Sanction officials responsible for undermining Guatemalan democracy

Seventy-five faith and civic organizations wrote President Biden and Vice President Harris calling for targeted Global Magnitsky Act financial sanctions on top Guatemalan officials and business elites responsible for undermining democracy and persecuting journalists, human rights activists, and anti-corruption prosecutors and judges.

The open letter states, “Targeted financial sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act are needed now because they raise the costs of choices that could further undermine democracy in Guatemala. Conflicting electoral rulings demonstrate divisions within the Guatemalan elite and criminal enterprises about how far to go in overriding the will of the Guatemalan people. The world is watching Guatemala, and the elite in Guatemala are paying close attention to how the U.S. and other countries respond to election manipulation. Absent a strong international response that includes meaningful consequences for corruption, there is a high risk that the same individuals who captured state institutions to rig the election will engage in more illegal interference leading up to, during, and after the scheduled second round of voting on August 20.”

Read the full letter