[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 518 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 518
Expressing solidarity with the people of Guatemala and urging the
Government of Guatemala to permit a peaceful transfer of power to
President-elect Bernardo Arevalo.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 10, 2024
Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Merkley, Ms.
Butler, and Mr. Welch) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing solidarity with the people of Guatemala and urging the
Government of Guatemala to permit a peaceful transfer of power to
President-elect Bernardo Arevalo.
Whereas the United States and Guatemala have shared strong bilateral relations
on issues of mutual interest for decades, including--
(1) addressing the root causes of irregular migration;
(2) a shared commitment to addressing key development challenges, such
as poverty, child hunger and illiteracy, citizen security, and more
transparent and accountable governance; and
(3) supporting Taiwan and Ukraine's independence from Russia;
Whereas general elections were held in Guatemala on June 25, 2023, resulting in
a runoff election between the 2 presidential candidates receiving the
most votes, Congressman Bernardo Arevalo of the Movimiento Semilla party
and Sandra Torres, a former first lady representing the Unidad Nacional
de la Esperanza (UNE) party;
Whereas the runoff election, held on August 20, 2023, resulted in the people of
Guatemala electing Congressman Arevalo as President with more than 60
percent of the popular vote;
Whereas the election observation teams from the European Union and the
Organization of American States, which were present at the invitation of
the Government of Guatemala, reported that both rounds of the election
were run professionally and efficiently and concluded that there was no
basis for claims of fraud;
Whereas Guatemala's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) certified that the
presidential elections upheld national, regional and international
standards for a democratic election;
Whereas immediately following the election of President-elect Arevalo on August
20, 2023, Guatemala's Public Ministry, led by Attorney General Maria
Consuelo Porras Argueta, who has been designated for visa restrictions
by the United States Government for significant corrupt and undemocratic
activities, initiated a series of efforts to undermine President-elect
Arevalo's inauguration, which is scheduled to take place on January 14,
2024, including--
(1) a raid on the facilities of the TSE Citizen Registry and the
Operations Center of the Electoral Process (COPE) on September 12, 2023,
during which Public Ministry officials opened ballot boxes in violation of
Guatemala's Electoral and Political Party Law;
(2) a formal request on September 27, 2023, by the Public Ministry to
the Supreme Court (CSJ) to remove the immunity of the 5 magistrates of the
TSE;
(3) an order from the Public Ministry on November 15, 2023, which
instructs the TSE to surrender registration documents for the Movimiento
Semilla party and President-elect Arevalo, immediately followed by a press
conference on November 16, 2023, at which the Public Ministry announced
that it intended to seek the removal of immunity against President-elect
Arevalo, Vice President-elect Herrera, and Congressman Samuel Perez, who is
also a member of the Movimiento Semilla party; and
(4) a decision by the Public Ministry on December 8, 2023 to issue
arrest warrants against two members of the TSE and a simultaneous
announcement that the 2023 presidential elections should be annulled;
Whereas the November 30 vote of Guatemala's current governing coalition in
Congress to remove the immunity of four TSE magistrates demonstrates
that the Public Ministry has largely been supported by the political
establishment in Guatemala;
Whereas the actions of the Public Ministry follow a trend in which the Public
Ministry has intimidated, threatened, forced into exile, and in some
cases imprisoned dozens of judges, prosecutors, civil society actors,
and independent journalists who have worked to root out corruption in
Guatemala, including anti-corruption prosecutor Virginia Laparra and
journalist Jose Ruben Zamora, who were sentenced, respectively, to four
and six years;
Whereas, since October 1, 2023, Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala, who comprise
nearly 42 percent of the population of Guatemala, have led protests
against the Public Ministry's actions, which demonstrates citizen
organizing in support of a peaceful transfer of power;
Whereas the Organization of American States, the European Union, the United
Nations, the Department of State, and the governments of many European
and Latin American countries have released public statements condemning
the Public Ministry's efforts to annul the 2023 presidential elections
and prevent President-elect Arevalo from assuming office on January 14,
2024; and
Whereas the Constitutional Court of Guatemala ruled, on December 14, 2023, that
Guatemala's Congress must take steps to ensure that every elected
official in the 2023 electoral process, including President-elect
Bernardo Arevalo, must be allowed to take office on January 14, 2024:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) applauds the will of the Guatemalan people to
participate in a free and fair presidential election on August
20, 2023, as certified by the European Union and Organization
of American States electoral observation missions;
(2) reaffirms the interest of the United States to maintain
mutually beneficial relations with the people of Guatemala and
their national government, based on shared interests of
security, prosperity, and democratic values;
(3) reaffirms that the bilateral relationship between the
United States and Guatemala is strengthened through shared
policies, such as--
(A) efforts to prevent irregular migration;
(B) good governance, improved citizen security, and
poverty reduction; and
(C) support for Taiwan, and for Ukraine's
independence from Russia;
(4) looks forward to working with the incoming Arevalo
government to build a safer, democratic, and more prosperous
region;
(5) expresses deep concerns for the undemocratic actions of
Guatemala's Attorney General and Public Ministry, in
coordination with the current governing coalition, to maintain
power by undermining free, fair, and democratic elections, the
rule of law, and basic democratic principles;
(6) urges the Government of Guatemala--
(A) to immediately repudiate the attacks of the
Attorney General and the Public Ministry on President-
elect Arevalo and members of his political coalition;
(B) to commute the sentences of Jose Ruben Zamora
and Virginia Laparra and end intimidation and threats
against all other actors working to reduce corruption
in Guatemala; and
(C) to prioritize and work actively to ensure for a
peaceful transfer of power and inauguration of
President-elect Arevalo on January 14, 2024; and
(7) calls on the Department of State, the Department of the
Treasury, and the United States Agency for International
Development to prepare for the possibility that a peaceful
transition of power does not occur on January 14, 2023,
including by--
(A) preparing to reassess all elements of United
States foreign assistance and bilateral cooperation
with the Government of Guatemala;
(B) conducting an evaluation of all diplomatic and
economic tools, including sanctions, that can be used
to hold accountable Guatemalan public officials,
private sector actors, and others who have planned,
supported, or undertaken efforts to prevent the
peaceful transition of power in Guatemala; and
(C) working with the Organization of American
States, the European Union, and the United Nations to
reevaluate Guatemala's standing in institutions that
require their members to adhere to basic democratic
principles.
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