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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. Res. 518 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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.
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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
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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.