The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Luis Miguel Martinez Morales (Martinez) for his role in corruption in Guatemala wherein he engaged in widespread bribery schemes, including schemes related to government contracts.
Since 2021, the U.S. government has sanctioned 11 individuals and entities in Guatemala for their roles in corruption. The Department of State also has used a range of visa restriction tools, to promote accountability for corrupt and undemocratic actors in Guatemala. These actions demonstrate the U.S. government’s continued commitment to stand by the Guatemalan people.
Martinez is the former head of the now-defunct Centro de Gobierno, a powerful quasi-cabinet level agency created by Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei (Giammattei) at the start of his administration. President Giammattei was forced to shut down the Centro de Gobierno in December 2020 following backlash to Martinez’ rising power in the government.
Martinez has influenced the government contracts process to benefit himself and close associates.
In 2021, Martinez solicited large kickbacks to facilitate the purchase of the Russian Sputnik V vaccines by the Government of Guatemala. Guatemala’s special anti-corruption agency investigated Martinez for his role in a controversial payment tied to the purchase of 16 million doses of Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines by the Guatemalan government.
