Guest contributor
James Shwe
Myanmar’s generals are trying to buy their way back into respectability in Washington. They are losing on the battlefield and isolated internationally, so they are offering rare earths and business deals, staging fake elections, and pretending to crack down on online cyber scam centers.
Lobbyists and some people in the U.S. business community are helping them sell this story.
But recent actions by the U.S. has given Myanmar Americans powerful tools to stop this junta whitewash. The key is for the diaspora to understand these tools and use them carefully and clearly.
The junta’s new story: from arsonist to firefighter
The junta is telling the U.S. three main things:
- “We are holding elections, so we are moving back toward civilian rule.”
- “We are raiding scam compounds and rescuing victims, so we are fighting cybercrime.”
- “We can give you access to rare earths and other valuable minerals, so if you work with us you can reduce your dependence on China.”
In reality, many of the scam centers were created and protected under military control or by militias linked to the military in the border areas. Shutting down or moving a few compounds after international pressure does not make the generals protectors of the law. It makes them arsonists who burn their own neighbors’ houses and then pose for photographs while throwing a few buckets of water.
The “elections” are also not real. They are held under bombing, mass displacement, and with genuine opposition banned or jailed. Their purpose is not to reflect the will of the people, but to create a talking point for lobbyists: “At least they are moving in the right direction.”
Lobbyists and some businesses in America build on this. They argue that engaging the junta will help the U.S. “hedge” against China, secure minerals, and deal with scam centers. If this argument is not challenged, it will slowly make the generals look like a normal government again.
New U.S. tools that change the picture
Four developments in U.S. policy are especially important for Myanmar Americans.
1. President Trump’s cybercrime executive order
On March 6, 2026, President Trump signed an order called “Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens.” It instructs the U.S. government to create a full plan to find and dismantle foreign criminal networks behind scam centers and online fraud.
The order makes one point very clear: Governments that allow these scam centers to operate or profit from them are considered part of the problem, not partners. It tells U.S. officials to use tools like sanctions, visa bans, and cuts in aid against countries that enable these crimes.
This fits Myanmar exactly. Scam compounds in Karen State, Shan State, and border regions of Thailand and China have grown under the protection of military units and their allied militias.
The generals are not honest partners against scam centers. They are protectors and beneficiaries of a criminal business that hurts victims all over Asia and in the U.S.
2. Scam‑center laws in the U.S. Senate and House
There are two important bills in the U.S. Congress that focus on foreign scam centers and name Myanmar.
- In the Senate, the Scam Compound Accountability and Mobilization (SCAM) Act (S. 2950), sponsored by Senators John Cornyn and Jeanne Shaheen, has already passed. It orders the U.S. government to build a strategy to shut down overseas scam compounds and to act against “enabling countries” where these compounds operate freely.
- In the House of Representatives, the Dismantle Foreign Scam Syndicates Act (H.R. 5490) has moved forward with strong support from committee leaders and members including Rep. Brian Mast and Rep. Thomas Shreve. That bill sets up a high‑level Task Force to fight foreign scam syndicates and explicitly calls on Myanmar to stop the “unfettered operation of scam centers in Burma.” Many expect the House provisions – sometimes referred to as “Shreve’s scam‑center bill” – to be merged into the final SCAM Act during negotiations between the House and Senate.
The logic of these bills is very simple: you cannot fight scam centers and at the same time reward the army that protects them. Any attempt to deepen business ties with the junta—especially in sectors linked to scam‑center money—goes against the spirit of these laws.
3. USCIRF’s 2026 report – and the recommendation to ban lobbying
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent government body that advises the White House and Congress. In its 2026 Annual Report, USCIRF again recommends that Myanmar be designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), which is the highest category for the worst violators of religious freedom.
USCIRF reports that in 2025 the junta:
- Destroyed hundreds of religious sites—monasteries, churches, and mosques.
- Killed and detained monks, pastors, imams, and other religious leaders.
- Continued to persecute Rohingya and other minorities, including forced conscription.
Most important for this discussion, USCIRF urges Congress to pass a law that would ban the junta from using U.S.‑based lobbying and public‑relations firms.
In a separate statement, it calls for a broader law prohibiting any government on the CPC list from hiring American lobbyists for pay.
In other words, an official U.S. body is saying: governments that burn religious buildings and persecute people of faith should not be allowed to pay American firms to clean up their image and influence U.S. policy.
4. The BRAVE Burma Act – improving the Burma Act
Members of Congress are also working on the BRAVE Burma Act, which is meant to improve and strengthen the earlier Burma Act. The BRAVE Burma Act aims to:
- Tighten economic pressure on the junta by going after its revenue sources.
- Increase support for the National Unity Government (NUG), ethnic revolutionary organizations (EROs), and civil society groups.
- Make U.S. engagement depend on real movement toward democracy and protection of persecuted communities.
For the diaspora, this is the positive side of the picture: while some people are trying to bring the generals back in, others are building tools to support the forces of change.
What the Myanmar diaspora should do now
These tools are useful only if Myanmar Americans and other members of the diaspora act in a focused, responsible way. Four main tasks stand out.
1. Inform U.S. lawmakers – with clear, concrete messages
Myanmar Americans should contact their Senators and Representatives and:
- Warn them about what the junta and lobbyists are trying to do. Explain how fake elections, staged “crackdowns” on scam centers, and rare‑earth offers are being used together to rebuild the junta’s image.
- Connect this behavior directly to U.S. laws and reports. Emphasize that the March 6, 2026, cybercrime executive order treats scam‑center enablers as security threats. The SCAM Act and House scam‑center bill name Burma and require a real strategy to shut these operations down. The USCIRF 2026 report labels Burma a worst‑case religious‑freedom violator and urges a ban on its use of American lobbyists.
- Support the BRAVE Burma Act. Encourage lawmakers to back and strengthen this Act so that it clearly directs U.S. support to the NUG, EROs, and civil society—not to the junta.
A simple, direct request to Congress could be:
- “Please pass a strong SCAM Act with House scam‑center provisions that name Burma and its enablers.”
- “Please introduce and pass a law that bans governments like Burma, which are listed as the worst violators of religious freedom, from hiring American lobbying and PR companies.”
- “Please move the BRAVE Burma Act forward and make sure it does not provide any benefit or legitimacy to the junta.”
2. Inform the State Department and other U.S. agencies
Myanmar Americans should also share information with the State Department, the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice, and other relevant agencies. The key is to be accurate, specific, and useful:
- Explain the junta’s tricks. Describe how the military uses selective raids on scam centers and “rescues” to claim it is cooperating, while core networks remain protected. Show how fake elections and mineral deals are used to demand “pragmatic engagement.”
- Provide detailed, reliable information about scam centers and enablers. That includes the locations and owners of scam compounds, links to military units, militias, and business cronies, cross‑border connections to banks, companies, and officials in neighboring countries.
Information should be double‑checked and as complete as possible. Officials are more likely to act on a small number of strong, well‑documented reports than on a large number of weak or repeated submissions. It is better to say “we do not know” than to guess.
3. Advise NUG and ERO leaders about fragmentation
Inside the revolution, Myanmar Americans can share one important message with NUG and ERO leaders:
- Understand how the junta uses fragmentation. Every public split, quarrel, or accusation between resistance groups is used by the junta and its lobbyists to say: “The resistance is hopelessly divided; only the military can run the country.”
- Reduce public fighting that feeds the junta’s story. This does not mean hiding real problems or pretending there is perfect unity. It means being careful about how disagreements are expressed in public and remembering how those words will be used in Washington and other capitals.
Diaspora figures can quietly encourage:
- More joint statements on key issues like scam centers, rare‑earth resources, and relations with the U.S.
- Less language that totally delegitimizes other resistance actors in ways that the junta can easily quote.
4. Educate and mobilize the wider diaspora community
Finally, the diaspora should turn this complex picture into simple messages for ordinary community members:
- Translate key points into Burmese and other languages. Prepare short summaries explaining what the cybercrime order does, what the SCAM Act and House bill say about foreign scam centers and Burma, and what it means that Burma is labeled a “Country of Particular Concern” and that USCIRF wants to ban its use of lobbyists.
- Equip religious and community leaders. Give monks, pastors, imams, lay leaders, and activists talking points they can use in sermons, meetings, and online discussions to connect these U.S. tools to the daily suffering of people in Myanmar.
- Encourage focused outreach. Help community members write short, personal letters or emails to their own elected representatives, supporting the SCAM Act, the BRAVE Burma Act, and a ban on lobbying by the worst human‑rights violators.
James Shwe is a Myanmar-born democracy advocate and independent political analyst based in the United States.
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