Libro Segundo Título XII. De los delitos contra el orden institucional

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three to ten years:

1º.Whoever executes acts that tend directly to vary, reform or replace, totally or partially, the Constitution of the Republic by means not authorized by the constitutional order.

2º.Whoever executes acts not authorized by the constitutional order that tend directly to limit or reduce, in whole or in part, the powers that the Constitution grants to the organs of the State.

3º.Whoever, by means of acts of a similar nature to those indicated in the two preceding paragraphs, tends to vary the regime established in the Constitution of the Republic for succession to the office of President of the Republic.

4º.Whoever executes the same class of acts to deprive the Vice President of the Republic of the powers that the Constitution grants to him.

Whoever engages in public propaganda or carries out other activities aimed at the reelection of the person holding the Presidency of the Republic, or at any other system by which it is intended to violate the principle of alternability or to extend the term fixed by the Constitution for the exercise of the Presidency of the Republic, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to six years and a fine of two hundred to two thousand quetzales.

Whoever kills the President of the Republic, the Vice President of the Republic or any of the Presidents of the other Organs of the State shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of 30 to 50 years.

*In the event of the death of the President of the Republic or of the Vice President, if the circumstances of the act, the means employed to commit it and the determining motives reveal greater and particular dangerousness of the person responsible, the penalty of death shall be imposed.

of the Constitutional Court dated 24 October 2017, File 5986-2016).

Whoever attacks the life, bodily integrity, or liberty of the President of the Republic, of any of the Presidents of the other organs of the State, or of the Vice President of the Republic, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of five to fifteen years.

Those who rise in arms commit the crime of rebellion, with the purpose of promoting civil war or deposing the constitutional government, abolishing or changing the Constitution of the Republic, altering or suspending, in whole or in part, the existing constitutional regime, or preventing the integration, renewal, free exercise or functioning of the Organs of the State.

The promoters, leaders or ringleaders of the crime of rebellion shall be punished with imprisonment of five to ten years and a fine of five hundred to five thousand quetzales.

The mere executors of the rebellion shall be punished with imprisonment of one to four years.

Whoever, as a consequence of the uprising, causes other crimes shall be subject to the provisions of this Code on concurrence.

The proposal and conspiracy to commit the crime of rebellion shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years and a fine of two hundred to two thousand quetzales.

Those who, without denying the authority of the constituted Government, rise up publicly and tumultuously to achieve by force or violence any of the following objectives commit the crime of sedition:

1º.To depose any one or more public officials or public employees or to prevent those who have been legitimately appointed or elected from taking possession of their office.

2º.To prevent, by direct acts, the promulgation or execution of laws or of judicial or administrative decisions.

3º.To carry out acts of hatred or revenge against the person or property of any authority or its agents.

4º.To carry out, for political or social purposes, any act of coercion against private individuals, against a social class or against the belongings of the State or of any public entity.

5º.To storm penal centers or places of detention or to attack those conducting prisoners or detainees from one place to another, in order to free them or mistreat them.

The instigators, leaders or ringleaders of the crime of sedition shall be punished with imprisonment of one to five years and a fine of one hundred to two thousand quetzales.

Mere executors of sedition shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years.

Perpetrators of rebellion or sedition shall be exempt from sanction when they disband or submit to the authority, before it directs intimidation to them or as a consequence thereof.

Those who, publicly or by any means of dissemination, formally and directly incite a rebellion or sedition, or give instructions to carry it out, shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years and a fine of one hundred to one thousand quetzales.

Those who commit any of the following acts shall be punished with imprisonment of one to five years and a fine of three hundred to three thousand quetzales:

1.Propagate or foment, orally or in writing, or by any other means, doctrines tending to destroy, through violence, the political, social and juridical organization of the Nation.

2.Execute acts aimed at the sabotage and destruction, paralyzation or disruption of the enterprises that contribute to the economic development of the country, with the purpose of harming national production, or important services of public utility.

3.Help or contribute to finance the organization, development or execution of the activities punished in the preceding numbers.

4.Maintain relations with foreign persons or associations, in order to receive instructions or assistance, of whatever nature they may be, to carry out any of the punishable acts contemplated in the present article.

Whoever, with the purpose of altering the constitutional order, the public order of the State or coercing a legal person of public law, national or international, executes an act of violence, makes an attempt against life or human integrity, property or infrastructure, or whoever with the same purpose executes acts aimed at causing fire or at causing railway, maritime, river or air havoc or disasters, commits the crime of terrorism.

The person liable for said crime shall be sanctioned with non-commutable imprisonment of ten (10) to thirty (30) years, plus a fine of twenty-five thousand dollars (US$ 25,000.00) to eight hundred thousand dollars (US $800,000.00) of the United States of America, or its equivalent in national currency. If explosive materials of great destructive power are used for the commission of this crime, the person or persons liable shall be sanctioned with double the penalties.

Whoever, to instill public fear, cause alarm or provoke tumults or disorders, detonates firecrackers or any other analogous device, or uses explosive materials, or publicly threatens a disaster of common danger, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six months to two years.

If the acts covered in the preceding article are committed in a large gathering of persons, or on the occasion of fire, havoc, or any other disaster or calamity, the person responsible shall be punished with imprisonment from three to ten years.

Whoever, publicly, instigates the commission of a specific crime shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to four years.

Whoever, publicly, makes the apology of a crime or of a person convicted of a crime, shall be sanctioned with a fine of one hundred to one thousand quetzales.

Whoever organizes or promotes any meeting or public demonstration in violation of the provisions regulating that right or participates therein shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years.

Those who organize, constitute or direct groupings of armed people or militias that are not those of the State or authorized by it, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six to eight years.

The same sanction shall be imposed on those who help or collaborate economically in the maintenance of said groupings.

Those who form part of the groups or militias referred to in the preceding article shall be punished with imprisonment of two to eight years.

Those who, without being legally authorized, have or establish a depot of arms or ammunition not for the exclusive use of the Army, shall be punished with imprisonment of one to two years and a fine of one hundred to one thousand quetzales.

For the purposes of this article, the gathering of five or more thereof, even when found in disassembled parts, is deemed a depot of arms other than weapons of war.

Whoever entrusts a firearm, or allows it to be carried, to a minor or to any person incapable or inexperienced in the handling of weapons, shall be sanctioned with a fine of one hundred to one thousand quetzales.

Whoever, by means of violence, intimidation or threats, gravely disturbs or prevents the voting or the counting of votes in a national or municipal election, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to eight years.

Whoever by means of violence, intimidation or threats to a voter prevents him from voting, compels him to vote when he is not obligated to or to vote in a determined manner, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to five years.

Whoever pays or delivers money or movable property to a citizen in order for him to abstain or to cast his vote in favor of a specific candidate or political organization, thirty-six hours before and during the election, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to eight years.

The voter who accepts money or movable property for the purposes indicated in the preceding paragraph shall be sanctioned with half of the penalty.

The penalty shall be increased by half when the conduct is committed by a public official or employee of the State from any of its bodies or autonomous, decentralized and non-governmental institutions, regardless of his form of election or type of legal labor relationship, and in addition to the penalty, disqualification from the exercise of the public employment or office he holds shall be applied to him.

Imprisonment of one to five years shall be imposed on whoever impersonates another voter, or votes more than once in the same election or votes without having the right to do so.

The sanction shall be increased by one-half if the crime is committed by a public official or employee of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, member of a Departmental Electoral Board, Municipal Electoral Board, Vote Receiving Board, public official or employee of the State from any of its bodies or autonomous, decentralized and non-governmental institutions, regardless of their form of election or type of legal employment relationship, and in addition to the penalty, disqualification from the exercise of the public employment or office they hold shall be applied to them.

Whoever by any means attempts to discover or discovers how a voter has voted, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to five years.

The sanction shall be increased by half, if the crime is committed by a public official or employee of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, member of a Departmental Electoral Board, Municipal Electoral Board, Vote Receiving Board, member of any body of a political organization, public official or employee of the State from any of its bodies or autonomous, decentralized and non-governmental institutions, regardless of their form of election or type of legal employment relationship, and in addition to the penalty, disqualification from the exercise of the public employment or office that they hold shall be applied to them.

Whoever causes the disappearance of or retains the document evidencing citizenship, preventing a citizen from presenting it to exercise suffrage, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to five years.

The sanction shall be increased by one-half when:

a)The citizen is prevented from obtaining the document evidencing such status before the respective authority; and,

b)If the crime is committed by a public official or employee of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, member of a Departmental Electoral Board, Municipal Electoral Board, Vote Receiving Board, public official or employee of the State in any of its bodies or autonomous, decentralized and non-governmental institutions, regardless of his/her form of election or type of legal labor relationship, and in addition to the penalty, disqualification from exercising the employment or public office he/she holds shall be applied to him/her.

A public official or public employee who uses their authority or exerts their influence to electorally benefit or harm a political organization shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to three years and disqualification from the exercise of the public employment or office they hold.

A private individual who destroys, obstructs and directly or indirectly prevents the free exercise of political propaganda shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to three years.

The public official, public employee in the exercise of office, or State contractor who, for electoral purposes and during the electoral process, engages in propaganda regarding the works and activities carried out in fulfillment of their functions and obligations, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to five years and disqualification from the exercise of the employment or public office they hold, or cancellation of the contract, as applicable.

Whoever by any means prevents, stops, directly or indirectly delays the transport of ballot boxes, ballots, electoral roll, stationery, furniture, utensils and items of an electoral nature, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to eight years.

The same sanction shall apply to whoever violates, alters, destroys the seals, security seals, ballot boxes and electoral sacks.

If the crime is committed by a magistrate, public official or employee of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Member of a Departmental Electoral Board, Municipal Electoral Board, Vote Receiving Board, member of any organ of a political organization, public official or employee of the State in any of its agencies or autonomous, decentralized and non-governmental institutions, regardless of their form of election or type of legal employment relationship, in addition to the penalty, disqualification from exercising the employment or public office that they hold shall also be applied to them.

The legal representative or member of the bodies of the political organization who prevents the Supreme Electoral Tribunal from performing its function of control and oversight of public and private funds with respect to the financing of political organizations for permanent activities and electoral campaigns shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to five years.

The natural person or legal entity that contributes to a political organization more than ten percent (10%) of the maximum limit of campaign expenses shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to five years.

The same penalty shall be imposed on the legal representative or any member of the organs of the political organizations who:

a)Receives aid or contributions exceeding ten percent (10%) of the maximum limit of campaign expenses.

b)Receives aid or a contribution from other States and from foreign natural persons or legal entities. Aid originating from academic entities or foundations and granted for training purposes is excepted from this case.

c)Fails to channel through the respective political organization the contributions made in favor of a candidate for popular election.

The natural person or legal person who contributes, receives or authorizes the receipt of resources intended for the financing of political organizations or their candidates, on the occasion of permanent activities, campaigns and electoral events, knowing that such contributions or resources come from organized crime, money laundering or any other activity classified as a crime by the Penal Code and other related laws, shall be sanctioned with non-commutable imprisonment of four to twelve years and a fine of two hundred to five hundred thousand quetzales.

The sanction shall be increased by two thirds when the crime is committed by one who holds employment, public office or popularly elected office; in addition to the penalty imposed, he/she shall be disqualified from seeking public office.

*ARTICLE 407 “Ñ”. The person or persons who individually or collectively carry out or execute in: a) any of the mass media of social communication, b) banners, billboards, flyers, stickers, signs on public roads or any similar means, activities of various kinds that directly or indirectly seek to boost, promote, disseminate, publicize or make known one or more persons to hold a popularly elected public office, prior to the official convocation made by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of four to seven years and a fine of twenty to fifty thousand quetzales.

The same sanction shall be imposed on:

a)the person who allows his/her image, silhouette or name to be used for the same purpose,

b)the legal representative or whoever exercises the legal representation of the political organization, political party, committee for the formation of a political party, political association or society, civic committee, civil association, civil or commercial society that allows the symbols of its organization or name to be used in any of the foregoing activities.

The legal person of any nature that is used for such purposes shall have its registration or pending procedure in which it is found cancelled when the judgment is a conviction against its legal representative. While the legal situation of said legal representative is finally resolved, the procedure or operation of the corresponding legal person shall be suspended. The foregoing, independently of the application of cancellation as an accessory penalty.

Whoever consents to or receives contributions, by reason of permanent activities or electoral campaign, and fails to report them to the political organization for their accounting register, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to five years and a fine of twenty thousand to one hundred thousand quetzales.

Whoever makes monetary contributions or contributions in kind to the Political Organizations or to their candidates, for permanent activities or electoral campaign, without proving their identity in accordance with the procedures established in the Electoral and Political Parties Law, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one to five years and a fine of one hundred percent of the unregistered amount and disqualification from being a contractor and supplier of the State of Guatemala, for up to a period of five years.

Administrative actions not constituting a crime shall be sanctioned as established in the Electoral and Political Parties Law.