Ex-Guatemalan president says he's innocent in graft case

[TexasTowelie]

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Former Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina told a judge Monday that he is innocent of the corruption charges against him.

The former leader is imprisoned while on trial in a purported corruption scheme known as "The Line," which allegedly involved businesses paying bribes to officials to avoid customs duties in 2013 when Perez Molina was president.

Perez Molina called the charges baseless during a court appearance. "This is a political case that has unfortunately dragged down a lot of people who had nothing to do with it," he said.

He said the prosecution lacks evidence, and his lawyer asked that the charges be dismissed

Read more: http://thesouthern.com/news/world/ex-guatemalan-president-says-he-s-innocent-in-graft-case/article_912115e3-7584-5da7-9b96-3ea072d0c903.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. At some point the Guatemalan government is going to have to get serious, finally,

and charge this clown for his atrocities, just as they pretended to try Efraín Ríos Montt for genocide, right before they pretended there was a mis-trial or something and let him go for awhile, with the claim they will try him again.

Everyone has known what a monster and a stinker this guy has been. Innocent of corruption? To call him merely a corrupt man would be a compliment!

~ ~ ~

The History and Resurgence of Death Squads in Central America
April 18, 2012 Annie Bird

Ex-General, now President Perez Molina is no stranger to death squads. According to declassified State Department and CIA documents, in 1994 while head of Military Intelligence, Perez Molina ran a secret torture center with over 300 political prisoners rounded up by military intelligence. An investigative journalist reported that Perez Molina was a CIA asset at the time.

http://upsidedownworld.org/archives/guatemala/the-history-and-resurgence-of-death-squads-in-central-america/