GUATEMALA: Ex-president, ex-finance minister arrested in graft probe

Former Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom and a former finance minister who is now chairman of Oxfam International were arrested on Tuesday as part of a local corruption investigation, the public prosecutor’s office said. “One of the 10 people detained in today’s operation is the ex-president of the republic, Alvaro Colom,” Juan Francisco Sandoval, chief anti-corruption […]

Former Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom and a former finance minister who is now chairman of Oxfam International were arrested on Tuesday as part of a local corruption investigation, the public prosecutor’s office said.

“One of the 10 people detained in today’s operation is the ex-president of the republic, Alvaro Colom,” Juan Francisco Sandoval, chief anti-corruption officer at the public prosecutor’s office, said on local radio. 

Juan Alberto Fuentes, a former finance minister who is currently chairman of Oxfam International, was also among those arrested, prosecutors said. 

Colom, 66, was president of Guatemala from 2008 to 2012. The corruption investigation is looking at buses bought during his administration for a large public transport program.