I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2716 

To suspend certain United States assistance for the Government of Honduras 

until corruption, impunity, and human rights violations are no longer 

systemic, and the perpetrators of these crimes are being brought to 

justice. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2021 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. CASTRO of 

Texas, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. OMAR, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, 

Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. 

POCAN, Ms. PORTER, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. RUSH, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. VARGAS, 

Mr. WELCH, Ms. SCANLON, and Ms. PRESSLEY) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, 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 suspend certain United States assistance for the Government of Honduras until corruption, impunity, and human 

rights violations are no longer systemic, and the perpetrators of these crimes are being brought to justice. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Honduras Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Act of 

4 2021’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Police or military of the Republic of Honduras defined. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 5. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

Sec. 6. Imposition of sanctions with respect to the president of Honduras. 

Sec. 7. Prohibition on commercial export of covered defense articles and services and covered munitions items to the Honduran police or 

military. 

Sec. 8. Suspension and restrictions of security assistance extended to the Republic of Honduras unless certain conditions are met. 

Sec. 9. Sunset. 

7 SEC. 2. POLICE OR MILITARY OF THE REPUBLIC OF HON8 DURAS DEFINED. 

9 In this Act, the term ‘‘police or military of the Repub10 lic of Honduras’’ means— 

11 (1) the Honduran National Police; 

12 (2) the Honduran Armed Forces; 

13 (3) the Military Police of Public Order of the 

14 Republic of Honduras; or 

15 (4) para-police or paramilitary elements, acting 

16 under color of law or having received financing, 

17 training, orders, intelligence, weapons, or other 

18 forms of material assistance from the forces identi19 fied in paragraphs (1) through (3). 


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1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Since the 2009 military coup, the Republic 

4 of Honduras remains plagued by systemic corruption 

5 and human rights violations, exemplified by— 

6 (A) widespread collusion among govern7 ment officials, state and private security forces, 

8 organized crime, and members of the private 

9 sector, including in the knowledge and perpetra10 tion of physical and legal threats, assassina11 tions, forced disappearances, and other abuses 

12 against human rights and environmental de13 fenders, members of the political opposition, 

14 journalists, and others; 

15 (B) the excessive use of force by members 

16 of the police or military of the Republic of Hon17 duras, particularly in the context of civil society 

18 protests; 

19 (C) the failure of the Government of Hon20 duras to protect the rights, interests, and phys21 ical security of indigenous peoples in land and 

22 natural resources disputes, in contravention of 

23 its obligations under the Honduran constitution 

24 and under international treaties to which it is 

25 a state party; and 


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1 (D) the failure of the Government of Hon2 duras to enforce the Honduran Labor Code in 

3 violation of its obligations under International 

4 Labor Organization Conventions, which the 

5 Government of Honduras has ratified, guaran6 teeing freedom of association, the right to col7 lective bargaining, and other fundamental labor 

8 protections. 

9 (2) There is substantial evidence that President 

10 of Honduras Juan Orlando Herna ́ndez has engaged 

11 in a pattern of criminal activity and use of the state 

12 apparatus to protect and facilitate drug trafficking, 

13 as exemplified by three high-profile corruption and 

14 drug trafficking cases that were tried or are being 

15 prosecuted in the United States District Court for 

16 the Southern District of New York, in which the 

17 President of Honduras was named as a co-con18 spirator, including the following: 

19 (A) The October 2019 conviction of the 

20 President of Honduras’s brother Juan Antonio 

21 Herna ́ndez, in which Federal prosecutors and 

22 multiple witnesses testified that the President 

23 of Honduras received $1,500,000 in drug pro24 ceeds that were funneled toward his successful 

25 2013 presidential campaign, and that organized 


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1 crime had infiltrated the Honduran National 

2 Police and National Party. 

3 (B) The March 2020 indictment of 

4 Geovanny Daniel Fuentes, a drug trafficker, in 

5 which Federal prosecutors alleged that the 

6 President of Honduras accepted $25,000 in 

7 bribes in exchange for protecting the defendant 

8 from law enforcement intervention against his 

9 cocaine trafficking activities and facilitated the 

10 use of Honduran military personnel as security 

11 for the defendant’s drug trafficking operations. 

12 On February 5, 2021, Federal prosecutors filed 

13 a court document stating that the President of 

14 Honduras was under investigation in connection 

15 with the case. 

16 (C) The April 2020 indictment of former 

17 National Director of Police Juan Carlos ‘‘El 

18 Tigre’’ Bonilla, in which Federal prosecutors al19 leged that the President of Honduras accepted 

20 bribes from drug traffickers, facilitated multi21 ton shipments of cocaine bound for the United 

22 States, and entrusted the defendant with spe23 cial assignments, including murder. 


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1 (3) The President of Honduras has also dem2 onstrated a track record of contempt for the rule of 

3 law, exhibited by— 

4 (A) his support for the 2009 military coup, 

5 repudiated as unlawful by the United Nations, 

6 the Organization of American States, the Euro7 pean Union, and numerous foreign govern8 ments, while a member of Congress; 

9 (B) his support for a 2012 congressional 

10 measure, widely viewed as illegal, to replace 

11 four Supreme Court justices while the leader of 

12 Congress; and 

13 (C) his 2017 candidacy for a second presi14 dential term, in violation of the Honduran con15 stitution’s longstanding prohibition on presi16 dential reelection, which in 2015 was nullified 

17 in a ruling by the justices referred to in sub18 paragraph (B). 

19 (4) In recent months, the executive and legisla20 tive branches of the Government of Honduras have 

21 taken significant steps to entrench corruption, block 

22 oversight by national prosecutors and international 

23 investigators, and shield senior officials and parlia24 mentarians from criminal liability, including the fol25 lowing actions: 


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1 (A) On January 19, 2020, the Government 

2 of Honduras announced the closing of the Mis3 sion of Support against Corruption and Impu4 nity in Honduras (MACCIH), the anti-corrup5 tion mechanism established in 2015 by the Or6 ganization of American States and the Govern7 ment of Honduras. MACCIH brought 14 cor8 ruption-related cases against dozens of high9 profile criminal defendants and oversaw the cre10 ation of an anti-corruption judicial circuit and 

11 special prosecutor’s unit that was disbanded fol12 lowing the mission’s closure. 

13 (B) On June 25, 2020, the Government of 

14 Honduras enacted a new penal code that re15 duced prison terms for corruption-related 

16 crimes, including embezzlement, illicit enrich17 ment, obstruction of justice, and fraud. The 

18 measure is retroactive, benefitting Honduran 

19 officials already convicted or facing prosecution. 

20 (C) On October 16, 2019, the National 

21 Congress of Honduras passed a law that re22 stored immunity to all parliamentarians for 

23 crimes related to legislative activities and a law 

24 that blocked the Attorney General’s office from 


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1 investigating cases involving the improper use 

2 of state funds for up to 7 years. 

3 (5) These recent measures follow a longer pat4 tern of congressional decrees of amnesty or immu5 nity for crimes perpetrated by authorities in Hon6 duras, including for those committed during the 

7 2009 coup and its aftermath, those perpetrated by 

8 state security forces, and those involving the misuse 

9 of public funds by former and current legislators, 

10 contributing to a climate of impunity. 

11 (6) Space for civil society to operate in the Re12 public of Honduras remains severely constrained, 

13 with rights activists and journalists subject to acute 

14 levels of violence, surveillance, harassment, and in15 timidation. The Republic of Honduras ranks as the 

16 deadliest country in the world for human rights and 

17 environmental defenders on a per capita basis and 

18 third in the number of assassinations, with 31 de19 fenders killed in 2019 and 204 defenders killed since 

20 2009. 

21 (7) The 2019 United States Department of 

22 State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 

23 international human rights bodies, and numerous 

24 monitoring groups have reported that the Honduran 

25 police and military commit human rights violations 


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1 with impunity, including unlawful killings, torture, 

2 and the use of unnecessary force and lethal weapons 

3 against protestors and civilian bystanders. Individ4 uals with documented records of human rights viola5 tions and links to drug trafficking continue to serve 

6 in high-ranking positions within the Honduran police 

7 and military, and few of the alleged cases of human 

8 rights abuses perpetrated by police and military per9 sonnel are prosecuted or tried in court. 

10 (8) The Office of the United Nations High 

11 Commissioner for Human Rights and the Inter12 American Commission on Human Rights have docu13 mented the use of arbitrary detentions, forced dis14 appearances, and specious judicial proceedings to 

15 criminalize indigenous and human rights activists, 

16 environmental defenders, journalists, opposition poli17 ticians, and others, including— 

18 (A) members of the Tocoa Municipal Com19 mittee for the Defense of Common and Public 

20 Assets, who since September 2019 have been 

21 detained pending trial following their protest of 

22 an illegal mining concession affecting the 

23 Guapinol and San Pedro rivers; 

24 (B) four Afro-indigenous Garı ́funa land de25 fenders, who on July 18, 2020, were abducted 


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1 from their homes and reportedly forced into un2 marked vehicles at gunpoint by armed men in 

3 police uniforms without a warrant and remain 

4 forcibly disappeared; and 

5 (C) opposition lawmaker Marı ́a Luisa 

6 Borjas, who on July 21, 2020, was convicted of 

7 defamation and sentenced to nearly three years 

8 in prison for naming Ficohsa bank president 

9 Camilo Atala as an intellectual author of the 

10 2016 assassination of environmental and indige11 nous rights activist Berta Ca ́ceres. 

12 (9) The vilification and criminalization of civil 

13 society actors and human rights defenders by Hon14 duran authorities has continued unabated under the 

15 cover of COVID–19 pandemic response. On March 

16 16, 2020, the Government of Honduras first notified 

17 the Organization of American States of its deroga18 tion from treaty obligations under the American 

19 Convention on Human Rights and has since sus20 pended nine constitutional guarantees, including the 

21 rights to freedom of assembly and expression, the 

22 latter of which was restored after international out23 cry. At least 34,000 citizens have been detained for 

24 violating curfew and lockdown restrictions, and jour25 nalists and human rights defenders have been imVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2716.IH H2716

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1 peded in their efforts to report on and expose human 

2 rights abuses during the pandemic. 

3 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) systemic corruption, impunity, and human 

6 rights violations by national government officials, 

7 private citizens, and members of the police and mili8 tary of the Republic of Honduras deplete public re9 sources and fuel widespread impoverishment, citizen 

10 insecurity, and forced displacement; 

11 (2) the President should impose sanctions on 

12 President of Honduras Juan Orlando Herna ́ndez for 

13 acts of significant corruption and human rights vio14 lations and determine under the Foreign Narcotics 

15 Kingpin Sanctions Regulations under part 598 of 

16 title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, whether the 

17 President of Honduras is a specially designated nar18 cotics trafficker; 

19 (3) the President and Secretary of State should 

20 seek to ensure that security assistance from the 

21 United States and exports of munitions by United 

22 States entities are not complicit in human rights 

23 abuses perpetrated by the police and military of the 

24 Government of Honduras, or misused to impede 

25 peaceful protestors, human rights and environmental 


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1 defenders, and others from exercising the right to 

2 freedom of expression, association, or assembly; 

3 (4) the Government of Honduras should imme4 diately initiate discussions with the United Nations 

5 to negotiate the mandate for a new, independent 

6 mechanism to combat corruption and impunity with 

7 a mission comparable to that of MACCIH, equipped 

8 with— 

9 (A) the authority to initiate cases, in co10 ordination with the Specialized Prosecutor’s 

11 Unit against Networks of Corruption 

12 (UFERCO), against any citizen of the Republic 

13 of Honduras, irrespective of their office, rank, 

14 position, or title; 

15 (B) the unimpeded authority to inves16 tigate, including the authority to subpoena doc17 uments, interview witnesses and suspects, and 

18 conduct surveillance; 

19 (C) the ability to propose laws, constitu20 tional amendments, and regulatory changes to 

21 the Attorney General’s office and other institu22 tions within the justice sector that are assured 

23 expeditious consideration and debate by the Na24 tional Congress; and 


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1 (D) the requirement to conduct regular 

2 and transparent consultations with a broad 

3 range of civil society members with the goal of 

4 promoting the mandate’s successful implemen5 tation; 

6 (5) the Government of Honduras should con7 tinue to pursue MACCIH’s ongoing anti-corruption 

8 cases and adopt legal and institutional reforms to 

9 strengthen judicial independence and protect human 

10 rights recommended by MACCIH, the Office of the 

11 United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

12 Rights, and UFERCO; 

13 (6) the United States should support credible 

14 national and international efforts to combat corrup15 tion and human rights violations in the Republic of 

16 Honduras, including UFERCO, the Office of the 

17 United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

18 Rights, and organizations working to defend human 

19 rights and expose and prevent corruption, with the 

20 necessary resources for holding private and govern21 ment actors accountable under the law and sup22 porting independent monitoring by a free press and 

23 civil society, provided that they demonstrate suffi24 cient political autonomy and willingness to prosecute 


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1 high-level cases, including against senior officials 

2 and legislators of the Republic of Honduras; and 

3 (7) the Secretary of State should develop, in 

4 consultation with a broad range of representatives of 

5 civil society and human rights organizations in Hon6 duras, as appropriate, comprehensive and specific 

7 guidelines to use United States diplomacy and as8 sistance to protect human rights and environmental 

9 defenders in the Republic of Honduras from phys10 ical, legal, or financial reprisals and threats, includ11 ing by government, police, and military officials or 

12 their associates. 

13 SEC. 5. OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMIS14 SIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. 

15 In addition to amounts otherwise appropriated for 

16 such purposes, there is authorized to be appropriated 

17 $2,000,000 in voluntary contributions to support the work 

18 of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner 

19 for Human Rights in Honduras to monitor and document 

20 human rights violations, issue public reports and rec21 ommendations, and promote international human rights 

22 standards. 


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1 SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE 

2 PRESIDENT OF HONDURAS. 

3 (a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—Not later than 180 

4 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi5 dent shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) 

6 with respect to the President of Honduras, Juan Orlando 

7 Herna ́ndez. 

8 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de9 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

10 (1) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President shall ex11 ercise all of the powers granted to the President 

12 under the International Emergency Economic Pow13 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent nec14 essary to block and prohibit all transactions in prop15 erty and interests in property of Juan Orlando 

16 Herna ́ndez if such property and interests in property 

17 are in the United States, come within the United 

18 States, or are or come within the possession or con19 trol of a United States person. 

20 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR

21 PAROLE.— 

22 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—Juan 

23 Orlando Herna ́ndez is— 

24 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 


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1 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

2 documentation to enter the United States; 

3 and 

4 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

5 or paroled into the United States or to re6 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra7 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

8 seq.). 

9 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—Juan Orlando 

11 Herna ́ndez is subject to revocation of any 

12 visa or other entry documentation regard13 less of when the visa or other entry docu14 mentation is or was issued. 

15 (ii) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revoca16 tion under clause (i) shall— 

17 (I) take effect immediately; and 

18 (II) cancel any other valid visa or 

19 entry documentation that is in Juan 

20 Orlando Herna ́ndez’s possession. 

21 (c) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

22 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex23 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 

24 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 


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1 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to the ex2 tent necessary to carry out this section. 

3 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at4 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

5 violation of subsection (b)(1), or any regulation, li6 cense, or order issued to carry out that subsection, 

7 shall be subject to the penalties set forth in sub8 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter9 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

10 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that 

11 commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) 

12 of that section. 

13 (d) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica14 tion of sanctions under this section if the President deter15 mines and certifies to the appropriate congressional com16 mittees that such a waiver is important to the national 

17 interest of the United States. 

18 (e) EXCEPTIONS.— 

19 (1) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER20 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS AND FOR LAW ENFORCE21 MENT ACTIVITIES.—Sanctions under subsection 

22 (b)(2) shall not apply if admitting or paroling Juan 

23 Orlando Herna ́ndez into the United States is nec24 essary— 


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1 (A) to permit the United States to comply 

2 with the Agreement regarding the Head3 quarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 

4 Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 

5 November 21, 1947, between the United Na6 tions and the United States, or other applicable 

7 international obligations; or 

8 (B) to carry out or assist law enforcement 

9 activity in the United States. 

10 (2) EXCEPTION RELATING TO THE IMPORTA11 TION OF GOODS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and re13 quirements to impose sanctions authorized 

14 under this section shall not include the author15 ity or a requirement to impose sanctions on the 

16 importation of goods. 

17 (B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 

18 the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 

19 manmade substance, material, supply, or manu20 factured product, including inspection and test 

21 equipment, and excluding technical data. 

22 (f) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The President 

23 may terminate the application of sanctions under this sec24 tion if the President determines and reports to the approVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2716.IH H2716

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1 priate congressional committees not later than 15 days be2 fore the termination takes effect that— 

3 (1) credible information exists that Juan Or4 lando Herna ́ndez did not engage in the activity for 

5 which sanctions were imposed; 

6 (2) Juan Orlando Herna ́ndez has been pros7 ecuted appropriately for the activity for which sanc8 tions were imposed; or 

9 (3) Juan Orlando Herna ́ndez has credibly dem10 onstrated a significant change in behavior, has paid 

11 an appropriate consequence for the activity for 

12 which sanctions were imposed, and has credibly com13 mitted to not engage in an activity for which the 

14 sanctions were imposed in the future. 

15 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED.—The terms ‘‘ad17 mission’’ and ‘‘admitted’’ have the meanings given 

18 those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and 

19 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

20 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT21 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com22 mittees’’ means— 

23 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

24 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

25 Urban Affairs of the Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

2 the Committee on Financial Services of the 

3 House of Representatives. 

4 (3) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

5 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

6 (A) an individual who is a United States 

7 citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for perma8 nent residence to the United States; 

9 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

10 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

11 United States, including a foreign branch of 

12 such an entity; or 

13 (C) any person in the United States. 

14 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON COMMERCIAL EXPORT OF COV15 ERED DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERVICES 

16 AND COVERED MUNITIONS ITEMS TO THE 

17 HONDURAN POLICE OR MILITARY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall pro20 hibit the issuance of licenses to export covered defense ar21 ticles and services and covered munitions items to the po22 lice or military of the Republic of Honduras. 

23 (b) TERMINATION.—The prohibition under sub24 section (a) shall terminate on the date on which the Presi25 dent determines and reports to the appropriate congresVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2716.IH H2716

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1 sional committees that the police or military of the Repub2 lic of Honduras have not engaged in gross violations dur3 ing the one-year period ending on the date of such deter4 mination. 

5 (c) WAIVER.—The prohibition under subsection (a) 

6 shall not apply to the issuance of a license with respect 

7 to which the President submits to the appropriate congres8 sional committees a written certification that the exports 

9 to be covered by such license are important to the national 

10 interests and foreign policy goals of the United States, in11 cluding a description of the manner in which such exports 

12 will promote such interests and goals. 

13 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT15 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com16 mittees’’ means— 

17 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

18 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

19 Senate; and 

20 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

21 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

22 of Representatives. 

23 (2) COVERED DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERV24 ICES.—The term ‘‘covered defense articles and serv25 ices’’ means defense articles and defense services 


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1 designated by the President under section 38(a)(1) 

2 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

3 2778(a)(1)). 

4 (3) COVERED MUNITIONS ITEMS.—The term 

5 ‘‘covered munitions items’’ means tear gas, pepper 

6 spray, rubber bullets, foam rounds, bean bag rounds, 

7 pepper balls, water cannons, handcuffs, shackles, 

8 stun guns, tasers, semi-automatic firearms, and 

9 their associated munitions not included in the defini10 tion under paragraph (2). 

11 SEC. 8. SUSPENSION AND RESTRICTIONS OF SECURITY AS12 SISTANCE EXTENDED TO THE REPUBLIC OF 

13 HONDURAS UNLESS CERTAIN CONDITIONS 

14 ARE MET. 

15 (a) SUSPENSION OF SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—No as16 sistance may be made available for the police or military 

17 of the Republic of Honduras, including assistance for 

18 equipment and training. 

19 (b) LOANS FROM MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT

20 BANKS AND THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL DE21 VELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION.—The Secretary of 

22 the Treasury shall— 

23 (1) instruct United States representatives at 

24 multilateral development banks to use their voice 


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1 and vote to oppose any loans for the police or mili2 tary of the Republic of Honduras; and 

3 (2) instruct the United States Executive Direc4 tor of each international financial institution and the 

5 Chief Executive Officer of the United States Inter6 national Development Finance Corporation to pro7 mote human rights due diligence and risk manage8 ment in connection with any loan, grant, policy, or 

9 strategy related to the Republic of Honduras, in ac10 cordance with the criteria specified in subsection 

11 7029(d) of the Department of State, Foreign Oper12 ations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 

13 2020 (division G of Public Law 116–94; 133 Stat. 

14 2863) and accompanying report. 

15 (c) CONDITIONS FOR LIFTING SUSPENSIONS AND

16 RESTRICTIONS.—The provisions of this section shall ter17 minate on the date on which the Secretary of State deter18 mines and reports to the Committees on Foreign Relations 

19 and Appropriations of the Senate and the Committees on 

20 Foreign Affairs and Appropriations of the House of Rep21 resentatives that the Government of Honduras has— 

22 (1) pursued all legal avenues to bring to trial 

23 and obtain a verdict of all those who ordered, carried 

24 out, and covered up— 


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1 (A) the March 2, 2016, murder of Berta 

2 Ca ́ceres; 

3 (B) the killings of over 100 small-farmer 

4 activists in the Agua ́n Valley; 

5 (C) the killings of 22 people and forced 

6 disappearance of 1 person by state security 

7 forces in the context of the 2017 post-electoral 

8 crisis; 

9 (D) the killings of at least 6 people by 

10 state security forces in the context of anti-gov11 ernment demonstrations between March and 

12 July of 2019; 

13 (E) the killings of at least 21 journalists 

14 and media workers between October 2016 and 

15 July 2020; 

16 (F) the July 18, 2020, forced disappear17 ances of 4 Garı ́funa community leaders from 

18 Triunfo de la Cruz; and 

19 (G) the December 26, 2020, killing of in20 digenous Lenca leader and environmental activ21 ist Fe ́lix Va ́squez at his home in La Paz, and 

22 the December 29, 2020, killing of indigenous 

23 Tolupan leader and environmental activist Adan 

24 Mejı ́a in Yoro; 


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1 (2) investigated and successfully prosecuted 

2 members of military and police forces who are 

3 credibly found to have violated human rights and en4 sured that the military and police cooperated in such 

5 cases, and that such violations have ceased; 

6 (3) withdrawn the military from domestic polic7 ing and ensured that all domestic police functions 

8 are separated from the command and control of the 

9 Armed Forces of Honduras and are instead directly 

10 responsible to civilian authority; 

11 (4) established that it protects effectively the 

12 rights of trade unionists, journalists, small farmers, 

13 human rights and environmental defenders, indige14 nous and Afro-indigenous community members and 

15 rights activists, women’s and LGBTQI rights activ16 ists, critics of the government, and other members of 

17 civil society to operate without interference or re18 pression; and 

19 (5) taken effective steps to establish the rule of 

20 law and to guarantee a judicial system that is capa21 ble of investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to jus22 tice members of the police and military who have 

23 committed human rights abuses. 


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26 

•HR 2716 IH

1 SEC. 9. SUNSET. 

2 This Act shall terminate on the date that is 5 years 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS