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

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

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Guatemala’s Public Ministry confirmed Friday that the ongoing investigation over a customs fraud operation, known as “La Linea”, revealed a strong likelihood that Perez Molina had participated in the scheme.

Prosecutors also said they have asked for President Otto Perez Molina’s immunity of office to be withdrawn to allow for him to be investigated in the same case.

Hours earlier, police arrested Baldetti, 53, at a private hospital where she had been undergoing treatment for gastrointestinal and heart problems.

A congressional investigative committee called for his presidential immunity to be lifted, but lawmakers rejected the measure earlier this month.

The president has said he will not step down over the allegations against Baldetti, 53, and that the investigation into the corruption scandal is supported by state prosecutors. Authorities presented a chart diagramming the structure’s alleged organization that showed Monzon as the mastermind.

Baldetti resigned Might eight after an investigation spearheaded by prosecutors and a United Nations fee probing legal networks in Guatemala led to arrests of presidency officers and personal residents.

The evidence implicating Perez Molina and Baldetti in the corruption scandal comes from a combination of wiretap sessions and bank checks, receipts and other documents confiscated in subsequent search and seizure operations, according to Velasquez and Aldana Hernández. The country is scheduled to hold its presidential election on September 6, which also include the renewal of the 158 seats of the national assembly. Guatemalan presidents are limited to a single four-year term, so Perez Molina is ineligible to run for re-election.

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