One day ago, Otto Pérez Molina was Guatemala's President.
By Thursday, he
not only had lost that job, but was in custody.
Guatemala's
Attorney General issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Pérez Molina in
connection with acorruption investigation that has shaken the governmentand sparked protests. The 64-year-old
former military commander responded by submitting his resignation -- an offer
that the Central American country's Congress, by a 118-0 vote, accepted.
A short time
later, Alejandro Maldonado -- who had been vice president -- was sworn in as successor.
Judge Miguel
Angel Gálvez ordered Pérez Molina be held in the Matamoros jail in Guatemala
City.
The investigation
According to the Attorney General's
Office and a U.N. investigating commission, Pérez Molina and a group of close
aides within his administration received bribes in exchange for lowering taxes
for companies seeking to import products into Guatemala.
In a message
broadcast on Guatemalan national TV and radio last month, the then-President
denied the charges and suggested he's the target of a plot by his political
enemies aided by foreign interests.
"I
categorically deny and reject the accusation that I was involved (in a
corruption scheme) and having received any money from that customs fraud
scheme," he said.
On Tuesday,
Pérez Molina's lawyer told CNN en Español that the President was prepared to
appear in front of a judge in Guatemala and face the accusations against him.
"The
President has not run away, has not hidden, will not flee and will not seek
asylum," attorney César Calderón said.
At least 105
votes were needed to strip the then-President's immunity -- a number opposition
leaders have struggled to amass in the past. But on Tuesday, the vote was
unanimous, with all 132 representatives who were present voting in favor of the
move. An additional 26 lawmakers were absent and did not participate in the
vote.
To the polls
The intensifying corruption scandal
comes at a delicate time in Guatemalan politics. The country is scheduled to
hold presidential elections on Sunday.
There have been
weekly protests demanding Molina's immediate resignation since April in the
country's capital. Pérez Molina had said he won't step down, only to reverse
course Wednesday.
In May, Roxana Baldetti stepped down as Guatemala's vice
president after investigators accused her of involvement in the scheme. She was detained by authorities last week.
The judge in
charge of her case has said she'll be tried for customs fraud, illicit
association and passive bribery -- the same accusations the President is
facing.
Baldetti denies
the charges and Mario Cano, her attorney, said in court that prosecutors are
targeting the wrong person.
New President has experience as ambassador, minister
Guatemala's 49th President finds himself
in the middle of this mess, even though he is no stranger to politics.
The 79-year-old
Maldonado has had many roles as Guatemala City council member, congressman,
education minister and his country's ambassador to Mexico and the United
Nations.
How well this
experience serves him in his new role, and given the tenuous situation, remains
to be seen. Maldonado rose to the vice presidency on May 14, six days after
predecessor Roxanna Baldetti resigned -- after being accused of corruption.
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