{"id":2892,"date":"2015-09-14T08:00:09","date_gmt":"2015-09-14T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thediplomaticenvoy.com\/?p=2892"},"modified":"2015-10-19T18:31:16","modified_gmt":"2015-10-19T22:31:16","slug":"guatemala-arrests-ousted-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/thediplomaticenvoy\/2015\/09\/14\/guatemala-arrests-ousted-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Guatemala Arrests Ousted President"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Angelo Piro<\/a>
\nStaff Writer<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On Thursday, September 4, the cries of\u00a0the crowd encamped in front of Guatemala\u2019s presidential palace changed\u00a0from anger to triumph as they heard the news they had been hoping for: President Otto Perez Molina had been arrested\u00a0for alleged corruption. Perez Molina\u00a0tendered his resignation only hours after a warrant was issued for his arrest, following months of protests calling for the removal of Molina and several\u00a0cabinet officials, in light of a joint investigation between Guatemala and the United Nations International Commission Against Impunity that revealed millions of dollars were siphoned from customs accounts to Perez Molina’s\u00a0administration.<\/p>\n

Perez Molina\u2019s resignation came as a surprise to many in Guatemala, a country which has had a recent history\u00a0of authoritarianism and unaccountable government. While Perez Molina\u00a0insists that he is innocent, his resignation and surrender to the justice system\u00a0may signal that Guatemala is now entering a new era of good governance, following other\u00a0Latin American states going through similar political upheavals, such as Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Ecuador.<\/p>\n

Now facing an investigation of\u00a0his role in the scandal, the former military negotiator and secret police captain was officially\u00a0stripped of immunity by the Guatemalan Congress, opening the doors for full prosecution. In recent interviews, Perez Molina expressed that he will not go quietly, placing\u00a0blame for his ouster on\u00a0the United States, whom he claims put pressure on\u00a0UN investigators. Perez Molina accused the U.S. for orchestrating a\u00a0\u201csoft coup\u201d against not only his government, but also those of neighboring El Salvador and Honduras.<\/p>\n

While Perez Molina awaits\u00a0trial, the Guatemalan people must now focus their attention on electing a new president. The first round of elections took place on September 6, yet none of the candidates garnered enough votes to meet the 50 percent threshold. After the first round of votes, the current leader is Jimmy Morales, a former television comedian, in what appears to be an all-out rejection by the public of traditional\u00a0politics. The next round of voting is scheduled\u00a0for\u00a0early October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perez Molina accused the U.S. for orchestrating a \u201csoft coup\u201d against not only his government, but also those of neighboring El Salvador and Honduras. While Perez Molina awaits trial, the Guatemalan people must now focus their attention on electing a new president. The first round of elections took place on September 6, yet none of the candidates garnered enough votes to meet the 50 percent threshold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3002,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,384],"tags":[404,498,501],"class_list":["post-2892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international-news","category-americas","tag-elections","tag-corruption","tag-guatemala"],"yoast_head":"\nGuatemala Arrests Ousted President - The Diplomatic Envoy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/thediplomaticenvoy\/2015\/09\/14\/guatemala-arrests-ousted-president\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guatemala Arrests Ousted President - The Diplomatic Envoy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Perez Molina accused the U.S. for orchestrating a \u201csoft coup\u201d against not only his government, but also those of neighboring El Salvador and Honduras. While Perez Molina awaits trial, the Guatemalan people must now focus their attention on electing a new president. 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