Fifth Former President Arrested on Corruption Charges in Guatemala.

AutorRodriguez, George

Alvaro Colom is the newest member of Central America's presidential corruption hall of fame--an infamous collection of regional leaders who have been called to account for their actions while in office.

Colom (2008-2012) was arrested on Feb. 13, along with other officials in his administration, for his part in the contested purchase of a fleet of buses for Transurbano, a public transport system that operates in Guatemala City, the country's capital. The former president faces charges of graft and embezzlement in a case centered on the 25-year concessions auctioned off for city bus routes and the tax exemption later granted to the private companies that won the contracts, estimated at some US$35 million.

Caudillos (political chieftains), whether civilian or military, have historically indulged in abuse of power in the region, covering anything from stealing government money to committing gross human rights violations. But more recently, Central American presidents and former presidents--in one case, even a former military dictator--have had to answer for their actions as revelations of presidential wrongdoing have become increasingly frequent.

Nine of the most recent 14 cases of presidential corruption are found in Central America's so-called Northern Triangle, made up of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Guatemala ranks first, with five former presidents either brought down while in office or charged and tried later (except for one who was allowed to leave the country). The first was Jorge Serrano (1991-1993), whose administration abruptly ended in 1993, about halfway into his five-year term. He left the country and ended up in Panama, where he settled as a real estate developer and investor, with businesses also in Miami (NotiCen, Oct. 23, 1991, Dec. 18, 1992, Aug. 28, 1997).

Seven years later, Alfonso Portillo (2000-2004) won elections based on a campaign promise to fight corruption, which led to a clash with powerful political and economic sectors. But in 2011, Portillo himself was locked up in a military installation in Guatemala, and extradited two years later to the US, where he pleaded guilty of money laundering through US banks. He was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison, but since he had been jailed for two years in Guatemala and had pleaded guilty in the US, the sentence was reduced. Portillo was released in 2015, and immediately returned home (NotiCen, June 2, 2011, April 24, 2014, June 26, 2014).

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