Torres: No Place in US for Corrupt Guatemalan Officials

Press Release

Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35), the only Central American serving in Congress, released the following statement today as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Gustavo Adolfo Alejos Cámbara, former chief of staff to former Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom, is prohibited from entering the United States due to his involvement in corrupt acts that undermined the rule of law in Guatemala.

Rep. Torres, who was born in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States to escape corruption, is a prominent voice in urging the State Department and U.S. Treasury to take more action to sanction corrupt officials from the Central Triangle, and called for Gustavo Adolfo Alejos Cambara to be sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act in 2018.

Rep. Torres released the following statement:

"Corrupt Guatemalan officials are not welcome in the United States," Rep. Torres said. "Gustavo Adolfo Alejos Cámbara is currently under investigation for trying to influence supreme court and appellate court elections that are happening in Guatemala right now. In the past, he put Guatemala's pharmaceutical industry up for auction, and illegally financed political campaigns. His designation today is a timely bolster for the rule of law, and I urge both State and Treasury to continue applying stringent standards to cases of public corruption across the Central Triangle."

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