(A) On January 19, 2020, the Government 
of Honduras announced the closing of the Mis-
sion of Support against Corruption and Impu-
nity in Honduras (MACCIH), the anti-corrup-
tion mechanism established in 2015 by the Or-
ganization of American States and the Govern-
ment of Honduras. MACCIH brought 14 cor-
ruption-related cases against dozens of high- 
profile criminal defendants and oversaw the cre-
ation of an anti-corruption judicial circuit and 
special prosecutor’s unit that was disbanded fol-
lowing the mission’s closure. 
(B) On June 25, 2020, the Government of 
Honduras enacted a new penal code that re-
duced prison terms for corruption-related 
crimes, including embezzlement, illicit enrich-
ment, obstruction of justice, and fraud. The 
measure is retroactive, benefitting Honduran 
officials already convicted or facing prosecution. 
(C) On October 16, 2019, the National 
Congress of Honduras passed a law that re-
stored immunity to all parliamentarians for 
crimes related to legislative activities and a law 
that blocked the Attorney General’s office from 
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investigating cases involving the improper use 
of state funds for up to 7 years. 
(5) These recent measures follow a longer pat-
tern of congressional decrees of amnesty or immu-
nity for crimes perpetrated by authorities in Hon-
duras, including for those committed during the 
2009 coup and its aftermath, those perpetrated by 
state security forces, and those involving the misuse 
of public funds by former and current legislators, 
contributing to a climate of impunity. 
(6) Space for civil society to operate in the Re-
public of Honduras remains severely constrained, 
with rights activists and journalists subject to acute 
levels of violence, surveillance, harassment, and in-
timidation. The Republic of Honduras ranks as the 
deadliest country in the world for human rights and 
environmental defenders on a per capita basis and 
third in the number of assassinations, with 31 de-
fenders killed in 2019 and 204 defenders killed since 
2009. 
(7) The 2019 United States Department of 
State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 
international human rights bodies, and numerous 
monitoring groups have reported that the Honduran 
police and military commit human rights violations 
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with impunity, including unlawful killings, torture, 
and the use of unnecessary force and lethal weapons 
against protestors and civilian bystanders. Individ-
uals with documented records of human rights viola-
tions and links to drug trafficking continue to serve 
in high-ranking positions within the Honduran police 
and military, and few of the alleged cases of human 
rights abuses perpetrated by police and military per-
sonnel are prosecuted or tried in court. 
(8) The Office of the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Human Rights and the Inter- 
American Commission on Human Rights have docu-
mented the use of arbitrary detentions, forced dis-
appearances, and specious judicial proceedings to 
criminalize indigenous and human rights activists, 
environmental defenders, journalists, opposition poli-
ticians, and others, including— 
(A) members of the Tocoa Municipal Com-
mittee for the Defense of Common and Public 
Assets, who since September 2019 have been 
detained pending trial following their protest of 
an illegal mining concession affecting the 
Guapinol and San Pedro rivers; 
(B) four Afro-indigenous Garı´funa land de-
fenders, who on July 18, 2020, were abducted 
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from their homes and reportedly forced into un-
marked vehicles at gunpoint by armed men in 
police uniforms without a warrant and remain 
forcibly disappeared; and 
(C) opposition lawmaker Marı´a Luisa 
Borjas, who on July 21, 2020, was convicted of 
defamation and sentenced to nearly three years 
in prison for naming Ficohsa bank president 
Camilo Atala as an intellectual author of the 
2016 assassination of environmental and indige-
nous rights activist Berta Ca´ceres. 
(9) The vilification and criminalization of civil 
society actors and human rights defenders by Hon-
duran authorities has continued unabated under the 
cover of COVID–19 pandemic response. On March 
16, 2020, the Government of Honduras first notified 
the Organization of American States of its deroga-
tion from treaty obligations under the American 
Convention on Human Rights and has since sus-
pended nine constitutional guarantees, including the 
rights to freedom of assembly and expression, the 
latter of which was restored after international out-
cry. At least 34,000 citizens have been detained for 
violating curfew and lockdown restrictions, and jour-
nalists and human rights defenders have been im-
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peded in their efforts to report on and expose human 
rights abuses during the pandemic. 
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) systemic corruption, impunity, and human 
rights violations by national government officials, 
private citizens, and members of the police and mili-
tary of the Republic of Honduras deplete public re-
sources and fuel widespread impoverishment, citizen 
insecurity, and forced displacement; 
(2) the President should impose sanctions on 
President of Honduras Juan Orlando Herna´ndez for 
acts of significant corruption and human rights vio-
lations and determine under the Foreign Narcotics 
Kingpin Sanctions Regulations under part 598 of 
title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, whether the 
President of Honduras is a specially designated nar-
cotics trafficker; 
(3) the President and Secretary of State should 
seek to ensure that security assistance from the 
United States and exports of munitions by United 
States entities are not complicit in human rights 
abuses perpetrated by the police and military of the 
Government of Honduras, or misused to impede 
peaceful protestors, human rights and environmental 
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defenders, and others from exercising the right to 
freedom of expression, association, or assembly; 
(4) the Government of Honduras should imme-
diately initiate discussions with the United Nations 
to negotiate the mandate for a new, independent 
mechanism to combat corruption and impunity with 
a mission comparable to that of MACCIH, equipped 
with— 
(A) the authority to initiate cases, in co-
ordination with the Specialized Prosecutor’s 
Unit 
against 
Networks 
of 
Corruption 
(UFERCO), against any citizen of the Republic 
of Honduras, irrespective of their office, rank, 
position, or title; 
(B) the unimpeded authority to inves-
tigate, including the authority to subpoena doc-
uments, interview witnesses and suspects, and 
conduct surveillance; 
(C) the ability to propose laws, constitu-
tional amendments, and regulatory changes to 
the Attorney General’s office and other institu-
tions within the justice sector that are assured 
expeditious consideration and debate by the Na-
tional Congress; and 
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(D) the requirement to conduct regular 
and transparent consultations with a broad 
range of civil society members with the goal of 
promoting the mandate’s successful implemen-
tation; 
(5) the Government of Honduras should con-
tinue to pursue MACCIH’s ongoing anti-corruption 
cases and adopt legal and institutional reforms to 
strengthen judicial independence and protect human 
rights recommended by MACCIH, the Office of the 
United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
Rights, and UFERCO; 
(6) the United States should support credible 
national and international efforts to combat corrup-
tion and human rights violations in the Republic of 
Honduras, including UFERCO, the Office of the 
United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
Rights, and organizations working to defend human 
rights and expose and prevent corruption, with the 
necessary resources for holding private and govern-
ment actors accountable under the law and sup-
porting independent monitoring by a free press and 
civil society, provided that they demonstrate suffi-
cient political autonomy and willingness to prosecute 
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high-level cases, including against senior officials 
and legislators of the Republic of Honduras; and 
(7) the Secretary of State should develop, in 
consultation with a broad range of representatives of 
civil society and human rights organizations in Hon-
duras, as appropriate, comprehensive and specific 
guidelines to use United States diplomacy and as-
sistance to protect human rights and environmental 
defenders in the Republic of Honduras from phys-
ical, legal, or financial reprisals and threats, includ-
ing by government, police, and military officials or 
their associates. 
SEC. 5. OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMIS-
SIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. 
In addition to amounts otherwise appropriated for 
such purposes, there is authorized to be appropriated 
$2,000,000 in voluntary contributions to support the work 
of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Human Rights in Honduras to monitor and document 
human rights violations, issue public reports and rec-
ommendations, and promote international human rights 
standards. 
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SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE 
PRESIDENT OF HONDURAS. 
(a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi-
dent shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) 
with respect to the President of Honduras, Juan Orlando 
Herna´ndez. 
(b) SANCTIONS
DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de-
scribed in this subsection are the following: 
(1) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President shall ex-
ercise all of the powers granted to the President 
under the International Emergency Economic Pow-
ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent nec-
essary to block and prohibit all transactions in prop-
erty and interests in property of Juan Orlando 
Herna´ndez 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 con-
trol of a United States person. 
(2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR 
PAROLE.— 
(A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—Juan 
Orlando Herna´ndez is— 
(i) inadmissible to the United States; 
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(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 
documentation to enter the United States; 
and 
(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 
or paroled into the United States or to re-
ceive any other benefit under the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
seq.). 
(B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 
(i) 
IN
GENERAL.—Juan 
Orlando 
Herna´ndez is subject to revocation of any 
visa or other entry documentation regard-
less of when the visa or other entry docu-
mentation is or was issued. 
(ii) IMMEDIATE
EFFECT.—A revoca-
tion under clause (i) shall— 
(I) take effect immediately; and 
(II) cancel any other valid visa or 
entry documentation that is in Juan 
Orlando Herna´ndez’s possession. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 
(1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex-
ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 
and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 
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Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to the ex-
tent necessary to carry out this section. 
(2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at-
tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 
violation of subsection (b)(1), or any regulation, li-
cense, or order issued to carry out that subsection, 
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. 
(d) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica-
tion of sanctions under this section if the President deter-
mines and certifies to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees that such a waiver is important to the national 
interest of the United States. 
(e) EXCEPTIONS.— 
(1) EXCEPTION
TO
COMPLY
WITH
INTER-
NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS AND FOR LAW ENFORCE-
MENT
ACTIVITIES.—Sanctions 
under 
subsection 
(b)(2) shall not apply if admitting or paroling Juan 
Orlando Herna´ndez into the United States is nec-
essary— 
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(A) to permit the United States to comply 
with the Agreement regarding the Head-
quarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 
Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 
November 21, 1947, between the United Na-
tions and the United States, or other applicable 
international obligations; or 
(B) to carry out or assist law enforcement 
activity in the United States. 
(2) EXCEPTION RELATING TO THE IMPORTA-
TION OF GOODS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and re-
quirements to impose sanctions authorized 
under this section shall not include the author-
ity or a requirement to impose sanctions on the 
importation of goods. 
(B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 
the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 
manmade substance, material, supply, or manu-
factured product, including inspection and test 
equipment, and excluding technical data. 
(f) TERMINATION
OF SANCTIONS.—The President 
may terminate the application of sanctions under this sec-
tion if the President determines and reports to the appro-
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priate congressional committees not later than 15 days be-
fore the termination takes effect that— 
(1) credible information exists that Juan Or-
lando Herna´ndez did not engage in the activity for 
which sanctions were imposed; 
(2) Juan Orlando Herna´ndez has been pros-
ecuted appropriately for the activity for which sanc-
tions were imposed; or 
(3) Juan Orlando Herna´ndez has credibly dem-
onstrated a significant change in behavior, has paid 
an appropriate consequence for the activity for 
which sanctions were imposed, and has credibly com-
mitted to not engage in an activity for which the 
sanctions were imposed in the future. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED.—The terms ‘‘ad-
mission’’ and ‘‘admitted’’ have the meanings given 
those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 
and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs of the Senate; and 
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(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
the Committee on Financial Services of the 
House of Representatives. 
(3) 
UNITED
STATES
PERSON.—The 
term 
‘‘United States person’’ means— 
(A) an individual who is a United States 
citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for perma-
nent residence to the United States; 
(B) an entity organized under the laws of 
the United States or any jurisdiction within the 
United States, including a foreign branch of 
such an entity; or 
(C) any person in the United States. 
SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON COMMERCIAL EXPORT OF COV-
ERED DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERVICES 
AND COVERED MUNITIONS ITEMS TO THE 
HONDURAN POLICE OR MILITARY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall pro-
hibit the issuance of licenses to export covered defense ar-
ticles and services and covered munitions items to the po-
lice or military of the Republic of Honduras. 
(b) TERMINATION.—The prohibition under sub-
section (a) shall terminate on the date on which the Presi-
dent determines and reports to the appropriate congres-
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sional committees that the police or military of the Repub-
lic of Honduras have not engaged in gross violations dur-
ing the one-year period ending on the date of such deter-
mination. 
(c) WAIVER.—The prohibition under subsection (a) 
shall not apply to the issuance of a license with respect 
to which the President submits to the appropriate congres-
sional committees a written certification that the exports 
to be covered by such license are important to the national 
interests and foreign policy goals of the United States, in-
cluding a description of the manner in which such exports 
will promote such interests and goals. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
of Representatives. 
(2) COVERED DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERV-
ICES.—The term ‘‘covered defense articles and serv-
ices’’ means defense articles and defense services 
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designated by the President under section 38(a)(1) 
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 
2778(a)(1)). 
(3) COVERED
MUNITIONS
ITEMS.—The term 
‘‘covered munitions items’’ means tear gas, pepper 
spray, rubber bullets, foam rounds, bean bag rounds, 
pepper balls, water cannons, handcuffs, shackles, 
stun guns, tasers, semi-automatic firearms, and 
their associated munitions not included in the defini-
tion under paragraph (2). 
SEC. 8. SUSPENSION AND RESTRICTIONS OF SECURITY AS-
SISTANCE EXTENDED TO THE REPUBLIC OF 
HONDURAS UNLESS CERTAIN CONDITIONS 
ARE MET. 
(a) SUSPENSION OF SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—No as-
sistance may be made available for the police or military 
of the Republic of Honduras, including assistance for 
equipment and training. 
(b) LOANS FROM MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT 
BANKS AND THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL DE-
VELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION.—The Secretary of 
the Treasury shall— 
(1) instruct United States representatives at 
multilateral development banks to use their voice 
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