Guatemala Arrests Ex-President and His Finance Minister in Corruption Case
Mr. Colom and his former finance minister, Juan Alberto Fuentes Knight, appeared at an initial court hearing in Guatemala City along with other former cabinet members,
and were then placed in detention until a hearing scheduled for next week.
13, 2018
MEXICO CITY — Former President Álvaro Colom of Guatemala and his finance minister, who is now the chairman of Oxfam International, were arrested Tuesday in a graft case
that is the latest chapter in the country’s sweeping attack on corruption.
Oxfam International’s executive director, Winnie Byanyima, said
that Mr. Fuentes Knight had informed the charity that he had "cooperated fully with the investigation in the confidence he did not knowingly transgress rules or procedures." Mr. Fuentes Knight said before Tuesday’s hearing that he had warned against continuing government payments to the bus companies, citing "anomalies." Please verify you’re not a robot by clicking the box.
The police arrested Mr. Colom and nine former members of his cabinet in early-morning raids
after a long-running investigation into fraud involving a new bus system in Guatemala City.
Mr. Colom is the fourth former president of Guatemala to face corruption charges as a result of investigations
led by an international panel of prosecutors trying to break up networks of corruption and end impunity.
The current mayor of Guatemala City, former President Álvaro Arzú, was charged in October in a case involving contracts
with a former army captain who ran an illegal business empire from prison before he was murdered in 2016.
