

2024: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) applauds the will of the Guatemalan people 

3 to participate in a free and fair presidential election 

4 on August 20, 2023, as certified by the European 

5 Union and Organization of American States elec6 toral observation missions; 

7 (2) reaffirms the interest of the United States 

8 to maintain mutually beneficial relations with the 

9 people of Guatemala and their national government, 

10 based on shared interests of security, prosperity, and 

11 democratic values; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•SRES 518 IS 

1 (3) reaffirms that the bilateral relationship be2 tween the United States and Guatemala is strength3 ened through shared policies, such as— 

4 (A) efforts to prevent irregular migration; 

5 (B) good governance, improved citizen se6 curity, and poverty reduction; and 

7 (C) support for Taiwan, and for Ukraine’s 

8 independence from Russia; 

9 (4) looks forward to working with the incoming 

10 Are ́valo government to build a safer, democratic, and 

11 more prosperous region; 

12 (5) expresses deep concerns for the undemo13 cratic actions of Guatemala’s Attorney General and 

14 Public Ministry, in coordination with the current 

15 governing coalition, to maintain power by under16 mining free, fair, and democratic elections, the rule 

17 of law, and basic democratic principles; 

18 (6) urges the Government of Guatemala— 

19 (A) to immediately repudiate the attacks of 

20 the Attorney General and the Public Ministry 

21 on President-elect Are ́valo and members of his 

22 political coalition; 

23 (B) to commute the sentences of Jose ́

24 Rube ́n Zamora and Virginia Laparra and end 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•SRES 518 IS 

1 intimidation and threats against all other actors 

2 working to reduce corruption in Guatemala; and 

3 (C) to prioritize and work actively to en4 sure for a peaceful transfer of power and inau5 guration of President-elect Are ́valo on January 

6 14, 2024; and 

7 (7) calls on the Department of State, the De8 partment of the Treasury, and the United States 

9 Agency for International Development to prepare for 

10 the possibility that a peaceful transition of power 

11 does not occur on January 14, 2023, including by— 

12 (A) preparing to reassess all elements of 

13 United States foreign assistance and bilateral 

14 cooperation with the Government of Guatemala; 

15 (B) conducting an evaluation of all diplo16 matic and economic tools, including sanctions, 

17 that can be used to hold accountable Guate18 malan public officials, private sector actors, and 

19 others who have planned, supported, or under20 taken efforts to prevent the peaceful transition 

21 of power in Guatemala; and 

22 (C) working with the Organization of 

23 American States, the European Union, and the 

24 United Nations to reevaluate Guatemala’s 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•SRES 518 IS 

1 standing in institutions that require their mem2 bers to adhere to basic democratic principles. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB