,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gcad ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #ac1 #bjah,mrs4 ,torres introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on the ,judiciary1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 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 ,guatemala4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,guatemala ,rule of ,law ,accountability ,act4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,foreign person ,the term foreign person means a person that is not a ,united ,states person4 7#c7 ,grand corruption ,the term grand corruption means public corruption committed at a high level of government that-- 7,a7 distorts policies or the central functioning of the country2 and 7,b7 enables leaders to benefit at the expense of the public good4 7#d7 ,united ,states person ,the term ,united ,states person means-- 7,a7 a natural person who is a citizen or resident of the ,united ,states or a national of the ,united ,states 7as defined in section #aja7;a7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a772 and 7,b7 an entity that is organized under the laws of the ,united ,states or any ,state4 #c4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,department of ,state's #bjah ,international ,narcotics ,control ,strategy ,report stated that1 in ,guatemala1 widespread corruption permeates public and private institutions and exacerbates the country's security1 governmental1 and economic challenges4 7#b7 ,the same report1 discussing money laundering in ,guatemala1 noted that drug trafficking is a major source of illicit funds4 ,other sources include corruption1 extortion1 human trafficking1 commerce of other illicit goods1 and tax evasion4 ,money is laundered primarily through real estate1 ranching1 and the gaming industry4 ,it is also laundered through a series of small transactions below the ,u4,s4 #aj1jjj reporting requirement1 either in small banks along the ,guatemala-,mexico border1 or by travelers carrying cash to other countries4 7#c7 ,on ,august #aj1 #bjah1 ,guatemala's ,attorney ,general filed a request before the ,supreme ,court of ,guatemala to remove the immunity of ,guatemala's ,president1 ,jimmy ,morales1 so that he could be charged for the crime of illicit financing1 based on investigations carried out jointly by the ,office of the ,attorney ,general and the ,international ,commission against ,impunity in ,guatemala 7,,cicig74 7#d7 ,on ,august #ca1 #bjah1 the ,united ,states ,embassy in ,guatemala issued a press release stating that ,since #bjac the ,united ,states ,government has donated #adh ,jeep ,j#h vehicles to the ,government of ,guatemala4 ,these vehicles were donated for law enforcement use by the ,interagency ,task ,forces ,tecun ,uman1 ,chorti1 and ,xinca for the purpose of combatting criminal activity and narcotics trafficking1 with a focus on ,guatemala's borders4 ,several of these vehicles were recently observed in ,guatemala ,city1 including in close proximity to ,,cicig's headquarters and the ,united ,states ,embassy4 ,the ,united ,states is monitoring closely that all equipment donated for law enforcement activity in ,guatemala is used appropriately and in accordance with existing agreements44 7#e7 ,on the same date1 ,guatemala's ,president1 ,jimmy ,morales1 appeared at a press conference to announce that he would not renew the mandate of ,,cicig1 which expires in #bjai1 or the visa of its commissioner1 ,ivan ,velasquez1 which was set to expire on ,september #ah1 #bjah4 7#f7 ,on ,september #d1 #bjah1 the ,government of ,guatemala issued a statement to the effect that ,ivan ,velasquez1 who was on travel at the time1 was not permitted to reenter the country4 7#g7 ,on ,september #ag1 #bjah1 ,guatemala's ,foreign ,minister1 ,sandra ,jovel1 and ,minister of the ,interior1 ,enrique ,degenhart1 made public statements indicating that the ,government of ,guatemala intended to ignore an order from the ,guatemalan ,constitutional ,court1 that the government must allow the ,,cicig commissioner to enter the country4 #d4 ,sanctions against foreign persons that engage in corruption and other activities in ,guatemala 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,president shall impose the sanctions described in subsection 7b7 with respect to any foreign person who is a current or former official of the ,government of ,guatemala1 or any foreign person acting on behalf of or in cooperation with an official of that government1 that has knowingly-- 7#a7 committed or facilitated acts of grand corruption1 money laundering1 narcotics trafficking1 or financing political campaigns with the proceeds of narcotics trafficking2 7#b7 obstructed investigations or prosecutions of grand corruption carried out by ,guatemalan public prosecutors2 7#c7 misused equipment provided by the ,secretary of ,state or the ,secretary of ,defense to the ,guatemalan military or national civilian police for the purpose of combating drug trafficking or securing ,guatemala's border2 7#d7 disobeyed rulings of the ,guatemalan ,constitutional ,court2 or 7#e7 impeded or interfered with the work of any ,united ,states ,government agency or any institution receiving contributions from the ,united ,states ,government1 including the ,international ,commission against ,impunity in ,guatemala 7,,cicig74 7b7 ,sanctions described 7#a7 ,in general ,the sanctions described in this subsection are the following3 7,a7 ,asset blocking ,the exercise of all powers granted to the ,president by the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agja et seq47 to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property of a person determined by the ,president to be subject to subsection 7a7 if such property and interests in property are in the ,united ,states1 come within the ,united ,states1 or are or come within the possession or control of a ,united ,states person4 7,b7 ,exclusion from the united states and revocation of visa or other documentation ,in the case of an alien determined by the ,president to be subject to subsection 7a71 denial of a visa to1 and exclusion from the ,united ,states of1 the alien1 and revocation in accordance with section #bba7;i7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abja7;i771 of any visa or other documentation of the alien4 7#b7 ,penalties ,a person that violates1 attempts to violate1 conspires to violate1 or causes a violation of paragraph 7#a77;,a7 or any regulation1 license1 or order issued to carry out paragraph 7#a77;,a7 shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections 7b7 and 7c7 of section #bjf of the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agje7 to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection 7a7 of that section4 7#c7 ,exception relating to importation of goods 7,a7 ,in general ,the requirement to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property under paragraph 7#a77;,a7 shall not include the authority to impose sanctions on the importation of goods4 7,b7 ,definition ,in this paragraph1 the term good means any article1 natural or man-made substance1 material1 supply or manufactured product1 including inspection and test equipment1 and excluding technical data4 7#d7 ,exception to comply with ,united ,nations ,headquarters ,agreement ,sanctions under paragraph 7#a77;,b7 shall not apply to an alien if admitting the alien into the ,united ,states is necessary to permit the ,united ,states to comply with the ,agreement regarding the ,headquarters of the ,united ,nations1 signed at ,lake ,success ,june #bf1 #aidg1 and entered into force ,november #ba1 #aidg1 between the ,united ,nations and the ,united ,states1 or other applicable international obligations4 7c7 ,regulatory authority ,the ,president shall issue such regulations1 licenses1 and orders as are necessary to carry out this section4 7d7 ,termination ,this section shall terminate on the date that is #b years after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #e4 ,limitation on transfer of equipment transfer to security forces 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,administrator of the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development and the ,secretary of ,defense1 as appropriate1 shall issue regulations requiring the inclusion of appropriate clauses for any new foreign assistance contracts1 grants1 and cooperative agreements covering the transfer of equipment to the ,guatemalan military or national civilian police1 to ensure that any ,united ,states equipment that is provided to the ,government of ,guatemala may be recovered if such equipment is used for purposes other than those for which it was provided4 7b7 ,exceptions and waiver 7#a7 ,exceptions ,subsection 7a7 shall not apply to humanitarian assistance1 disaster assistance1 or assistance to combat corruption4 7#b7 ,waiver ,the ,secretary of ,state or the ,secretary of ,defense1 on a case by case basis1 may waive the requirement under subsection 7a7 if the ,secretary of ,state or the ,secretary of ,defense certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that such waiver is important to the national security interests of the ,united ,states4