IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1481 
Urging United States policy toward Guatemala to support the rule of law 
and address challenges of kleptocracy, organized crime, private and public 
sector corruption, illicit campaign financing, criminalization of and at-
tacks on justice operators, journalists, and human rights defenders, and 
restrictions resulting in the closure of civic space. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 16, 2022 
Mrs. TORRES of California (for herself, Mr. SIRES, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, and Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois) submitted the following resolu-
tion; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in ad-
dition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, 
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 
RESOLUTION 
Urging United States policy toward Guatemala to support 
the rule of law and address challenges of kleptocracy, 
organized crime, private and public sector corruption, 
illicit campaign financing, criminalization of and attacks 
on justice operators, journalists, and human rights de-
fenders, and restrictions resulting in the closure of civic 
space. 
Whereas in the June 2021 United States Strategy on Coun-
tering Corruption, President Joe Biden stated that ‘‘Cor-
ruption threatens United States national security, eco-
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•HRES 1481 IH 
nomic equity, global anti-poverty and development efforts, 
and democracy itself’’; 
Whereas, according to the Department of State report for 
2021 on Human Rights Conditions in Guatemala, cor-
ruption and impunity continue to be serious problems in 
Guatemala, asserting that ‘‘prominent anticorruption 
prosecutors were fired or removed from significant cases, 
and corrupt actors threatened independent judges by fil-
ing complaints based on spurious charges to strip them 
of immunity to prosecution’’; 
Whereas the Department of State included Guatemalan At-
torney General Maria Consuelo Porras on the Undemo-
cratic and Corrupt Actors list released September 20, 
2021, due to her ‘‘involvement in significant corruption’’ 
and pattern of obstructing justice, including by report-
edly ‘‘ordering prosecutors in Guatemala’s Public Min-
istry to ignore cases based on political considerations and 
firing prosecutors who investigate cases involving acts of 
corruption’’; 
Whereas, on May 16, 2022, after President Alejandro 
Giammattei reappointed Maria Consuelo Porras as Attor-
ney General, the United States deemed her ineligible for 
entry into the United States ‘‘due to her involvement in 
significant corruption’’; 
Whereas, as of June 2022, at least 24 justice operators in-
volved in fighting corruption, including public prosecu-
tors, judges, a magistrate from the Constitutional Court, 
and two former attorneys general had been forced into 
exile; 
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•HRES 1481 IH 
Whereas, as of May 2022, at least 6 anticorruption prosecu-
tors have been detained by Guatemalan authorities based 
on spurious or frivolous charges; 
Whereas, according to the Inter-American Commission on 
Human Rights 2021 Annual Report on Guatemala, the 
weakening of human rights institutions and setbacks to 
the fight against corruption and impunity have a dis-
proportionate impact on women, children, indigenous peo-
ples, and other historically marginalized populations; 
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
Rights reported that ‘‘throughout 2021, attacks and judi-
cial persecution against justice operators for their legiti-
mate work continued’’ in a pattern that ‘‘undermines the 
rule of law and judicial independence’’; 
Whereas, on June 21, 2021, a law entered into force in Gua-
temala which imposes onerous administrative require-
ments for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), mak-
ing it difficult or impossible for them to operate and giv-
ing the government the ability to close NGOs at will; 
Whereas the excessive and unjustified use of states of excep-
tion has created a situation in which numerous 
warrantless arrests are conducted, often targeting indige-
nous community leaders defending their rights to land; 
Whereas Guatemalan human rights group La Unidad de 
Proteccio´n a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos 
Humanos—Guatemala (UDEFEGUA) documented over 
589 acts of violence and aggression against human rights 
defenders, justice operators, and journalists from Janu-
ary to June 2022; 
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•HRES 1481 IH 
Whereas, in 2021, at least 179 attacks were reported against 
indigenous and campesino leaders who defend land, terri-
tory, and the environment; and 
Whereas since January 1, 2021, after receiving threats that 
led them to fear for their lives, 6 journalists have fled 
into exile, and on July 29, 2022, award-winning jour-
nalist Jose´ Rube´n Zamora, founder and president of the 
newspaper El Perio´dico, was arrested at his home and re-
mains detained: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) commends the bravery, endurance, and re-
solve of the prodemocracy, anticorruption movement, 
those who risk life and livelihood to bring a better 
future to Guatemalans; 
(2) condemns the attacks and abuses per-
petrated by those few who act with impunity against 
the majority of Guatemalan society and against 
judges, anticorruption prosecutors, human rights de-
fenders, and journalists; indigenous communities 
protecting land, women escaping sexual violence, 
LGBTQ individuals seeking safety, and youth un-
able to access career opportunities; 
(3) reaffirms its support for rule of law and de-
mocracy in Guatemala, and recognizes corruption 
and impunity among the root causes of irregular mi-
gration to the United States; 
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•HRES 1481 IH 
(4) calls on the Department of State and the 
Treasury to ensure United States resources are not 
used to support corrupt actors by undertaking inves-
tigations of Guatemalan Government officials, judi-
cial personnel, legislators, security force members, 
and private sector individuals who have participated 
in significant acts of corruption or human rights 
abuses, and to act expeditiously to issue targeted 
sanctions, including under the Global Magnitsky 
Human Rights Accountability Act, and to inves-
tigate and, where appropriate, freeze economic as-
sets in the United States; 
(5) reiterates the United States commitment to 
combating corruption in Guatemala and working to 
provide support for international financial institu-
tions to ensure loans and assistance are not granted 
to individuals or entities responsible for corruption, 
illicit political campaign financing, or human rights 
violations, and to ensure that all loans or assistance 
have safeguards and oversight mechanisms to ensure 
they do not permit or facilitate corruption or human 
rights abuses; 
(6) calls on the United States Development Fi-
nance Corporation to review current and pending 
loans and grants to ensure such loans and grants do 
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•HRES 1481 IH 
not go to projects that might put human rights de-
fenders at risk and are not channeled through enti-
ties whose leaders have engaged in corruption or 
human rights abuses; 
(7) urges all United States Government initia-
tives promoting United States investment in Guate-
mala to ensure that such investment does not violate 
human rights, including labor rights, disregard in-
digenous or Afro-descendant community land rights, 
or benefit corrupt actors; 
(8) urges the Department of State and the De-
partment of Defense to review and defer assistance 
and training to the Guatemalan Armed Forces and 
National Civilian Police until such reviews indicate 
the Guatemalan Government is taking effective steps 
to investigate and prosecute security forces impli-
cated in significant acts of corruption and human 
rights abuses, including those committed against in-
digenous communities and human rights defenders, 
and is taking effective steps to curtail the role of the 
military in public security; 
(9) calls on the United States Trade Represent-
ative and Department of Labor to review the extent 
to which Guatemala is in compliance with the Do-
minican Republic-Central America-United States 
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•HRES 1481 IH 
Free Trade Agreement, including the provisions that 
require governments to establish procedures to dis-
qualify suppliers that engage in fraudulent or illegal 
activities and the provisions related to labor rights; 
(10) calls on the Secretary of State to engage 
with the Government of Guatemala to emphasize the 
importance of progress in ensuring— 
(A) an independent judiciary with trans-
parent and merit-based selection procedures; 
(B) free and transparent elections, includ-
ing prevention of illicit campaign financing; 
(C) respect for freedom of expression and 
association; 
(D) promotion of community-led develop-
ment policies to encourage private sector actors 
to comply with environmental and labor stand-
ards and the right of communities to free, 
prior, and informed consent; and 
(E) improving access to justice for victims 
of gender-based and sexual violence; 
(11) urges the Department of State to engage 
with like-minded countries to collaborate on sus-
tained, effective, anticorruption policies, with respect 
to Guatemalan Government officials and private sec-
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•HRES 1481 IH 
tor individuals who have engaged in or facilitated 
corruption or human rights violations; and 
(12) encourages the Department of State and 
the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment efforts to provide long-term support, including 
financial, psychological, and legal support, for justice 
operators, human rights defenders, trade union lead-
ers, and journalists precluded from carrying out 
their activities due to persecution or forced into exile 
from Central America. 
Æ 
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