Torres Includes Key Central America Rule of Law Provisions in National Defense Authorization Act

Statement

Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) applauded the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (NDAA), which includes key oversight provisions she championed to ensure U.S. military aid to Central America is transparent, aligned with our strategic objectives, and focused on helping the people of those countries, not corrupt leaders.

"The U.S. has a critical role to play in strengthening democracy and rule of law in the Northern Triangle, and this has long been a priority for me," said Congresswoman Norma J. Torres. "Unfortunately, we have seen corrupt and undemocratic leaders use the security forces against their people and our own interests in the region. I'm glad to have these provisions included in the NDAA that will create more transparency regarding actions the U.S. is taking in Central America to ensure our whole-of-government approach is centered on the promotion of human rights, strengthening the rule of law, and protecting democratic institutions, to prevent additional misuse of American resources. These measures will help address the root causes of migration from Central America, and will advance our national security as a whole."

As a result of the provisions introduced by Congresswoman in the FY22 NDAA:

The Defense Department (DOD) must submit a report on El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras within six months that includes an update on any ongoing or planned security cooperation activities between the U.S. and these countries, as well an analysis of the security sector's role in the protection of human rights and adherence to the rule of law and efforts to investigate credible information of human rights violations, including the use of U.S. defense resources in such violations.
The DOD must receive certification from Congress prior to transferring any U.S. vehicles to Guatemala,
The Government Accountability Office must evaluate how DOD monitors misuse of U.S. resources in Northern Triangle Countries and how it remedies reports of misuse,
The Defense Department must undergo an independent evaluation of SOUTHCOM that investigates how SOUTHCOM's Northern Triangle programs promote rule of law and human rights and how they advance our National Defense Strategy, and submit the completed report to Congress within 30 days. SOUTHCOM is responsible for U.S. security cooperation with Central and South America.
Congresswoman Torres was born in Guatemala and is the only Central American currently serving in Congress. As Co-Chair of the Central America Caucus, she has been outspoken about addressing the misuse of U.S. military aid by corrupt Guatemalan officials, specifically abuse by Guatemalan officials of DOD-donated armored Jeeps in 2018 to intimidate the UN-backed anti-corruption commission, CICIG, and the U.S. Embassy. She again raised concern when these jeeps may have been used in 2021 against peaceful community leaders in El Estor, Guatemala.

Congresswoman Torres is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which allocates all federal discretionary spending. Through her appropriations work, Congresswoman Torres has ensured that aid to Central America is conditioned on adherence to rule of law and anti-corruption standards. This year, the House appropriations bill zeroed-out Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to the Northern Triangle for the third year in a row for Guatemala and Honduras and a second year for El Salvador. It also focused International Military Education and Training (IMET) on human rights and professionalization training in the region.

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