The United States Department of Justice announced that it will resume the application of the Corrupt Practices Law abroad (FCPA) and will focus on corruption crimes that affect the interests of the country. This decision comes after a temporary pause ordered by President Donald Trump last February, with the argument of reviewing compliance with the regulations.
According to a memorandum signed on June 9 by the attached prosecutor Todd Blanche, the new guidelines seek to reduce regulatory loads for US companies operating abroad. At the same time, the Department of Justice will concentrate their efforts on investigating people or companies that have clear indications of corruption in which millionaire sums are handled or there is obstruction of justice in order to issue severe sanctions.
Among government priorities are bribes cases Linked to cartels, transnational criminal organizations and foreign officials. Emphasis will also be given to the actions that harm US companies in international markets or represent risks to national security, especially in key sectors such as energy, defense and intelligence.
In February 2025, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, issued Executive Order 14209, with which he temporarily suspended the application of the FCPA. In this order he instructed the Department of Justice, through the Attorney General, to suspend for 180 days the beginning of any new investigation or compliance action under that law. In addition, he ordered to review the ongoing investigations or actions in detail and issue updated guidelines or policies that govern the investigations and the application of that legislation. The anti -corruption law in force in that country prohibits US businessmen from making corrupt payments in other countries and seeks to promote economic and national security of the United States.
Chance
For the analyst Luis Fernando Andrade Falla, this legal reactivation must be seen as an opportunity to strengthen the investment climate in the region. As he explained, both the public and the private sector must be aware that corruption is one of the main obstacles that has limited the arrival of foreign capital. Emblematic cases like Odebrecht –He mentioned – show how these practices can truncate the development of key works and generate serious consequences.
Andrade Falla clarified that FCPA applies only to US companies and citizens, or foreign companies that are quoted in the United States Stock Exchange. However, although it does not contemplate direct sanctions to officials from other countries, it does establish controls on commercial practices that could be considered corrupt, as extortion, bribes or unjustified delays imposed on US companies that wish to invest abroad.
In that sense, the analyst explained that the United States government is becoming more actively involved to guarantee fair investment conditions for its companies, against competitors such as China, which operate under different rules.
According to the analyst, the US message is clear: “We want to invest, but in transparent and legal certainty.”
“The objective is that their companies are not forced to participate in irregular practices to compete,” he said.
He added that, unlike other policies such as Magnitsky Law, which sanctions corrupt politicians or officials, this new stage focuses more on facilitating US private investment from a business perspective.
“It is not so much a political, but economic approach,” Falla said to explain that the US government. Now prioritizes accompaniment to their companies so that they can participate in projects in the region without falling into undue practices.
Scope
The recent announcement of the United States Department of Justice on the reactivation of the Law on Corrupt Practices abroad (FCPA) could have direct consequences for Guatemalan public officials, especially in cases related to bribes and corrupt practices in international operations, according to the analyst on international issues Luis Felipe Polo, who explained that this legislation “would be reached to Guatemalan officials” receive undue payments from US companies or even try to bribe officials within the North American territory.
According to Polo, the FCPA is a law promulgated in 1977 by the US Congress., In response to fraudulent practices related mainly to companies that quote on the stock market. Its objective was, from the beginning, prohibit natural or legal persons from that country They will pay bribes to foreign officials to obtain commercial advantages.
“Basically it was directed for that,” said the analyst.
Uncertainty
Polo stressed that, although the State Department has announced its reactivation, it is not yet clear if the law will be applied with the same original text and criteria, or if reforms will be introduced.
“We do not know what conditions they will do, they simply announced it, but it is not clear what will happen,” he said.
The analyst considers it unlikely to resume without adjustments, since it would not make sense to suspend it previously only to reinstate it without modifications.
Despite this uncertainty, the expert described as positive the intention to resume FCPA, considering that the United States has played a key role in promoting global transparency.
“This is a necessary law because there is an advance on global transparency,” he said, noting that US intervention has been crucial in the sanction of multiple cases of corruption in Latin America.
In his analysis, Luis Felipe Polo emphasized that we will have to wait to see what the new objectives of the US government will be with this law and what implications will have specifically for countries such as Guatemala. However, he warned that his alone reactivation already sends a clear political message: the interest of the United States to continue monitoring business and government practices abroad.