,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #bdd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #aa1
 #bjai ,mr4 ,durbin 7for himself1 ,mr4  
,leahy1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 
,booker1 and ,mr4 ,van ,hollen7         
submitted the following resolution2     
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,foreign ,relations  ,,resolution       
,expressing support for free1 fair1 and 
transparent elections in the ,republic  
of ,guatemala in order to increase      
prosperity1 security1 and access to     
justice for all ,guatemalans4  ,whereas 
,guatemala will hold general elections  
on ,june #af1 #bjai1 and more than      
#g1fjj1jjj ,guatemalans are registered  
to vote for their next president1 vice  
president1 congressional                
representatives1 and more than #cjj     
mayors around the country2 ,whereas1 in 
the process leading up to the elections 
in ,guatemala1 there have been a series 
of troubling developments related to    
presidential candidates1 with #f of the 

#bd candidates facing allegations       
related to illicit activities1 and at   
least #d candidates having been excluded
 from the race2 ,whereas1 on ,april #ag1
 #bjai1 ,mario ,estrada1 a ,guatemalan  
presidential candidate with the         
center-right ,national ,change ,union   
political party1 was arrested in the    
,united ,states and charged by the      
,department of ,justice with conspiring 
to import cocaine into the ,united      
,states1 soliciting millions of dollars 
from the ,sinaloa ,drug ,cartel1 and    
other firearms offenses2 ,whereas the   
case of ,mario ,estrada highlights the  
existence of linkages between certain   
,guatemalan political actors and        
transnational criminal organizations1   
and the manner in which such criminal   
organizations have sought to influence  
the ,guatemalan political system2       
,whereas1 on ,may #ae1 #bjai1 a         
,guatemalan court issued a politically  
motivated ruling that ,thelma           
,aldana--,guatemala's former ,attorney  

,general who led efforts to tackle      
corruption in ,guatemala--was ineligible
 to run in ,guatemala's presidential    
election2 ,whereas1 according to        
,guatemalan media1 approximately #aej   
candidates running for a seat in        
,guatemala's legislature have been cited
 with irregularities1 including having  
received suspicious government          
contracts1 not meeting electoral        
requirements1 and possible linkages to  
narcotics trafficking2 ,whereas         
,guatemala has a long history of        
debilitating corruption due to the      
pervasive influence of narcotics        
trafficking and organized crime1 with   
the ,department of ,state estimating    
earlier this decade that as much as #hj 
percent of the cocaine that eventually  
reached the ,united ,states had passed  
through ,guatemala2 ,whereas            
,guatemala's endemic corruption and     
criminality led to the #bjjf agreement  
that established the ,united ,nations   
,international ,commission ,against     

,impunity in ,guatemala 7,,cicig7 as an 
independent body tasked with working    
with the ,public ,ministry to combat    
corruption1 organized crime1 and        
institutional impunity2 ,whereas the    
,united ,states ,government provided    
considerable funding and political      
support for ,,cicig during both         
,republican and ,democratic             
administrations1 yet the ,trump         
,administration has been notably silent 
on ,president ,morales' efforts to      
undermine ,,cicig2 ,whereas a ,may #bjai
 report to ,congress by the ,department 
of ,state stated that ,guatemala1 with  
the support of ,,cicig since #bjjg1     
previously took steps to root out       
clandestine networks of corrupt actors1 
including the uncovering of a massive   
corruption scheme in #bjae led by former
 ,president ,perez-,molina and former   
,vice ,president ,baldetti2 ,whereas the
 ,may #bjai report also noted setbacks  
to ,guatemala's fight against corruption
 and stated that since announcing in    

#bjah it would not renew the ,,cicig's  
mandate1 the ,guatemalan ,government has
 impeded anti-corruption efforts1       
attacked judicial independence1 and     
misused ,u4,s4-donated equipment2       
,whereas setbacks to the fight against  
corruption weaken the rule of law and   
democratic governance in ,guatemala2    
,whereas weak rule of law1 violence1    
corruption1 human rights abuses1        
impunity1 and failure to take effective 
actions to ameliorate widespread poverty
 in ,guatemala contribute to the outflow
 of refugees and migrants towards the   
,united ,states1 including the more than
 #afe1jjj ,guatemalan nationals who have
 been apprehended on the ,united        
,states-,mexico border during the       
current fiscal year alone2 ,whereas it  
is in the strategic interest of the     
,united ,states to support free1 fair1  
and transparent elections and encourage 
continued efforts to strengthen the rule
 of law and democratic governance in    
,guatemala2 and ,whereas the ,trump     

,administration announced in ,march     
#bjai that it will reprogram ,united    
,states assistance for ,guatemala1 ,el  
,salvador1 and ,honduras1 thereby       
undermining the ability of the ,united  
,states ,government to address          
challenges to security1 the rule of law1
 and economic development in the        
,northern ,triangle of ,central         
,america3 ,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that 
the ,senate-- 7#a7 supports the people  
of ,guatemala as they prepare to        
exercise their fundamental democratic   
right to vote in their country's        
upcoming ,june #af1 #bjai1 general      
elections2  7#b7 encourages all         
,guatemalan political actors and        
institutions to take continued steps to 
uphold a free1 fair1 and transparent    
electoral process2  7#c7 expresses grave
 concerns about-- 7,a7 the involvement  
of certain ,guatemalan presidential     
candidates in illicit activities2  7,b7 
efforts by international criminal       
organizations to influence the          

,guatemalan political system2  7,c7 the 
politically motivated disqualification  
of certain competitive1 independent     
candidates in order to restrict the     
choices available to the people of      
,guatemala2 and  7,d7 ongoing evidence  
of corruption of officials that         
permitted an estimated #adjj metric tons
 of cocaine to pass through ,guatemala  
destined for the ,united ,states last   
year2  7#d7 encourages ,guatemalan      
presidential candidates to commit to    
taking strong and sustained action      
following the election to strengthen the
 rule of law1 combat corruption and     
impunity1 and address human rights      
abuses and the underlying conditions of 
poverty in the country2  7#e7 urges the 
next president of ,guatemala to take    
effective steps to strengthen the rule  
of law1 address the influence of        
criminal organizations and drug cartels 
on ,guatemala's political system1 and   
combat corruption and impunity1         
including by reestablishing the mandate 

of the ,united ,nations ,international  
,commission ,against ,impunity in       
,guatemala 7,,cicig72  7#f7 condemns the
 efforts of ,president of ,guatemala    
,jimmy ,morales to expel and undermine  
,,cicig2  7#g7 expresses dismay about   
the ,trump ,administration's failure to 
demonstrate ,america's commitment to    
democracy1 human rights1 and the rule of
 law in ,guatemala2 and  7#h7 opposes   
the ,trump ,administration's decision to
 reprogram ,united ,states assistance to
 ,guatemala1 ,el ,salvador1 and         
,honduras4