Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the fight against corruption in Central America.

Whereas according to Transparency International’s 2016 Corruption Perception Index, the citizens of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Panama perceive high levels of government corruption; Whereas widespread corruption in Central America weakens citizens’ faith in public institutions, limits government capacity to advance development goals, and allows drug traffickers and other criminals to thrive; Whereas the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) was created at the request of the Guatemalan Government in 2007, and has strengthened the capacity of Guatemalan institutions, especially the Office of the Attorney General, to combat corruption; Whereas the Office of the Attorney General of Guatemala, under the leadership of Thelma Aldana, and CICIG, under the leadership of Iván Velásquez, have recently collaborated to investigate and prosecute a series of corruption cases involving high-level government officials, demonstrating that it is possible for governments in Central America to confront entrenched corruption, and that no one is above the law; Whereas the Attorney General of El Salvador, Douglas Meléndez, has made significant progress in tackling corruption at the highest levels; Whereas after thousands of Hondurans joined street protests against corruption and in favor of an International Commission against Impunity in Honduras, the Honduran Government reached an agreement with the Organization of American States to create the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH); Whereas MACCIH, under the leadership of Juan Jiménez, has begun to assist the Office of the Attorney General of Honduras, under the leadership of Oscar Chinchilla, with the investigation into the more than $300,000,000 that was embezzled from the Institute of Social Security; and Whereas the leadership of CICIG and MACCIH and the attorneys general of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador have faced significant challenges, including credible threats against their lives, attempts to publicly discredit their work, or efforts to remove them from their posts: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives, that— (1) combating corruption in the Northern Triangle must remain a top policy priority for the United States in Central America; (2) the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) are important contributions to this effort; (3) the Government of Guatemala is urged to continue to cooperate with CICIG and the Government of Honduras is urged to continue to cooperate with MACCIH; and (4) the Governments of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador are urged to— (A) publicly support efforts to fight corruption; (B) respect the independence of the judicial branch and the Office of the Attorney General; and (C) ensure that the Office of the Attorney General in each Northern Triangle country receives sufficient domestic budget allocations to carry out their core responsibilities and that budgeted funds are delivered in a timely manner.

Summary: Declares that combating corruption in the Northern Triangle must remain a top policy priority for the United States in Central America. The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) are important contributions to such effort. Urges the government of Guatemala to continue to cooperate with CICIG and the government of Honduras to continue to cooperate with MACCIH. Urges the governments of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to: publicly support efforts to fight corruption, respect the independence of the judicial branch and the Office of the Attorney General, and ensure that such office in each Northern Triangle country receives sufficient domestic budget allocations in a timely manner to carry out core responsibilities.