Big news from Guatemala, Otto Perez resigns as President
Tom Clarke
Guatemalan legislators Thursday accepted the resignation of President Otto Perez Molina, who this week lost his immunity from prosecution and saw an arrest warrant issued for him in connection with a corruption scandal.
Perez Molina, who had said he would not resign, changed his position after the nation's prosecutor announced late Wednesday that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Congress had voted on Tuesday to strip the president of his immunity from prosecution.
In a letter presented to Congress about an hour after the arrest warrant was issued, Perez Molina announced that he was stepping down "in the interest of the country," according to his spokesman. After a court hearing, Perez Molina was placed in custody.
Vice President Alejandro Maldonado becomes interim president as Guatemalans prepare to go to the polls for national elections Sunday. Maldonado became vice president after his predecessor, Roxana Baldetti, who is in jail facing charges in the same scandal, resigned in May.
Perez Molina's term as president would have ended in January because of term limits. He and Baldetti have denied being involved in the scandal, which prosecutors say involved officials in the customs department receiving kickbacks in return for reducing import taxes for companies.
The investigation of the scheme was a joint effort by the attorney general's office and the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, known as the CICIG, an independent body set up by the United Nations almost a decade ago.
Atty. Gen. Thelma Aldana said Thursday via Twitter that the Guatemalan people are adamant that everyone should face the same justice process. On Wednesday, she had told reporters that Perez Molina faced "charges of fraud, illicit association and corruption."