Guatemala detains ex-VP in graft case, seeks president probe

Almost 30 other people have been detained, accused of taking millions of dollars from businessmen who paid bribes in order to avoid higher import duties.

Prosecutors accused Guatemalan President Otto Perez on Friday of being one of the ringleaders of a corruption scandal shaking the country, as police arrested his former vice president.

A top official with the national prosecutor’s office says that Guatemala’s ex-vice president Roxana Baldetti was arrested on corruption charges, just ahead of national elections next month.

The office said prosecutor Francisco Sandoval informed Ms Baldetti of her detention at the hospital.

Guatemala’s attorney general called for an impeachment process against President Otto Perez Molina on for his alleged connection to massive corruption scandals swirling around the government.

Velasquez said the taped calls included references to “Number One” and “Number Two”, which investigators had determined to be Perez and Baldetti.

Lawmakers last week voted against stripping Perez Molina of immunity from prosecution.

The ring known as “La Linea”, or “The Line”, was allegedly masterminded by Baldetti’s aide, Juan Carlos Monzon Rojas, who is now a fugitive.

“This has been a very complex investigation that still requires a lot of analysis, and we are continuing to collect evidence”, Velasquez said. Guatemalan presidents are limited to a single four-year term, so Perez Molina is ineligible to run for re-election.

The CICIG’s findings have also hit the center-right opposition Lider party, whose candidate Manuel Baldizon is leading opinion polls ahead of the elections.

Guatemala has seen large protests over the scandal and another corruption investigation that rocked the nation’s social security institute.