Guatemala's
Ex-President Faces Extradition To U.S.
(RTTNews) - Guatemala will extradite former
president Alfonso Portillo to the United
States if a court orders him to be sent
there to face charges of laundering USD 1.5
million intended to buy books for school
libraries.
President Álvaro Colom Caballeros said
Wednesday Washington had sought 40 days of
time to document the case of money-
laundering and the government was "going to
respect the request."
Earlier, following a U.S. request for the
extradition of Portillo on charges of
laundering money, Guatemalan police arrested
Portillo, who led the Central American
country from 2000 to 2004, at a beach
January 26 as he was allegedly trying to
flee the country by boat.
American federal prosecutors Tuesday
unsealed an indictment in a New York court
charging, him with embezzling USD 1.5
million donated by the Taiwanese government
from a program called "Libraries for Peace,"
diverting the money to an account in Miami
and then allegedly transferring it to a bank
account in Paris in the name of his ex-wife
and daughter.
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