Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo has been arrested after he tried to make his way into Belize. Wednesday’s issue of the Latin American Herald Tribune reports that Portillo was arrested “as he was getting ready to board a boat that was going to transport him to Belize”. The articles states that the boat was provided to him by friends.
Authorities captured Portillo at a beach in northeastern Guatemala on Tuesday after being sought for several days. Portillo’s
arrest comes after the U.S. requested his extradition on money-laundering charges. The 58-year-old former Guatemalan president who served that country from 2000-2004 was jailed through a court order to allow the U.S. 40 days to present evidence for his extradition. A day earlier, a Grand Jury in New York indicted him on charges of embezzling millions of dollars of public funds during his tenure as president. It is alleged he diverted 1.5 million dollars in donations from the Taiwanese government from a program called “Libraries for Peace”. The monies were allegedly funneled to accounts controlled by friends and family of the former president living in the U.S. and other countries.
Portillo also faces corruption charges in Guatemala. Portillo had fled to Mexico after losing immunity from prosecution when his term ended. He was extradited from Mexico to Guatemala in 2008 and was free on bail when the US made its extradition request earlier this month.
