Title: Guatemala Rule of Law Accountability Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Guatemala Rule of Law Accountability Act
This bill directs the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on certain foreign persons that have engaged in corruption, money laundering, or other specified activities in Guatemala. Specifically, the sanctions shall apply to a current or former Guatemalan official, or a foreign person acting in cooperation with such an official, that knowingly (1) committed or facilitated acts of significant corruption, money laundering, or narcotics trafficking; (2) obstructed investigations into any of those acts; (3) violated agreements related to the intended use of equipment provided by the U.S. government; or (4) disobeyed rulings of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court. The President shall report to Congress on the implementation of such sanctions.
In agreements to transfer equipment to Guatemala's military or national police, the Department of State shall include a provision allowing the United States to recover such equipment if it is used in a way that violates an end-use agreement.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 716 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 716

      To impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
Accountability Act to combat corruption, money laundering, and impunity 
                 in Guatemala, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2019

Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Murphy, 
 and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
           and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
Accountability Act to combat corruption, money laundering, and impunity 
                 in Guatemala, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' 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) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a 
        person that is not a United States person.
            (3) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to 
        conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has 
        actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the 
        circumstance, or the result.
            (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 jurisdiction within the United 
                States.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Department of State's 2018 International Narcotics 
        Control Strategy Report stated that, in Guatemala, ``widespread 
        corruption permeates public and private institutions and 
        exacerbates the country's security, governmental, and economic 
        challenges''.
            (2) The same report, discussing money laundering in 
        Guatemala, noted, ``Drug trafficking is a major source of 
        illicit funds. Other sources include corruption, extortion, 
        human trafficking, commerce 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 election financing, 
        based on investigations carried out jointly by the Office of 
        the Attorney General and the International Commission against 
        Impunity in Guatemala (in this Act referred to as ``CICIG'').
            (4) In August 2018, the Guatemalan Supreme Court ruled that 
        there was sufficient evidence for the Guatemalan Congress to 
        decide if President Morales should be investigated for illicit 
        election financing.
            (5) On September 4, 2018, the Government of Guatemala 
        announced that it would no longer allow the Commissioner of 
        CICIG to enter the country.
            (6) On January 7, 2019, the Government of Guatemala 
        announced that it was terminating the agreement establishing 
        CICIG effective immediately.
            (7) The United Nations responded that the Secretary-General 
        ``strongly rejects'' that announcement, stating, ``[T]he 
        mandate of the Commission is set to end on 3 September 2019. 
        Until that date, we expect the Government of Guatemala to 
        entirely fulfill its legal obligations under the Agreement. The 
        Secretary-General expects the Government of Guatemala to abide 
        by its international undertakings to ensure the protection of 
        the CICIG personnel, both international and national.''.

SEC. 4. GLOBAL MAGNITSKY SANCTIONS AGAINST FOREIGN PERSONS THAT ENGAGE 
              IN CORRUPTION AND OTHER ACTIVITIES IN GUATEMALA.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and as appropriate thereafter, the President 
shall impose 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 is acting on behalf of or in cooperation 
with an official of that Government, if the President has credible 
information that the foreign person has knowingly--
            (1) committed or facilitated acts of significant 
        corruption, money laundering, narcotics trafficking, or 
        financing political campaigns with the proceeds of narcotics 
        trafficking;
            (2) obstructed investigations or prosecutions of such acts;
            (3) used equipment transferred or licensed to be 
        transferred by the United States Government in violation of an 
        end-use agreement or otherwise for purposes other than the 
        purposes for which such equipment was transferred or licensed 
        to be transferred;
            (4) disobeyed rulings of the Guatemalan Constitutional 
        Court, including rulings related to the conduct of elections; 
        or
            (5) impeded or interfered with the work of any United 
        States Government agency or any institution receiving 
        contributions from the United States Government, including 
        CICIG.
    (b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection are the sanctions described in section 1263(b) of the Global 
Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of 
Public Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note).
    (c) Exception for United Nations Headquarters Agreement; 
Enforcement.--Subsections (e) and (f) of section 1263 of the Global 
Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act apply with respect to the 
imposition of sanctions under this section to the same extent as such 
subsections apply with respect to the imposition of sanctions under 
such section 1263.
    (d) Report on Implementation.--Not later than 15 days after 
imposing sanctions under subsection (a), the President shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees a report regarding steps taken 
to implement this section.
    (e) Regulatory Authority.--The President shall issue such 
regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry out this 
section.
    (f) Termination.--This section shall terminate on the date that is 
2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. CONDITIONS ON THE TRANSFER OF EQUIPMENT TO SECURITY FORCES OF 
              GUATEMALA.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development 
and the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, shall include, in each 
contract, grant, license, or other mechanism entered into on or after 
the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 
that provides for the transfer to, or the transfer for use by, the 
military or national police of Guatemala any United States equipment a 
provision that ensures that the equipment may be recovered by the 
United States if the equipment is used in violation of an end-use 
agreement or otherwise for purposes other than the purposes for which 
the equipment was transferred.
    (b) Determination.--Not later than 90 days after receiving a 
written request from the chairperson and ranking member of any of the 
appropriate congressional committees with respect to whether equipment 
transferred or licensed to be transferred to Guatemala by the United 
States Government has been used in violation of an end-use agreement or 
otherwise for purposes other than the purposes for which the equipment 
was transferred, the President shall--
            (1) determine whether the equipment was so used; and
            (2) submit to the chairperson and ranking member of that 
        committee a report with respect to that determination that 
        includes--
                    (A) a statement of whether or not the President has 
                taken or intends to take remedial action, including as 
                provided for under the Arms Export Control Act (22 
                U.S.C. 2751 et seq.); and
                    (B)(i) if the President has taken or intends to 
                take remedial action, a description of that action; or
                    (ii) if the President will not take remedial 
                action, a detailed justification for why not.
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