Guatemala

1973-08-22

Kilometro 19.5 Carretera A Fraijanes, Lote 69A, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2232730900101, National ID No.; 223273090, Passport

Jorge Estuardo Vargas Morales (Vargas) is a Guatemalan congressman and one of several individuals at the apex of a network designed to control contracts and operations at government-run ports for personal profit. He oversees project execution once contracts are awarded and pays out a percentage to board members who vote in favor. Additionally, Vargas controls employment at the port through his influence in the port labor unions and uses those unions to gain political leverage. He maintains loyalties by paying bribes in exchange for unions creating blockades and strikes to advance political objectives. OFAC is designating Rodriguez, Chang, and Vargas pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being foreign persons who are current or former government officials, or persons acting for or on behalf of such an official, who are responsible for or are complicit in, or have directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1155

2022-12-09

US

Executive Order 13818 - Global Magnitsky

OFAC-horizontal

Human Rights

Blocking Property, Suspending Entry

• https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/topic/5441

On December 23, 2016, the President signed the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Pub. L. 114-328, Title XII, Subtitle F) (the “Act”) into law. The Act authorized the President to impose targeted sanctions on any foreign person the President determines is, among other things, responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, or a government official, or a senior associate of such an official, responsible for, or complicit in, ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, acts of significant corruption. On December 20, 2017, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) (IEEPA), issued Executive Order 13818 (82 FR 60839, December 26, 2017) (E.O. 13818), effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on December 21, 2017. In E.O. 13818, the President determined that serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat. OFAC is issuing the Global Magnitsky Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 583 (the “Regulations”), to implement the Act and E.O. 13818, pursuant to authorities delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury in E.O. 13818. A copy of E.O. 13818 appears in appendix A to this part.

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