I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7314 
To combat corruption and money laundering in Guatemala. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 13, 2018 
Mrs. TORRES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judi-
ciary, 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 combat corruption and money laundering in Guatemala. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guatemala Rule of 
Law Accountability Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
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(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate. 
(2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per-
son’’ means a person that is not a United States 
person. 
(3) GRAND
CORRUPTION.—The term ‘‘grand 
corruption’’ means public corruption committed at a 
high level of government that— 
(A) distorts policies or the central func-
tioning of the country; and 
(B) enables leaders to benefit at the ex-
pense of the public good. 
(4) 
UNITED
STATES
PERSON.—The 
term 
‘‘United States person’’ means— 
(A) a natural person who is a citizen or 
resident of the United States or a national of 
the United States (as defined in section 101(a) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101(a)); and 
(B) an entity that is organized under the 
laws of the United States or any State. 
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SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Department of State’s 2018 Inter-
national Narcotics Control Strategy Report stated 
that, in Guatemala, ‘‘widespread corruption per-
meates public and private institutions and exacer-
bates the country’s security, governmental, and eco-
nomic challenges’’. 
(2) The same report, discussing money laun-
dering in Guatemala, noted that ‘‘[d]rug trafficking 
is a major source of illicit funds. Other sources in-
clude corruption, extortion, human trafficking, com-
merce of other illicit goods, and tax evasion. Money 
is laundered primarily through real estate, ranching, 
and the gaming industry. It is also laundered 
through a series of small transactions below the U.S. 
$10,000 reporting requirement, either in small 
banks along the Guatemala-Mexico border, or by 
travelers carrying cash to other countries’’. 
(3) On August 10, 2018, Guatemala’s Attorney 
General filed a request before the Supreme Court of 
Guatemala to remove the immunity of Guatemala’s 
President, Jimmy Morales, so that he could be 
charged for the crime of illicit financing, based on 
investigations carried out jointly by the Office of the 
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Attorney General and the International Commission 
against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). 
(4) On August 31, 2018, the United States 
Embassy in Guatemala issued a press release stating 
that ‘‘Since 2013 the United States Government has 
donated 148 Jeep J8 vehicles to the Government of 
Guatemala. These vehicles were donated for law en-
forcement use by the Interagency Task Forces 
Tecun Uman, Chorti, and Xinca for the purpose of 
combatting criminal activity and narcotics traf-
ficking, with a focus on Guatemala’s borders. Sev-
eral of these vehicles were recently observed in Gua-
temala City, including in close proximity to CICIG’s 
headquarters and the United States Embassy. The 
United States is monitoring closely that all equip-
ment donated for law enforcement activity in Guate-
mala is used appropriately and in accordance with 
existing agreements.’’. 
(5) On the same date, Guatemala’s President, 
Jimmy Morales, appeared at a press conference to 
announce that he would not renew the mandate of 
CICIG, which expires in 2019, or the visa of its 
commissioner, Ivan Velasquez, which was set to ex-
pire on September 18, 2018. 
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(6) On September 4, 2018, the Government of 
Guatemala issued a statement to the effect that Ivan 
Velasquez, who was on travel at the time, was not 
permitted to reenter the country. 
(7) On September 17, 2018, Guatemala’s For-
eign Minister, Sandra Jovel, and Minister of the In-
terior, Enrique Degenhart, made public statements 
indicating that the Government of Guatemala in-
tended to ignore an order from the Guatemalan Con-
stitutional Court, that the government must allow 
the CICIG commissioner to enter the country. 
SEC. 4. SANCTIONS AGAINST FOREIGN PERSONS THAT EN-
GAGE IN CORRUPTION AND OTHER ACTIVI-
TIES IN GUATEMALA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall im-
pose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect 
to any foreign person who is a current or former official 
of the Government of Guatemala, or any foreign person 
acting on behalf of or in cooperation with an official of 
that government, that has knowingly— 
(1) committed or facilitated acts of grand cor-
ruption, money laundering, narcotics trafficking, or 
financing political campaigns with the proceeds of 
narcotics trafficking; 
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(2) obstructed investigations or prosecutions of 
grand corruption carried out by Guatemalan public 
prosecutors; 
(3) misused equipment provided by the Sec-
retary of State or the Secretary of Defense to the 
Guatemalan military or national civilian police for 
the purpose of combating drug trafficking or secur-
ing Guatemala’s border; 
(4) disobeyed rulings of the Guatemalan Con-
stitutional Court; or 
(5) impeded or interfered with the work of any 
United States Government agency or any institution 
receiving contributions from the United States Gov-
ernment, including the International Commission 
against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). 
(b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions described in 
this subsection are the following: 
(A) ASSET BLOCKING.—The exercise of all 
powers granted to the President by the Inter-
national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to 
block and prohibit all transactions in all prop-
erty and interests in property of a person deter-
mined by the President to be subject to sub-
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section (a) if such property and interests in 
property are in the United States, come within 
the United States, or are or come within the 
possession or control of a United States person. 
(B) 
EXCLUSION
FROM
THE
UNITED 
STATES AND REVOCATION OF VISA OR OTHER 
DOCUMENTATION.—In the case of an alien de-
termined by the President to be subject to sub-
section (a), denial of a visa to, and exclusion 
from the United States of, the alien, and rev-
ocation in accordance with section 221(i) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1201(i)), of any visa or other documentation of 
the alien. 
(2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at-
tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 
violation of paragraph (1)(A) or any regulation, li-
cense, or order issued to carry out paragraph (1)(A) 
shall be subject to the penalties set forth in sub-
sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter-
national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that 
commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) 
of that section. 
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(3) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 
GOODS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The requirement to 
block and prohibit all transactions in all prop-
erty and interests in property under paragraph 
(1)(A) shall not include the authority to impose 
sanctions on the importation of goods. 
(B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 
term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or man- 
made substance, material, supply or manufac-
tured product, including inspection and test 
equipment, and excluding technical data. 
(4) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA-
TIONS
HEADQUARTERS
AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 
under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to an alien 
if admitting the alien into the United States is nec-
essary to permit the United States to comply with 
the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 
United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 
1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, 
between the United Nations and the United States, 
or other applicable international obligations. 
(c) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President shall 
issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are nec-
essary to carry out this section. 
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(d) TERMINATION.—This section shall terminate on 
the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF EQUIPMENT TRANS-
FER TO SECURITY FORCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 
in coordination with the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development and the Sec-
retary of Defense, as appropriate, shall issue regulations 
requiring the inclusion of appropriate clauses for any new 
foreign assistance contracts, grants, and cooperative 
agreements covering the transfer of equipment to the Gua-
temalan military or national civilian police, to ensure that 
any United States equipment that is provided to the Gov-
ernment of Guatemala may be recovered if such equipment 
is used for purposes other than those for which it was pro-
vided. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS AND WAIVER.— 
(1) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not 
apply to humanitarian assistance, disaster assist-
ance, or assistance to combat corruption. 
(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary of State or the 
Secretary of Defense, on a case by case basis, may 
waive the requirement under subsection (a) if the 
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Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defense cer-
tifies to the appropriate congressional committees 
that such waiver is important to the national secu-
rity interests of the United States. 
Æ 
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