Calling it quits: Guatemala president resigns in corruption scandal
World
Calling it quits: Guatemala president resigns in corruption scandal
Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina has resigned, his spokesman said on Thursday, after becoming embroiled in a corruption scandal that has gutted his government and plunged the country into chaos just days before a national election. Judge Miguel Angel Galvea issued an unprecedented order on Wednesday to detain Perez Molina in the scandal. Molina Perez will have to appear on accusations of illicit association, fraud and receiving bribe money in a customs fraud scandal in which the vice president has already been jailed; some of his Cabinet ministers have stepped down. The next step will be based on the former president’s testimony.
There’s a criminal case and we will go to trial and then a verdict. Based on what I know of the case, it will have to be a conviction.
Attorney General Thelma Aldana
Perez Molina, 64, has maintained his innocence and vows to face the legal process. No formal charges have been filed. It is the first time a sitting Guatemalan president has faced legal prosecution, though several have faced corruption charges after leaving office. Perez Molina is under an order not to leave the country, and on Tuesday, the Guatemalan Congress lifted his immunity from prosecution.
