Customs Corruption : Guatemala VP resigns amid scandal

GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemala’s Vice President resigned to face an investigation over her alleged involvement in a customs corruption racket, amid a scandal that has hurt the ruling party ahead of elections. President Otto Perez Molina announced the decision after reports linked Roxana Baldetti to a ring accused of taking bribes to avoid levying customs taxes purportedly led by her personal secretary. Baldetti has denied any wrongdoing, but her chief aide disappeared after joining her on a trip to South Korea in April. Opposition lawmakers have demanded Baldetti face a probe, and angry Guatemalans have spilled into the streets calling for her resignation. Around 500 people gathered in the capital’s central plaza to celebrate, waving the country’s blue and white flag. Baldetti was elected in 2011 with Perez Molina, a former general who led forces during the country’s three-decade-long civil war.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2015.

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