[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.
<all>