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Following the conclusion of a months-long "pause" in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seemingly has resumed FCPA enforcement consistent with its new FCPA priorities, as outlined in its enforcement guidelines issued this June. Two recent prosecutions showcase DOJ's new FCPA priorities in action.
On October 23, 2025, Carlos Leopoldo Alvelais Alarcón, a Mexican customs broker operating in the United States and Mexico, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the FCPA. Although the plea agreement and criminal information in this case are sealed, its topline features closely resemble those of a case that DOJ announced in August. In that case, DOJ charged two Mexican businessmen living in Texas with conspiring to violate the FCPA and substantively violating the FCPA, alleging that they conspired to pay Mexican officials at least $150,000 in bribes to secure business related to Mexico's state-owned oil company and one of its subsidiaries.
The commonalities of both cases — individual Mexican defendants with business operations spanning the U.S.-Mexican border — underscore the new FCPA priorities of the Trump administration. In June, DOJ issued its Guidelines for Investigations and Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) (the Guidelines), following directives from President Trump and DOJ leadership to revise DOJ's priorities for criminal enforcement of the FCPA. Following a several-month "pause" on FCPA enforcement, the Guidelines attempt to limit "undue burdens" on U.S. companies operating abroad and to prioritize enforcement actions involving conduct that "directly undermines U.S. interests." The Guidelines direct prosecutors to focus their FCPA efforts on, among other things, cartels and transnational criminal organizations, "corrupt competitors" that disadvantage U.S. citizens and businesses and distort markets, and individual (rather than corporate) liability. The two recent prosecutions stand as proof of implementation of these enforcement priorities.
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